Epiphany 1C 2010
St. Dunstan's
January 10, 2010
The Rev. Patricia Templeton

"A Moment of Epiphany"

We started a new season in the church year this week, the season of Epiphany.

On Wednesday night we celebrated the feast of that name, marking the arrival of the three wise men to the stable in Bethlehem, bringing their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the infant Jesus.

The dictionary definition of Epiphany notes the religious feast, then gives a nonreligious explanation of the word.

An epiphany is “a sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something; or an illuminating discovery, a revealing scene or moment.”

That definition guides the meaning of this season of the church year immediately following Christmas. The wise men had their moment of epiphany, when they realized the star they were following to find the newborn king of the Jews had led them not to a magnificent palace but to a poor family in a humble stable.

They realized then that the kingship of this child would be different from the conventional notions of what a king is. God was revealed to them in the birth of this child.

We celebrate another moment of epiphany this morning with the baptism of Jesus.

Jesus has grown up fast. Wednesday night he was a babe in the manger. Today he is a 30-year-old man.

We don’t know much about Jesus’ childhood, youth, or early adulthood. We can guess that he may have learned his father’s trade of carpentry. We know that he grew up in a faithful Jewish family, and that he became very well versed in the scriptures.

What we don’t know is if he had any sense that he was somehow set apart or different from his neighbors and friends and family. We don’t know if he understood early in his life that his calling was not to be a carpenter, but a Messiah.

We don’t know what led him to the Jordan River that day to be baptized by his cousin John.

I wonder what he was thinking as he stood in the crowd of people who were, scripture says, “filled with expectation,” wondering whether John might be the Messiah.

When John told the crowd that one who was more powerful than he was coming, one who would baptize not just with water, but with the Holy Spirit, did Jesus realize that John was talking about him? Did he know that he was the one for whom people were longing?

Whatever Jesus may have known, whatever he was thinking, whatever questions he may have had – he apparently stood quietly in line awaiting his turn to be baptized, just like everyone else.

It was after his baptism, as he was praying, that the moment of epiphany occurred.

As scripture describes it, “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.’”

In that illuminating moment Jesus’ essential nature is revealed. He is God’s son, God’s beloved.

The next verse of scripture after this scene tells us that Jesus was 30 years old when he began his ministry. It is significant that his ministry did not begin until he was baptized, until he was anointed with the Holy Spirit, until he received assurance that he was God’s beloved, that God was well pleased with him.

In that crystallizing moment everything changed for Jesus. He was commissioned to begin his life of ministry.

I am always glad when we can celebrate Jesus’ baptism with the baptism of another of God’s children.

Baptism is one of the most sacred moments in the church’s life.

It is not the initiation into a social club, or a “coming out” party for a cute and well loved baby.

In baptism, the same divine presence that came upon Jesus on the Jordan River comes upon those who profess to follow him.

In baptism, we, too, are claimed as children of God and affirmed with God’s grace and unconditional love.

Like Jesus, we, too, are God’s beloved sons and daughters.

And like Jesus, we are commissioned to a life of ministry – that is to a life of faith, following God.

In a few moments we will once again enact the ancient ritual of baptism. Laura Taylor Buffington, who played the baby Jesus in our Christmas pageant three weeks ago, will again follow Jesus’ footsteps in this holy sacrament.

She will be baptized with water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And she will be anointed with oil in the sign of the cross on her forehead, sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever.

I tell children that although they may not be able to see it, the mark of that cross on their foreheads is there for their whole lives, visible to God, a sign that they belong to and are loved by God.

And then, as Jesus prayed after he was baptized, we will pray – for Laura and as a reminder for all of us.

I think it is the most beautiful prayer in the entire prayer book.

“Sustain Laura, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit,” we will pray. “Give her an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works.”

I cannot think of a better prayer for our children, or for ourselves.

To have an inquiring and discerning heart – to be curious and thirst for knowledge, to be willing to go beneath the surface, but also to be able to discern in this information age what is truth, to be able to tell the difference between right and wrong, between good and evil.

To have the courage to will and to persevere – to have the strength to stand up for what is right, to not be discouraged when obstacles and difficulties inevitably arise, to remain steady and true like the wise men following the star.

A spirit to know and to love God – to have an awareness of God’s presence in the world and in our lives, to know what is of God and what is not, and to love the source of all love and life.

The gift of joy and wonder in all God’s works – to be able to see the beauty in the world God has created, to be able to see the divine in each of God’s people, to have a sense of awe and mystery and respect for creation.

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Readings

Isaiah 43:1-7

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.”

Acts 8:14-17

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.

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.”

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