“Dedicated, Claimed and Saturated for
God”
Luke 2:21-38; Acts 8:14-17
It seems like we have barely finished the Christmas
celebration
And
today is designated as Baptism of Our Lord Sunday.
The
bulletin cover reflects that designation
With
Jesus being baptized by his cousin John
And
John saying: “I baptize you with water,
but one who is more powerful than I is coming,
and
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
I
kind of wanted to spend a little more time with
The
three Wisemen just like I wanted to spend
A
little more time with our three sons
Home for this Christmas holiday.
And
yet it seemed that the celebration time was over
In
the blink of an eye and we were thrown back
Into the fire and the reality of life.
As a congregation we received word on
New Years Eve that
The
daughter-in-law of a member had miscarried,
And
another of our members was in intensive care.
Later
that day we received news that Sara Johnesee
Who
we had all been praying for had died
Of
Lymphoma after surviving for 6 months
From a five organ transplant.
It
has been a difficult beginning to the New Year.
We
need that Holy Spirit that Peter and John brought.
As a nation we received word the a
beloved leader of our country,
Gerald
Ford, had died and shortly afterwards that news
Was
preempted by the news that a hatred dictator
Had
been executed by his own countrymen.
In
the blink of an eye we have been thrown from the
Warmth
of the Christmas story into the reality
Of the life and world into which Jesus was born.
And so perhaps the word we need today
Is
a word that reminds us that God IS very present
in these most
difficult times of life.
Perhaps the word we need is the word
That encourages us to “wait
upon God”
And
to know that God is faithful.
That word comes to us from Luke 2: 21-38
It
is the story of Jesus’ circumcision at the temple,
His
naming and presentation and his reception
By
Simeon and Anna as the one who
Will
save and redeem
And be the
light of God to all people.
(Read
Luke 2:21-38)
Simeon and Anna are mysterious
characters.
We
don’t hear anything else about them before of after
This experience with the baby Jesus.
And
yet in many ways they speak on behalf of all of us.
We
are all seekers on a faith journey.
We
each have come to this place seeking God
And God’s word in our life.
We
have come seeking God’s peace and
God’s promise that a better day is coming.
We
have not come here of our own accord
But
we have been guided somehow
by God’s Spirit.
We
are there with Joseph and Mary when Simeon says to God:
“My eyes have seen your salvation.”
This is
huge.
Jesus
is not just some cute little baby.
Jesus
is the one who brings peace and light and glory
into a world that then and now is filled with darkness
and death and destruction and is seeking a savior.
Simeon reminds us that this very
Jesus whose birth we celebrate
With
Christmas trees and pageants and carols and presents,
Is
the very savior of the world, that God promised
from the
beginning of time.
Anna reminds us that this very Jesus is
the one,
Who
brings redemption to this world
That
seems so out of control.
When
we look around at the melting ice caps
And
listen to people continue to debate
About
whether global warming is
Real
or fabricated and if we
Have
anything to do with it;
As
we hear reports that more not less of our
Young
people’s lives will be at risk in
A
war far away;
And
as we hear about the continued struggles
of people right
in our own country
who are trying
to recover from a hurricane,
or poverty or health crisis.
It
is difficult to imagine how we can get ourselves
out of this dilemma that we have gotten our selves into.
I’m reading a 500 page book right now
that I received for Christmas
That
outlines all the struggles that our world is facing.
It
can get very discouraging.
I
worked for 7 years for an energy consulting firm
That
actually developed a national energy plan
to reduce our
dependence on foreign oil.
That report
is probably archived in an office
Somewhere in
It’s
easy to get cynical.
But Anna reminds us that there is hope
and that the hope for the
Redemption
of the world is in this Jesus who birth we celebrated.
And that’s the message for us on this
first Sunday of the New Year.
We
follow the one who was sent of God
for the redemption
of humankind.
God has not given up on us!
We
follow the one who brings peace
beyond our human
understanding.
We
follow the one who brings light and hope
Into
our darkness and despair of
Death and disease.
We
follow that one who brings eternal life
Not
so that we discount this life but so that
We
can live not in fear of failure or each other
but in the
glory of God.
Friends, God has come into the world in
Jesus Christ
To make a difference.
He
has entered into human existence in the incarnation
And
he invites us to participate in his saving work
In his baptism.
Let
us stand before God this morning to receive that gift
God
offers in Jesus Christ as we reaffirm our baptismal
Vows
as the people who are dedicated, claimed
And
saturated in God.
Amen