| The Rev. Catharine Montgomery | First Sunday after Epiphany |
| Grace Memorial Church | The Baptism of Our Lord |
| January 7, 2007 | Year C, RCL |
| Isaiah 43:1-7 | Psalm 29 | Acts 8:14-17 | Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 |
Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated to you; and then use us we pray, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen (BCP 833)
Whenever I hear Luke’s telling of the baptism of Jesus I picture Jesus standing in the river with water streaming down his face like tears, his face turned to the sky and eyes closed and lips moving. Luke says he was praying. Perhaps his prayer was something like the Prayer of Self-Dedication I just read from our Prayer Book. Perhaps Jesus was asking God to draw his heart, guide his mind, control his will…fill his imagination with all that he could do in his ministry. Someone asked me one time, “What does it mean to ask God to fill our imaginations?” It was a good question because the prayer seems to suggest that what we call ‘imagination’ is separate from the mind, heart, and will.
Theologian and writer Frederick Buechner says: Imagining is perhaps as close as humans get to creating something out of nothing the way God is said to. It is a power that to one degree or another everybody has or can develop…Like muscles it can be strengthened through practice and exercise. Buechner goes on to say that it is important to use imagination when you read the Bible – to let yourself enter into the story to see the sights and hear the sounds and feel the part. (Whistling in the Dark, pg. 64.)
Just as God uses prayer and dreams - God uses that same power of imagination to speak to us and enter into us and change our lives if we will allow it. Children use their imaginations all the time, but I think many adults let that power get weak in favor of the logical, analytical mind. That is why we are so blessed to be in the Episcopal Church that has changing seasons, the richness of religious symbols, the liturgical colors, the sacred music, bells and incense. All of these actions and symbols have the power to fill our imaginations and make another pathway for God to enter.
This week we entered the season of Epiphany. Now that Jesus is born, the season of Epiphany tells the colorful imaginative stories about who Jesus is and how his glory was shown to the world. In Epiphany Gentile kings come from the east bearing gifts for the Christ Child. In Epiphany we hear of Jesus’ baptism and renew our own Baptismal Covenant. The baptism of Jesus is one of the major spiritual events in his life, just as it is in ours.
Imagine for a moment that you have come to the River Jordan with a whole crowd to be baptized. The prophet, John the Baptist, is there saying if you come into these waters with me and repent your sins will be washed away. Imagine how it would feel to have your sins washed away…imagine how it would feel to start over…
John tells them that he only baptizes with water – he says that someone greater is coming and he will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. While you are wondering what he means, you notice a young man in the crowd. He goes into the water and is baptized and then you notice that he is deep in prayer. Imagine you see the heavens open and the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus and a voice comes from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Imagine what that would be like for you …to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit…to be loved by God in that way….. to dedicate the rest of your life to doing God’s will.
We can imagine that Jesus prayed because he had a close and ongoing relationship with God his Father. Jesus knew he was not alone and he knew he was blessed. Jesus prayed so he could see more clearly what God would have him to be. God filled his imagination with possibilities for his ministry. We can believe that Jesus prayed to receive power. Not for power to get what he wanted like a wish list, but power to do his Father’s will.
What we celebrate today is that baptism sets each of us apart as a particular person loved and named by God. “We are sealed by the Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever.” That is our primary identity. We are called by God to live out and live into the meaning of this incredible identity as a child of God. Doesn’t it follow that if prayer was important to Jesus for strength and guidance, we need to pray with every breath we take so we can live into our identity as Christians? If the Spirit responded to Jesus and we belong to him, can we believe that the Spirit responds to us too?
This is the first Sunday of a New Year. In one of my first sermons I asked that we dream big dreams for Grace. To dream of how we could serve this community and grow this church. It is the day of our Annual Meeting. We will look at all we have accomplished but most importantly we will dream – this year we will form a vision… and flesh out a vision… for ourselves and Grace Memorial. I am grateful for all of the ministries in this church that have helped others. I thank God for every one of you.
If Buechner is right that imagination is as close to creating something from nothing as humans can get… I challenge us again – let’s be strong in imagination! Let’s go for it! Let’s pray today that God fill our imaginations with possibilities that our mere mortal minds would never have thought of. In a moment we will renew our baptismal covenant, we will pray and then we will share in the sacrament of Christ’s body and blood. This is our chance to give God our full attention – anything could happen. Dear people of Grace, may almighty God, draw our hearts, guide our minds, fill our imaginations and so control our wills that this will be a new year full of peace, hope and an Epiphany of new possibilities for our lives and for this church. Amen.