Today's Scripture Readings
Isaiah 42:1-9 (NRSV)
Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow faint or be crushed
until he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness,
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
a light to the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
I am the LORD, that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to idols.
See, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth,
I tell you of them.
Psalm 29 (BCP., p.620).
Acts 10:34-43 (NRSV)
Then Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ--he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
Matthew 3:13-17 (NRSV)
Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."
Blog Reflection
One of the greatest challenges of our times, is to find an appropriate balance. This is as true in the practice of our religion as it is with any other part of our life. St. John Cassian in the Second of The Conferences wrote about the importance of the Monastic grace of discretion. This act of God's favor, helps us to avoid either doing too much or too little. It is quite possible to pray too much, fast too much and do other things so much so, that we fall out of balance. Not only our bodies and our minds, but also our spirit.
What does this have to do with today's feast of the Baptism of the Lord?
In our Christian Faith, we stress too much the need to repent and be redeemed from our sins, or we over do not caring enough about what we do, and the consequences we bring upon ourselves. Much of what we do in either extreme comes from where our heart is, and what we are listening to. Are we listening too much to our hectic schedules of things to do, places to be; while neglecting to listen deeply to God within our hearts?
This celebration of the Baptism of the Lord, tells us that Jesus listened much more to God within His heart. When He first came to St. John the Baptist, he says to Jesus: "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Jesus' response: "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness" tells us that though things were out of order in the deepest degree, God did amazing things at that moment. God's response to Jesus' obedience to the will of God, was to receive the Holy Spirit, and the voice of God is heard saying: "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." In an act of total contradiction to how things ought to be, God's power and grace shows through Christ's act of deep humility. The glory of God is manifested (an Epiphany) in Christ Jesus.
As Episcopalians and Anglicans, we are so blessed that our tradition values the Sacrament of Baptism. As I was making the decision back in 1994 to move from Protestant Evangelicalism to Roman Catholicism, one of the driving issues for me, was reverence for the Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist. When the time came for me to consider a move to The Episcopal Church after my husband Jason and I met, again, I found myself with the greatest concern over respect for the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion. In the Episcopal Church, our Baptism is prefaced with our Baptismal Vows and Covenant found in The Book of Common Prayer on pages 292-294. It is not enough to be sprinkled with holy water, and given a pretty candle. There is a recognition of our responsibility to the Sacrament we have shared in. We are received by faith, and in faith, by God's grace we are empowered to live in the hope and knowledge of salvation. Our faith is evidenced not so much in our words, but in our response of obedience to the will of God.
As Benedictines, our Vows of Stability, Conversion of Life and Obedience are intimately linked to our Baptismal Vows. Our life grounded in God, with the commitment to allow the Holy Spirit to change us, by obedience to the will of God in our Superior, is living into our Baptismal Covenant. Yet, it is important for us to understand that The Rule and all of the things we do, is to help us to search for union with God in a life of continuous prayer.
It is easy for us to focus on the work of striving for justice and peace among all people, and to respect the dignity of every human being as an end in itself. The work of inclusion of LGBTQ people, ending racism, sexism, religious based discrimination, and the many other issues I write about here, are not ends nor are they means to an end. They are part of deepening our relationship with God, by learning to serve one another out of reverence for Christ, present in all persons. When Jesus heard the words: "This is my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased" those words were meant for each one of us. In Christ, we are God's Beloved, with whom God is well pleased.
Our life of prayer, praise, living with our spouses, our friends, communities, working for a greater equality of all people, is because in Christ, all of us are God's Beloved, with whom God is well pleased.
We balance our life of prayer, study, work and leisure as God's Beloved, with whom God is well pleased.
In Christ, we are adopted as God's own, and given new life with new possibilities. If we are to know what those are, we must be listening to God within ourselves, and in Christ as we meet Him in one another.
Even when we fail to live in obedience to God, God's grace in Christ forgives and redeems us, again and again, because in Christ each of us have been claimed as God's Beloved, with whom God is well pleased.
Therefore, no violence, bias, oppression or scapegoating is appropriate. All of us are a sacred space in which God in Christ has chosen to dwell by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are God's Beloved, with whom God is well pleased.
Amen.
Prayers
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. (The Book of Common Prayer, p.214).
Grant, Lord God, to all who have been baptized into the
death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ, that, as we
have put away the old life of sin, so we may be renewed in the
spirit of our minds, and live in righteousness and true holiness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen. (Prayer for All Baptized Christians, Book of Common Prayer, p.252, 253).
O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the
earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those
who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people
everywhere may seek after you and find you, bring the nations
into your fold, pour out your Spirit upon all flesh, and hasten
the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and for ever. Amen. (Prayer for the Mission of the Church, Book of Common Prayer, p.257).
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