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The Baptism Page
“Go forth and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit….and remember I am with you always.” – Matthew 28:19-20
Baptism is…..welcoming into the community of faith & the Body of Christ.
Baptism is…..belonging to God as “Christ’s own forever.”
Baptism is….washing of our sins and renewing our life in faith.
Baptism is…..a holy sacrament, an outward sign of God’s inward grace.
Baptism is…..a gift of God’s grace through the Holy Spirit.
The Setting for Sunday
We have just celebrated the birth of Christ and will experience his death and resurrection on Easter. However, one key event we should put in the same category is Jesus’ baptism. We have various weeks set aside for baptisms – first Sunday after Epiphany (Baptism of Jesus), Easter, Pentecost,Feast of the Transfiguration (Sunday nearest Aug. 6), All Saints Sunday, whenever the Bishop visits) . Whether we have a baptism or now, we usually include the section in the prayer book for the renewal of the Baptismal Covenant in the service. In the past we have also “sprinkled” people.
Baptism in the Episcopal Church
From the Episcopal Library “This is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ’s Body, the church. God establishes an indissoluble bond with each person in baptism. God adopts us, making us members of the church and inheritors of the Kingdom of God (BCP, pp. 298, 858). In baptism we are made sharers in the new life of the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of sins. Baptism is the foundation for all future church participation and ministry.”
From the Diocese of New York
We owe much to the Apostle Paul who, through his writings, left a record of how the early Christian community understood Baptism.
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by Baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-4).
Baptism was, for the early Christian community, a sacramental action to convey that one was experiencing spiritual conversion and renewal–the end of one life and the beginning of another in Christ. By using the metaphorical language and imagery of death, burial, and resurrection, the early community ceremonially expressed, that in Baptism, we die to our destructive and distorted ways of being, relating, and acting, and that by the goodness and faithfulness of God, we are raised from death to a new life, guided by and filled with the Spirit of God. It was an outward and visible sign of the spiritual transformation God was doing in one’s life. It was a symbolic action performed to depict what was happening within the life of one on a spiritual journey towards communion with God, the people of God, and all God’s creation.
Although the metaphor of being raised from death to new life is the dominant image of Christian Baptism in the New Testament, no single image or metaphor can exhaust the rich meaning of one’s conversion and experience of spiritual renewal. Consequently, there developed other images and metaphors in Scripture that express how the early Chrisitan community spoke of their conversion of life and experience of renewal in the Holy Spirit. Among them are:
Spiritual Rebirth (John 3:3-10)
Spiritual Awakening (Romans 8:37-39)
Initiation into the Body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:12-13)
Transformation of the whole person (Romans 12:1-2)
Made a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17)
To turn from darkness to light (Ephesians 5:8, Colossians 1:11-14)
To be saved (Titus 3:3-7)
One 0f the questions in baptism is whether infants or children should be baptized automatically or there is a specific age ?
Living the Baptismal Covenant
This is a mini catechism used at baptisms and on Easter and other special occasions, the Baptismal Covenant opens with a question-and-answer version of the statement of faith that is the Apostles’ Creed and adds questions regarding how we, as Christians, are called to live out our faith.
Our Baptismal Covenant as Lived in our Context (from the Diocese of San Diego)
1. Worship and Formation
“Will you continue in the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers? ”
“I will, with God’s help. “
We are daring and fearless followers of Jesus, empowered by dynamic and transformative worship and spiritual formation practices and programs.
2. Repentance and Reconciliation
“Will you resist evil, and whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord? “
“I will, with God’s help. “
We value repentance and reconciliation, acknowledging when we have turned away from God and one another, seeking wholeness and healing by turning back to God and one another. In this we seek to be a welcome and open community for all. If you have turned away from God, if you have tried to follow Jesus and have failed, or are trying for the first time, you are welcome here.
David Lose – Baptism as Acceptance
David Lose is the president of Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. Here he explores the importance of baptism in our social media influenced world:
“Baptism of Christ” – Joachim Patinir (c1515-1526)
I want to start with a question: how often do you think about your baptism? …
I’m asking you to think about all this, of course, because this Sunday, the first Sunday after the Epiphany, is the day on which we remember Jesus’ own baptism. And both the text from Mark and the day itself offer an opportunity to think more deeply, and claim more fully, the promises God made to us at our own baptism.
More importantly, however, I’m asking you to think about all this because I believe there is perhaps no more important event in our lives than our baptism. Let me explain.
The Secret of our Baptism
Dr. Heather Murray Elkins poignantly shares about the mystery and meaning of Christian baptism in this Youtube video. Part of the “Living the Questions” series. An amazing experience! She is Professor of Worship, Preaching, and the Arts at Drew Theological School and an ordained elder in the Methodist church.
The ‘Whys’ of Baptism – 3 questions
“The Baptism of Christ” – Daniel Bonnell
From Lawrence in “Disclosing New Worlds”
1. Why did Jesus get baptized in the wilderness and not the temple?
Mark uses geography as a narrative device to set up the opposition between Jesus (and what God is doing in Jesus) and the Temple (and what the religious authorities expect God to be doing). The wilderness has immediate echoes of the Exodus story. It is a hostile place. It is a place of suffering and death. It is the place where wild animals live and which hostile spirits were believed to inhabit. Yet it is also the place to meet God – in burning bushes and on a mountain. It is the place where Israel came to know Yahweh and received the Law. It is the place of refuge for Elijah when his life is in danger. It is the place where the persecuted faithful gather to await deliverance (like the Qumran community). It is the place where Yahweh’s voice is to be heard – the place of prophets.
It has political significance, too. It is the place to which political refugees fled for safety, and also the place, in Jesus’ time, where would-be revolutionaries gathered to train and plot treason – a gathering place for freedom fighters, terrorists and wanna-be messiahs. In Roman terms, it was a place of resistance and opposition – just as it had been in Ahab’s day, when Elijah and the other prophets gathered there because of their opposition to Ahab’s regime.
In other words, locating Jesus in the wilderness emphasizes what Mark has said in his opening verse: the message and ministry of Jesus is a resistance movement. Jesus is God’s one-person invasion force, because he exemplifies and personifies the Kingdom of God. It is this Kingdom that will stand forever, not Rome’s. He alone is the true Son of God, worthy of worship – not Caesar (remember: Mark has a Roman centurion declare that Jesus is the Son of God at the crucifixion). And, over against the Jewish religious authorities, the Kingdom of God that Jesus brings is not the kingdom they expect. It is not for Israel alone, but for the whole world. It is not a ‘holiness movement’, but a movement of grace that embraces the unholy. It is not for the rich and powerful but for the poor and marginalised. It is not a reinforcement or re-establishment of the Temple tradition: Jesus will pronounce judgment on the Temple and prophesy its destruction (Mark 13), but a return to the God of the Exodus and the God of the prophets – a return to the wilderness.
2. Why was Jesus baptized at all ?
In stripped back prose, Mark announces that Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just like everyone else who was there that day. The question is, why was Jesus baptized? It is clear that the baptism inaugurates his mission. It is equally clear that Jesus has no need of repentance (in the sense of being a sinner) – a fact that Matthew feels compelled to clarify when faced with Mark’s narrative (see Matthew 3: 13-15).
Recognizing the Sacred in an Beyond the Stories We Tell of the Baptism of Jesus – Pastor Dawn
Full storyBaptism is a beautiful welcoming moment in which the full potential of LOVE is glimpsed. All that hope all that potential, I can’t help but well up with joy at the very possibility that all the challenges that Jesus lived his life to teach us about, all the challenges to the way we are, come to us in the waters of baptism. In the waters of baptism we see beyond the drops of water to the very stuff that nourishes, grounds and sustains us in this life, and we also see the possibilities of what life might become if we love one another. When the waters of baptism touch the head of a child, they are anointed with possibility, the possibility of love, the possibility of peace, the possibility of joy, and yes the possibility of pain. And all that possibility comes to them in the context of a community that is both renewed by such beautiful potential and refreshed by the challenges of living into that baptism. For the Body into which we are born in the waters of baptism is the is the body of Christ, an incomplete body of imperfect people who are doing their best to follow a path toward a world in which everyone is loved; everyone has enough, and everyone can live in peace.
Just as the gospel-story-tellers crafted stories about Jesus baptism which enabled their people to recognize the sacred in Jesus, we too must craft our stories about baptism in ways that enable us to recognize the sacred in one another and I do mean the other. It is easy to see the sacred in a baby or in a loved one, but how do we see the sacred in the other? How do we see the sacred in the enemy, or on this day of all days, how do we recognize the sacred in the terrorist? How must the way we tell our stories change so that everyone can recognize the sacred? What epiphanies await us? What do we need to do to facilitate epiphanies?
So where was Jesus baptized ?
When we think of sites associated with the life of Jesus, we think of Bethlehem and Jerusalem. A third site, the site of Jesus baptism, has only assumed importance in the last two decades.
A former military area covered with mines is the site of the baptism of Jesus – “Bethany beyond the Jordan” and was not discovered until 1897 when a scholar Jerusalem traveled to Madaba and accidentally uncovered mosaic map that had been covered by plaster. The area had been known as Bethabara since the 4th century, actually by mistake since that site was at the crossing of the Jordan by Joshua. A 6th Century monastery was present at the site of the baptism (Saphsaphas) across the river and was documented by visitors since that time. It was the site of John the Baptist’s cave. Ancient Pilgrim accounts helped lead explorers to area in 1899. It is east of the Jordan River actually in Jordan today.
Two world wars and internal conflicts in 1948, 1967 and 1973 prevented the uncovering and full exploration of the site. Today, it is preserved as holy site by the Jordanian government.
Read more about Jesus place of baptism…
Alexander Shaia on Baptism
This Sunday’s text is regularly called “Jesus’ Baptism”. Grrrrr. By using this name we show disrespect for our Jewish mother and we lessen the power and understanding of Christian baptism.
Yes, we have the story of Jesus going down into the Jordan River this Sunday – because it is one of the three traditional accounts of The Feast of The Epiphany (radiance becoming manifest).
But for gosh sake – this is not a text of Christian baptism. Jesus is submitting to the Jewish rite of a mikvah bath. Yes in the first century, Judaism was using Greek terms to describe its own rituals. In the Greek of that century – a mikvah bath was called baptism. Two hundred years later, Judaism reverted back to its original name – mikvah bath – because baptism had come to be a name generally associated with the Christian ritual.
Words and names matter. Please help people understand that there is Jewish “baptism” that is now called a mikvah bath and there is Christian “baptism.” Each is quite distinct from the other.
However, there are two elements from this Mikvah Bath in the Jordan that Christianity brought into its own ritual of baptism.
Remember that the Jordan River – for the Jews of this time – is considered to be the place of the demonic – the place of one’s deep anxieties. Going down into the Jordan, was a visceral aspect of living through one’s most raw wounds for the sake of renewed life.
For this reason, Christianity chose running water (which is treacherous, potentially demonic water) to be the primary element of Christian baptism. The water here was not about cleansing, but rather this flowing water held a death-like experience.
Secondly, in the midst of a death-like experience – may each Christian entering such water – hear also Spirit’s voice that says, “You are my Beloved, in whom I am well pleased.”
In hearing this account of Jesus going into the flowing water of the Jordan to receive a Jewish mikvah bath – let us remember that Radiance Increases within us in equal measure to our willingness to live through our deepest anxieties – knowing that each of us is already ‘beloved’ and in which Spirit is well pleased.
PLEASE please let us respect our Jewish sisters and brothers by using the proper name for their ritual – a Mikvah Bath – and not using this Sunday to perform Christian baptism. This text is not a text of Christian baptism. Jesus is not receiving Christian baptism. The fullness and meaning of Christian baptism is an Easter story, not The Epiphany story.
Baptism in the movies
There are many films that use baptism and others that relate baptism themes:
1. Godfather (1972) Michael Rizzi’s baptism service is interspersed with the assassination of the heads of the five families. Michael Corleone stands as the child’s literal Godfather while simultaneously becoming the “Godfather” in the Cosa Nostra sense. An amazing sequence of images.
2. Paper Chase (1973) The whole movie shows the “baptism under fire” potential law students go through to become one of the “community.” As with early Christians who had a lot of work to do before being accepted, these students struggle with the new way of life and expectations at law school. The end of the movie suggests that some people find that going through such a baptism is a learning experience, but they don’t want to join the community because they see problems with it-or other things in life more valuable.
3. Forrest Gump (1987) In the opening sequence, the first thing we see is a feather dislodging from a dove flying overhead. The feather wafts along, almost alighting on several “acceptable” people, finally settling on Forrest, sitting on the bench, waiting for the bus. Mark 1:10, from this week’s Gospel: “…he saw…the Spirit descending like a dove on him.”
Study the book of Ruth and Esther with the Good Book Club
The Good Book Club is an invitation to all Episcopalians to join in reading the Bible as a community. Episcopalians will read a section every day through the Epiphany season.
The Club will distribute daily scripture readings, reflections, and teachings, from Epiphany, Friday, January 6, to Shrove Tuesday, February 21, 2023.
This year the club wll explore Ruth and Esther, books that explore the faithfulness and courage of two remarkable women.
The first thing to do is to sign up for updates which will senD the readings.
Link
https://www.goodbookclub.org/readings/
Sign up for update
Free Guide from Forward Movement
https://www.forwardmovement.org/Products/2667/ruth-and-esther-bible-study.aspx
Introduction to Ruth
https://www.goodbookclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Introduction-to-Ruth.pdf
Introduction to Esther
https://www.goodbookclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Introduction-to-Esther.pdf
Gospel Coalition Study
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/course/knowing-the-bible-ruth-and-esther/#week-1-overview-of-ruth
Live Course – Lindsay Hardin Freeman. Lindsay will examine these themes and others in Wednesday-night sessions in Epiphany from 8-9 p.m. E.T. from Jan. 11-Feb. 15, 2022.
https://www.churchnext.tv/library/live-class-examining-ruth-and-esther-191382/460347/about/
Newsletter, January, 2023
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The Epiphany Readings
The Epiphany readings are about travel, journey and ultimately sharing Christ’s light. But it is not easy as the opponents of Christ are present. Link to the readings:
Epiphany means “appearance of the Lord.” In the East, where it started, this feast was instituted not to recall the Magi, but the birth of Jesus, the Christmas, the appearance of the light. In the West—where Christmas was celebrated on December 25—it was received in the fourth century and became the feast of the “manifestation of the light of the Lord” to the Gentiles and the universal call to all people to salvation in Christ. Magi reveal the truth of John 1:9 – the true of God, coming into the world, enlightens all creation and every person. Every child is an incarnation of our beloved Savior.
The light image is significant. The word used for the “East” in the Gospel , “anatolai (plural)/anatole (singular)”, really means “the rising,” that is, the rising of the sun (our word “orient” comes from a Latin word with the same meaning: oriens). The word “anatole” would have had a number of resonances for the first Greek-speaking, Jewish-Christian hearers of Matthew’s story.
First, the rising of the sun in the East readily suggests the imagery of light, which is often associated with salvation in the Bible. The Old Testament reading for the day (Isaiah 60:1-6), to which the magi story clearly alludes (see especially verses 5-6), begins with the words, “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”
Isaiah’s vision of salvation, the light of the Lord shined, includes a pilgrimage of the nations, who will come to Israel’s light, to worship the God of Israel, bringing their gifts. With the story of the Magi, Matthew is telling us that this prophecy is fulfilled: guided by the light of the Messiah, the Gentiles (represented by the Magi) make their way to Jerusalem, to bring gold, frankincense and myrrh. The popular piety applied to each of these gifts a symbolic meaning: gold indicates the recognition of Jesus as king, incense represents the adoration in front of his divinity, myrrh recalls his humanity—this fragrant resin will be remembered during the passion (Mk 15:23; Jn 19:39).
Even the story of the mounts was not invented for nothing. It is still the first reading today that speaks to us of “a troop of camels and dromedaries” that come from the East (Is 60:6). Unlike the shepherds who contemplated and rejoiced in front of the salvation that the Lord had revealed to them, the magi prostrated themselves in worship (v. 11). Their gesture recalls the court’s ceremony—the prostration and kissing of the feet of the king—or kissing the ground before the image of the deity. The pagans have therefore recognized as their king and their God, the child of Bethlehem and offered him their gifts.
Isaiah
The Isaiah reading is from the 3rd part of that book and is the reading for Epiphany because of its emphasis on the nations (Gentiles) bringing wealth to Jerusalem—and because of the mention of camels and gold and frankincense in verse 6 which makes it an especially good pairing with the story of the Wise Men in Matthew 2:1-12, the traditional Gospel reading for Epiphany.
In 587 B.C. Jerusalem was destroyed and exiles led to Babylon. Years pass and the hope of return of the exiles from Babylon become increasingly more hopeless.
Darius, King of Persia, has permitted the people of Israel to return to Jerusalem. Chapter 60 starts with a call to “Arise, shine; for your light has come” (60:1). Joy, prosperity and salvation (“light”) are now in the city; God is with them; they will reflect the presence and power (“glory”) of God. In the Near East, dawn comes suddenly: dark almost instantly becomes day. Many peoples will live in “darkness” (v. 2, gloom, oppression) but Israel will be different: God will come to them, be present with them and act for them. Many nations will come to pay homage to God.
By 515 BCE some of the exiles have returned to Jerusalem. Jerusalem as still in ruin, no lights were on and from the desert and the sea people came but to plunder. However, they rebuilt the Temple. The return, however, was not without problems: the returnees found themselves in conflict with those who had remained in the country and who now owned the land, and there were further conflicts over the form of government that should be set up.
Despite the understandable dismay and bewilderment, Israel did not even think that the Lord had deceived them or not fulfill his promise. Even in the most difficult moments, the prophecy continued to be repeated: “The treasures of all nations will flow here” (Hg 2:7), “The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring offerings; the kings of the Arabia and Saba will offer tributes” (Ps 72:10)
Ephesians
The term mystery occurs twice in the Gospels—only in the famous phrase of Jesus to the Apostles: “To you is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (Mk 4:11; Mt 13:11)—but it is used frequently in the letters of Paul and Revelation.
At the time of Jesus it was thought that God would reveal his arcane projects to some persons through dreams, visions, raptures in the sky.
In today’s reading, Paul says instead that the way to attain knowledge of the mystery is different.
Given charge of revealing the thoughts and plans of the Lord are not the visionaries, but the preachers, the apostles, the prophets of the Christian communities. They receive from God the gift of penetrating understanding of his mystery.
In the second part of the reading (vv. 5-6), the apostle finally clarifies what the mystery consists of: it is the salvation of all peoples. The legacy of the promises made to Abraham and his descendants is not an exclusive privilege of Israel, but is shared by all peoples. In the past generations not even the most careful people had understood this plan of God.
They were convinced that the pagan nations are like nothing before God, nothing and vanity (Is 40:17). But now, in Christ, God reveals that even the Gentiles are “fellow heirs” “partakers” of the promises and form, with the members of the chosen people, “one body” (v. 6).
Paul, the “very least of all the saints” (v. 8, for he persecuted Christians), has, in the paradoxical way of Christianity, become the apostle to the Gentiles, to bring us the news of the inexhaustible “riches” of Christ, and to have all understand that, in God’s plan established in the beginning, Gentiles are to form an integral part of the new Israel. It is through the church, the beneficiary of God’s gifts, that God’s saving ways (“wisdom”, v. 10) are to be made known to evil heavenly beings (“rulers and authorities”) who were thought before Christ’s death, to control humanity. This role of the church is part of God’s purpose, carried out in Christ. Faith in Christ gives us the ability to come into God’s presence boldly
This mystery of God has already been formulated by Paul in the previous chapter with moving words that are worth mentioning: “Remember—he says to the Ephesians—that you were without Christ, you did not belong to the community of Israel: the covenants of God and his promises were not for you; you had no hope and were without God in this world. But now, in Christ Jesus and by his blood, you who were once far off have come near.
For Christ is our peace; he who has made the two peoples one, destroying in his own flesh the wall—the hatred—which separated us, making peace. He came to proclaim peace; peace to you who were far off, peace to those who were near” (Eph 2:12-17).
The initial passage of th+is letter fits perfectly into the theme of this festival celebrating the appearance of the light of Christ to the Gentiles.
Matthew
Matthew’s story is about “wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising,[b] and have come to pay him homage.”
Herod’s fears are aroused because his dynasty may be ended. He consults the religious experts to find out where the magi should look for the Messiah. They answer with Scripture: they loosely blend Micah 5:2 and 2 Samuel 5:2. At David’s anointing as king, the elders quote God as saying “he shall be shepherd of my people Israel”.
The sincerity of the magi’s worship of Jesus is contrasted with Herod’s insincere pledge to worship Jesus. In reality, King Herod will try to eliminate this newborn, rival “king of the Jews,” who threatens to usurp his title! Matthew probably has Jesus’ death already in view when he has the magi refer to Jesus as “the king of the Jews” (2:2) rather than as Christ (cf. 2:4), in anticipation of the charge under which Jesus will eventually be crucified (27:11, 29, 37)
The visit of the magi to “worship” (or “pay homage to”) Jesus alarms Herod, who, after he has been fooled by the magi (2:16), will resolve to kill all the (male) children in Bethlehem and environs two years and younger. Herod’s plot constitutes the reason for the holy family’s flight to Egypt and return. The flight to and return from Egypt together with the slaughter of the innocents serve to make Jesus into a type of both Moses (who was also delivered from a cruel tyrant; Exodus 1-2) and the nation of Israel as a whole (God’s “Son” whom he called out of Egypt; Matthew 2:15; Hosea 11:1). As such Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy and of the (hi)story of Israel. Later in Matthew Jesus will play the role of a new Moses (5:1) and of a new “Israel” in the wilderness who remains faithful to God in temptation (4:1-11). So also the story of the magi shows Jesus to be the fulfillment of prophecy
From the earliest days of the Church, the Magi in the reading from Matthew have aroused keen interest among the faithful. They were one of the favorite themes of the early Christian artists: sarcophagi and paintings appear more often with the same scene of the Nativity.
Christians were not satisfied with the limited information that can be found in the Gospel text. Too many details are missing: where they came from? How many were there? What were their names? What kind of transport did they use? What did they do after returning to their home countries? Where are they buried?
To answer these questions, many legends were born. It was said that they were kings. They were three: one came from Africa, one from Asia and one from Europe, and that one was black, one yellow and one white. Guided by the star, they met at the same point and then they walked together on the last stretch of the journey to Bethlehem. They were called Gaspar (the beardless youth and colorful) Melchior (the hoary old man with long beard), Balthazar (the mature man with beard). They were clearly the symbols of the three ages of life. They were served by camels and dromedaries for the trip. After returning home, when they had already reached the ripe old age of 120 years, one day they saw the star again. They departed and found themselves back together in a city of Anatolia, to celebrate the Christmas Mass. On the same day, they were happy and they died. Their remains went round the world: first in Constantinople, then to Milan until 1162, when they were transferred to the cathedral of Cologne, Germany.
To clarify the story, it was not said that there were three, and that they were magi, not kings. They had to belong to the category of diviners, astrologers, well known and appreciated people in antiquity for their wisdom, ability to interpret dreams, predict the future and read the will of God through the ordinary or extraordinary events of life.
There is no wonder that Matthew has introduced the magi in his story. He has chosen them as a symbol of all the pagans that, before the Jews themselves, opened their eyes to the light of Christ.
With respect to the star, it was widely believed that the birth of a great person was accompanied by the appearance in the sky of his star: big for the wealthy, tiny for the poor, blurry for the weak. The appearance of a comet was thought to be a sign of the advent of a new emperor.
The star referred to by Matthew is not to be found in heaven, but in the Bible.
In Numbers 22–24 there was a curious story of Balaam and his talking donkey. Balaam was a soothsayer, a magus of the East, just like the ones mentioned in the Gospel today. One day he unwittingly makes a prophecy: “I see it but it is not an event that will happen shortly; I behold him but not near. A star shall come forth from Jacob, a king, born of Israel, rises… One of Jacob will dominate over his enemies” (Num 24:17-19).
So Balaam, “the man of penetrating eye” (Num 24:3) spoke, about 1200 years before the birth of Jesus. Since then, the Israelites began to anxiously wait for the rising of this star that was none other than the Messiah himself.
Presenting to us the wise men of the East who see the star, Matthew wants to tell his us: from the descendant of Jacob the expected deliverer rose. It is Jesus. He is the star.
Videos, Jan 1, 2023 – Lessons and Carols
1. Introduction
2. Bidding Prayer
Epiphany
Epiphany – Jan 6 until Lent begins Feb. 22, 2023
Adoration of the Magi – Bartholomäus Zeitblom (c. 1450 – c. 1519)
The English word “Epiphany” comes from the Greek word epiphaneia, which means “appearing” or “revealing.” Epiphany focuses on God’s self-revelation in Christ.
Epiphany celebrates the twelfth day of Christmas, the coming of the Magi to give homage to God’s Beloved Child.
The Epiphany celebration remembers the three miracles that manifest the divinity of Christ. The celebration originated in the Eastern Church in AD 361, beginning as a commemoration of the birth of Christ. Later, additional meanings were added – the visit of the three Magi, Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River with the voice from heaven that identifies Jesus as God’s son, and his first miracle at the wedding in Cana. These three events are central to the definition of Epiphany, and its meaning is drawn from these occurrences.
3 saints after Christmas Day
1. St. Stephen Dec. 26
Stephen was among the earliest Christian martyrs, stoned to death for his beliefs. St. Paul not only witnessed the event but held the garments of those stoning Stephen which he regretted later on and carried a lasting sense of guilt.
2. John the Apostle Dec. 27
John, one of the Apostles, possibly lived the longest life associated with the Gospel, an author in that time and Evangelist spreading the Gospel to many in the Mediterranean area who were not of Jewish background. He is believed to be the only Apostle not martyred for the cause. He is associated with the Gospel that bears his name, 3 Epistles and possible authorship of the Book of Revelation.
3. Holy Innocents Dec. 28
The term “Holy Innocents” comes from Matthew’s Gospel Chapter 2. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, King Herod, fearing for his throne, ordered that all the male infants of Bethlehem two years and younger be killed. These children are regarded as martyrs for the Gospel — “martyrs in fact though not in will.” This can be compared to the conduct of Pharoah in Exodus 1:16. “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.”
Bulletin, Christmas Day, Dec. 25, 2022
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ECM gives $1,250 to the Community for Thanksgiving and Christmas, 2022
Each year the Episcopal Church Men (ECM) provide support to those in need during the holidays by coordinating with the Caroline County Department of Social Services. In pre-pandemic times they donated Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas gifts to specific families from Social Services. With the Pandemic the Department of Social Services will continue providing families with secure store specific grocery limited gift cards.
This year $500 was given for Thanksgiving and $750 for Christmas for a total of $1,250. It was the third year since 2020 that over $1,000 was provided!
Thanks to all who contributed and to Ken Pogue and the leadership in the ECM for their work in organizing their ministry and this outreach effort!
Christmas articles
Christmas , December 25, 2022
Explore Christmas Eve– A study of the scriptures, art and the meaning of the Christmas Scriptures.
Explore the Art of the Nativity How the Nativity has been viewed by artists
Rediscovering the love of God this Christmas- a one minute video from the Acts8Movement of the Episcopal Church
Origins of 30 Christmas Carols
Unlikely Christmas Carols: Bruce Cockburn’s “Cry Of A Tiny Baby”
A post from teacher and theologian David Lose: “So maybe I shouldn’t describe this Christmas carol as “unlikely” in that Bruce Cockburn has explored the Christian story and theology, along with issues of human rights, throughout his forty-year career. But it may very well be unfamiliar to you. If so, you’re in for a treat, as the Canadian folk and rock guitarist, singer-songwriter’s beautiful retelling of the Christmas story blends elements of both Luke’s tender narrative of the in-breaking good news of God to the least likely of recipients – a teenage girl, her confused fiancee, down-and-out shepherds – with Matthew’s starkly realistic picture of a baby that threatens kings by his mere existence.
Here’s the link to a video with the words .
For more David Lose writing about the Christmas Eve and Christmas readings, check out the “Christmas sermon I need to hear.”
“Space in the Manger”
by Meghan Cotter. Meghan is executive director of Micah Ecumenical Ministries, a faith-based nonprofit that offers holistic care to the community’s street homeless
“Some time back, I watched a friend in need attempt to repair five years worth of disintegrating relationships. The library, a local gymnasium, a number of area businesses and even her family had cut off ties in response to her boisterously disruptive behavior.
” She’d picked up criminal charges—a few nuisance violations, a trespassing or two and an assault on an officer. At times, even the agencies trying to help her had been left with little choice than dismissing her from their facilities. But the more the community isolated her, the more volatile became her symptoms. She grew angrier and louder. Her self-appointment as the spokesperson for her homeless peers turned radical, even threatening. Feeling ignored and stripped of personhood, she waltzed into a church one Sunday, intent on being heard. Just in time for the sermon she rose from the congregation, rolled out a sleeping bag and unleashed a number of choice words to convey the plight of Fredericksburg’s homeless.
” The following morning, the church pastor faced a critical decision. In the interest of safety for his congregation, he too considered banning her from his church building. Instead, he made up his mind to find a way to help this woman. By the end of the week, she was hospitalized and taking medications. Within the month she had stepped down to Micah’s respite home, which cares for homeless individuals when they are discharged from the hospital. She realized how sick she really was, and a new person emerged before our eyes. She reunited with family, paid off fines, regained her driver’s license, became remarkably motivated to comply with doctor’s appointments. She set goals—seeking disability, but only temporarily, going back to school, earning a nursing degree and finding a way to productively address the needs of the community’s homeless.
“Christmas on the Edge” – Malcolm Guite
Christmas sets the centre on the edge; The edge of town, the outhouse of the inn, The fringe of empire, far from privilege And power, on the edge and outer spin Of turning worlds, a margin of small stars That edge a galaxy itself light years From some unguessed at cosmic origin. Christmas sets the centre at the edge.
And from this day our world is re-aligned A tiny seed unfolding in the womb Becomes the source from which we all unfold And flower into being. We are healed, The end begins, the tomb becomes a womb, For now in him all things are re-aligned.
Alexander Shaia – “Solstice, Shepherds & Your Animal Spirit”
Alexander Shaia is the author of Heart and Mind: The Four-Gospel Journey for Radical Transformation. A number of years we read the book together in Christian ed.
In this video he is talking about the shepherds in Luke’s Gospel. The video starts at the 2:42 mark to get to his main message:
You can read portions of the transcribed text here
“The text is really primarily about your life whenever your life is in the deepest night, when your life is in the deepest dark.”
“The Beauty of the Shepherds story in Luke is that it tells about the journey we make hearing deep in the night of our life an angel announce that there is a birth but that we have make a journey through the night to the dawn where we will see with our own eyes that fresh radiance born before us.”
A Christmas Message from Bishop Goff – “Where is this stupendous stranger?”
“So I invite us all to a spiritual discipline in this holy season and that is to spend ome time with someone you don’t ordinarily engage…maybe someone of a different generation either much older or much younger than you or someone of a different race or ethnicity, a different culture or religion, a different economic circumstance.
“Have a cup of coffee together or a meal together, talk and listen deeply. Look for the face of Christ in that person. Because as we come to really know a stranger in our midst we welcome Christ who was himself a stranger and we find surprising connections that we never imagined with other natives of this world God made.
Christmas Eve , December 24, 1968, at the Moon with Apollo 8
53 years ago on Christmas Eve we witnessed the moving reading of the first 10 verses of Genesis for the largest audience up to that time. They were told to something appropriate. The astronauts have reflected on the event. A newspaper friend of Borman tried to think of what to say and he could come up with nothing after a night’s work. His wife said (raised in convent in France) suggested, “Why don’t you start in the beginning” He said “Where?”. She said “Genesis in the Bible.” They reflected later – “Why didn’t we think of that.” Borman explained they tried to convey not happen stance but power behind world and behind life gave it meaning. As he later explained, “I had an enormous feeling that there had to be a power greater than any of us-that there was a God, that there was indeed a beginning.”
The full story is here
Videos, Advent 4, Dec. 18, 2022
1. Candle Lighting Advent 4
2. Hymn – “Creator of the stars of night”
3. Sermon – Advent 4 – “Fear”
4. Offertory – “He shall feed his flock”
Sermon, Advent 4, Dec. 18, 2022 -“God with ALL of us for the good of all of us”
Sermon, Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A 2022
Isaiah 7:10-16, Matthew 1:18-25
Fear is an awful thing.
Fear can pounce, overwhelming us unexpectedly. Fear can also be like a seed, planted in our minds, a seed that takes root and grows, and takes over our minds like one of those kudzu vines down south that grows out of control, covers everything in its paths, and kills everything under it.
We, too, must deal with the inevitable fears that come to us in this life, for if we do not, fear will take over and kill us.
Dealing with fear can be next to impossible, though, for fear, once it takes root, is so overwhelming.
So here’s the good news in today’s gospel.
God is with us, and God wants to help us deal with our fears. Today’s lessons give us some examples.
King Ahaz in today’s Old Testament reading is filled with fear.
Ahaz is the king of a small nation, Judah. His neighbors, Israel and Syria, are about to invade his nation to force him into an alliance with them so that he’ll have to join in their fight against Assyria, a powerful country that is threatening to overwhelm all of the small nations around it.
God knows that Ahaz is full of fear, and so God says, “Ask me for a sign.”
God is telling Ahaz—”I am with you, Ahaz, and I will help you deal with your fear.”
But Ahaz turns God down. “No, I will not ask for a sign and put the Lord to the test,” he says.
Then the prophet Isaiah says that even though Ahaz doesn’t want it, the Lord will give him a sign anyway.
And the sign is that a young woman is with child and shall bear a son and will call him Immanuel, and that sign means “God with us.” And before the baby grows up, the two nations that Ahaz is worried about will be deserted. In other words, those two kings will be destroyed and Ahaz won’t have to fear them.
But Ahaz chooses to ignore the sign from God and continues to let fear drive his decisions. He turns to the king of Assyria for help, a bad plan, for in the end, Assyria brings Ahaz and Judah to ruin.
If only Ahaz had only paid attention to God’s sign and acted accordingly!
Then we come to Joseph in Matthew’s gospel. Joseph has found out that Mary is pregnant. And so Joseph is frightened. He is caught in a great dilemma. Break the law and take Mary as his wife anyway? Let Mary go? If he lets her go, her life will be in danger, for the penalty she might face for her pregnancy is death.
What to do!
Joseph decides to dismiss Mary quietly, hoping that she will not be exposed to public disgrace.
But after he makes this mental resolve, God comes to Joseph in a dream. The angel tells Joseph not to be afraid, because wouldn’t you be afraid if an angel showed up and started talking to you?
And then the angel gives Joseph a sign, the same one that Ahaz had received so long ago.
A virgin will conceive and bear a son, whose name will be Emmanuel, God with us!
God with us.
When we find ourselves full of fear, that’s the time to look for a sign from God, for God is with us in our fear, and we will get through the fear to the other side if we welcome God into the fear.
But how do we receive signs from God when we are afraid?
Prophets like Isaiah and angels like the one who appeared to Joseph in a dream seem to be in short supply these days, but we need not despair. God still speaks to us in an infinite variety of ways, especially when we are full of fear, or facing an unexpected challenging situation. God will speak to us in our fears and will sustain us as we deal with those fears.
Some of you know Salli Hartman. Her husband, Frank, died of ALS a few years ago. Can you imagine the fear that Frank and Salli felt when the doctor told them that Frank had ALS? What horrible news.
So here’s what happened, and I’m sharing this with Salli’s permission. As they both agonized over what was ahead, Salli received a sign from God, a curious and maybe unwanted at that moment sign, a sign about the future that would require trust in God and patience. Within forty-eight hours of Frank’s diagnosis, Salli felt a very clear call from God to become a deacon in the Episcopal Church. But wait, she had to take care of Frank! As time passed, though, Salli realized that this call to the diaconate was a sign that God would be with her through Frank’s illness and death, and that God had a plan for her and her life after Frank was gone. That was a powerful sign! Salli trusted in God and had patience with God’s timing. Today, she is an ordained deacon and is serving at St Mary’s, over in Colonial Beach.
Now here’s a literal sign from my own life. Earlier this year, I had some tough decisions to make and just didn’t know how I’d manage to do what I felt God was asking me to do. I was full of fear on many levels.
God provided signs about what I should do, and I won’t go into all of that because to tell you about how God’s grace has been in my life in so many ways this year would take hours. But I want to share this one sign because it meant so much to me in the moment.
One rainy cold night, I was driving and trying to deal with a series of alarming texts. I pulled into a parking lot to answer the texts. And there, right in front of me in the window of the store where I had stopped was a hand painted wooden sign, and here’s what the sign said.
“I can do all things through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13.
That handpainted wooden sign was a literal sign from God. What reassurance I felt.
The person who painted that sign and put it in the window could have had no idea that I would see the sign and know that God was speaking directly to me.
God has given me strength this past year.
And God will give you strength too, in your greatest fears.
The signs you receive from God may be enigmatic, or the signs may be literal, but God will speak directly to you—and I won’t discount prophets and angels speaking to you, even in our profane times.
So the next time you find yourself full of fear, expect a sign from God that God is with you. God will sustain you. God will give you strength and courage to deal with your fears.
There’s one other thing that I hope you’ll remember from today’s readings. God is with us in our fears and gives us signs not just for our own benefit, but for the greater benefit to those around us and to the rest of the world.
If Ahaz had paid attention to God’s sign and had resolved to wait on God rather than Assyria, the nation of Judah may have been saved rather than destroyed.
Joseph paid attention to the sign God sent him, and in so doing raised the boy who would turn out to be the Savior of the world.
In this season of preparation, we get to remember all over again that God gives all of us the same sign that God gave to Ahaz and to Joseph so long ago.
“Look, the virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call his name Immanuel.”
God with us.
God with ALL of us for the good of all of us.
God’s signs to us, when we receive them, allow us to be part of God’s eternal work of creating beginnings from endings, bringing life out of death, and making all things new.
Arts and Faith, Advent 4, Year A —
In these last days of Advent, daylight is short, the weather is cold, and we are weary of the stress and hustle and bustle of preparing for the holidays. In The Dream of Saint Joseph by Anton Raphael Mengs (1773), we meet the sleeping Joseph, who dozes off at his workbench. He is worn out, like we might be these days. His sleep is heavy with the burden of heartbreak and hard decisions, his dreams haunted by the fading hope of a life and family that might not be. His cloak and dark garments weigh on his shoulders as if to symbolize his burden.
Into his dark and heavy sleep enters the light of an angel. The angel illuminates the scene with a lightness to her whole being—an image to balance Joseph’s burden. She is light, she is hope, she is assurance, she is direction, and she is purpose. Her finger points boldly into the darkest corner of the scene as if to say: This, your deepest and darkest fear and worry, is where the Good News of Jesus Christ will meet you. Do not be afraid.
For Joseph, his greatest burden will become his greatest blessing. His dream is a consolation to us all in these darkest days of the year, whether we experience the darkness externally or internally. The light of Christ will shine to dispel the darkness—where in your life do you yearn for it most?