A Complete Makeover

 First Sunday after the Epiphany

The Baptism of our Lord

“Time for a Complete Makeover”

Bob Vila made a name for himself fixing up “This Old House”.

My mom made sure I had something nice to wear for school, we always had an Easter outfit, and to this day when it comes to Sunday, I still like to dress up. My step father was an engineer, and he loved tinkering with his car, to make it “run like a top”. 

Now by God, it’s time to get our souls right with Jesus. It is time for a complete makeover as the TV shows put it. If we can do it for a house, a wardrobe or a car, surely we can do it for the sake of our spiritual wellness. We are in need of a complete makeover. 

It is the Feast Day of the Baptism of our Lord. 

Jesus comes to John down by the Riverside. It’s his turn. God has something in store of him. He is Baptized in the Jordan and “heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Oh, by the way I have news for you this morning; wonderful news; and I’m very excited about sharing this news with you. And here it is; you are forgiven. It doesn’t matter how big a mess you’ve made of things. If you are like me, you’ve done that more than once. Nevertheless you are forgiven. Perhaps there are still those bad habits you’re still working on. Forgiven. Maybe there are those annoying personality quirks that won’t go away. Jesus has wiped the slate clean. You are forgiven of it all.

This is the Mystery of the Cross. It is another way of saying that God loves you. Unconditionally. God loves you. Period. The First Lesson said it today in as many words; “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. For I am the Lord your God, your Savior”.

In response to this Good News and the abundance of God’s Grace the Church calls upon us to renew our Baptismal vows this day. Like the day when the apostles sought out the gift of the Holy Spirit, we also seek to be filled with that same kind of Spirit that allows us to know we are overflowing with God’s love. 

First and foremost our vocation is to affirm God’s love for us. Each and every one of us. For as the Scripture says; “you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you”. Imagine that; God honors us!

The love of God is more than abundant, it overflows from us and through us toward all. We are the agents now of God’s abundant love. We break all barriers between people. No race, ethnicity, gender, orientation, language or nationality can divide us now. We are all one in Jesus.

Again the Scripture vividly describes God’s gathering of all people. “I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth— everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

That’s you. God made you. Redeemed you. Sanctified and made you Holy! 

It hasn’t always been this way in America. When a man by the name of Homer Plessy tried to board a “Whites only” railroad car in 1892 he violated Louisiana law. He was of mixed race. His appeal went all the way to the Supreme Court where in 1894 “separate but equal” was ruled constitutional. This set the stage for a whole slew of laws in the United States allowing “Jim Crow” to be the law of the land. Vast swaths of America denied Justice and Freedom to people of color. Justice John Harland, the great Kentucky statesman, was the lone dissent on the court, and his brilliant legal mind set the stage for the overturn of the Plessy decision in Brown vs Board of Education at long last in 1954. 

Just this week Mr Homer Plessy was granted a posthumous pardon for his “crime” on the 125th anniversary of his “conviction” by John Bel Edwards, Governor of Louisiana. 

The long hard struggle for Liberty and Justice for all in America continues. Next week we will celebrate Martin Luther King Day and the work goes on. Civil Rights in America is in no way a done deal but in every way imaginable is always an ongoing battle. 

But God loves everybody without regard to race or any other category you or I may wish to pigeon hole someone. We are one flesh and blood. As my namesake Paul puts it; “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” ~Galatians 3:28

On a pilgrimage to the Holy Land I once heard an old Palestinian woman say; “And what is the color of God?” After a pause she answered her own question; “The color of God is the color of water!” Let that sink in for a few minutes. 

Now we come to the waters of Baptism. The waters over which a dove appeared in bodily form and “a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased’.”

These are the same waters we drink day in and day out just because we are alive. They are the waters in which you and I are Baptized in Christ. Here we receive our total makeover. We die to sin. We rise to the newness of life in Jesus. 

The Catechism teaches us who you are now are by virtue of this total makeover:

1. A Child of God

2. A Member of Christ

3. An Inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven. 

Therefore I call upon you to join me now as we renew our own Baptismal Covenant. 

The Renewal of Baptismal Vows

Celebrant: Do you reaffirm your renunciation of evil and renew your commitment to Jesus Christ?
People: I do.

Celebrant: Do you believe in God the Father?
People: I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

Celebrant: Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God? People: I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
 and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
 was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
 and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Celebrant: Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
People: I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.

Celebrant: Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?
People: I will, with God's help.

Celebrant: Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord
People: I will, with God's help.

Celebrant: Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?
People: I will, with God's help.

Celebrant: Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
People: I will, with God's help.

Celebrant: Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
People: I will, with God's help.

Celebrant: Will you cherish the wondrous works of God, and protect and restore the beauty and integrity of all creation?

People: I will, with God’s help.

Celebrant: May Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and bestowed upon us the forgiveness of sins, keep us in eternal life by his grace, in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

In the Name of God; the Most Holy, Undivided and Everlasting Trinity. Amen

Fr Paul

Above He Qi's Baptism of Jesus. For some background information on the artist's work check this link.

Below are the readings assigned of this Sunday with highlights indicating words, phrases and thoughts that resonate in my soul. 

The Collect:

Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

First Lesson: Isaiah 43:1-7

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth— everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

Psalm: Psalm 29

Ascribe to the Lord, you gods, *
      ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his Name; *
     worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;
   the God of glory thunders; *
     the Lord is upon the mighty waters.
The voice of the Lord is a powerful voice; *
     the voice of the Lord is a voice of splendor.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar trees; *
     the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon;
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, *
     and Mount Hermon like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord splits the flames of fire;
   the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; *
     the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe *
     and strips the forests bare.
And in the temple of the Lord *
     all are crying, “Glory!”
The Lord sits enthroned above the flood; *
      the Lord sits enthroned as King for evermore.
The Lord shall give strength to his people; *
      the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.

New Testament: Acts 8:14-17

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Gospel: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”