Epiphany IV

Sermon for Hope Episcopal Church

Houston, TX

By The Rev. Martha Frances+

Year C Epiphany IV

28 January 2007

Text: Luke 4: 21-30

Other Readings:Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6; I Corinthians 13: 1-13

This morning’s readings give us a wealth of material to apply to our lives today, & the readings have a lot in common. So we’ll look primarily at the Gospel to explore what God presents to us today, but we’ll also take a look or two at the other lessons.

Several points stand out as I’ve meditated this week. First, God takes the initiative in reaching out to us with the Good News, desiring to share with us & hoping that we will respond. Secondly, God’s intention is that all of humanity be included in God’s reign although we humans invariably try to limit God’s blessings to our own group or at least those of which we approve. Finally, God’s abundant gifts to us are intended not just for our own edification & comfort but for the whole community which ultimately means the global village. Let’s look at each of these premises in our scriptures.

Although we can certainly say that Jesus, God’s Son, reaches out to the neighbors in Nazareth through his reading & interpreting the Isaiah passage in the synagogue (remember we read that passage last week?), our most obvious example of God’s making the first move toward us is in the lesson from Jeremiah, God’s call to Jeremiah to the prophetic vocation. Not only does God commission Jeremiah when he is only a boy, but God also has had intentions for Jeremiah’s future even before he was born.

God tells Jeremiah that he is to be a prophet to the nations (we’ll get back to that part in a few minutes), & God doesn’t take “no” for an answer. Can’t you just hear Jeremiah whining, “Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy”? God responds that Jeremiah is to go where God sends him, to whatever people are there, & God will tell Jeremiah what to say. Just to make sure Jeremiah gets the point, God touches his mouth & then sends him on his way to all nations & kingdoms. God definitely reaches out & chooses whom God wills, equipping the saints for ministry, as Ephesians puts it. Jeremiah goes on to be a great prophet & gets himself in a lot of trouble, even getting dropped down into a well, all in response to God’s commissioning him. The call is not just to those of us who wear our collars backwards; God reaches out to each of us to spread good news to the nations & peoples, or at least those with whom we come in contact.

Secondly, God reaches out way beyond our comfort zone to people we wouldn’t even give the time of day to if we had our say in the matter. God really doesn’t discriminate as we tend to do as followers are chosen; God seems to accept everyone.

Remember last week we were told that at first the crowds were very impressed with Jesus? He returned to Nazareth with a good report preceding him, & today’s gospel tells us all spoke well of him, amazed at what he had to say. Almost immediately, however, the crowd begins to ask questions about him; “Isn’t this Joseph’s son? Who does he think he is?” And a little later, we’re told the crowd flies into a rage, drives him out of town, intending to hurl him off a cliff. How do we explain the change of attitude of people who had known Jesus all his life?

Well, you know there are privileges to being the hometown boy, but there are also obligations. Jesus is supposed to give preference to his family & village, yet he’s been preaching & performing miracles over in Capernaum & goodness knows where else. Capernaum is in Galilee, the text tells us, & is probably a city with more Gentiles than Jews. Jesus’ Jewish family & neighbors certainly don’t like the idea of Jesus’ doing for Gentiles what he hasn’t done first for them.

Not only that, but Jesus points out God’s desire for all to be included with 2 stories from their own scriptures, both of which show God’s healing touch upon Gentiles, not Jews. Elijah could certainly have healed any number of Jewish children while providing for them & their mothers’ welfare, but instead, Elijah was led to the widow at Zarephath in Sidon to take care of her & heal her son. Likewise, Elisha didn’t cure a Jewish person of leprosy but Naaman the Syrian. Now it is downright rude for Jesus to suggest that God offers healing & wholeness to foreigners before even the Jews are healed.

Does this sound anything like churches & other groups in today’s world? We are sure that we know to whom God offers love, healing, forgiveness, & the right hand of fellowship to become part of our community. We want to make sure it’s folks like us who are the privileged. Jesus comes along & emphasizes our responsibility to the poor, the hungry, the dispossessed, the captives---indeed all those people from the Isaiah passage we read last week. Just in case you think it’s only in other fancy churches where parishioners want to keep other folks out, I hear it more often than I like to admit here at Hope.

I learned at Lord of the Streets that even those who have few material resources themselves want to be sure they’re included in the “in group” & that someone else is left out. All through the gospels, we see Jesus including people whom we’d just as soon leave out. Jesus wipes away all that judgmentalism & tells & shows us that salvation is available to all. It’s a lesson we must always keep in mind, especially when we want to exclude other people. Who are the people whom we demonize in our own society & beyond? Remember that those people are just as precious in God’s sight as you or I are. We must constantly be on the watch for those prejudices in our own hearts.

Finally, God doesn’t feed the hungry or clothe the naked just for their own sakes, & God certainly doesn’t give people spiritual gifts so they can feel better about themselves & feel better than everyone else. Jesus is pretty clear in the gospel for last Sunday & today that we’re all in this together, & we’re supposed to take care of each other. Getting along together & affirming each other’s gifts are not any easier to do in a church community than anywhere else, & that was obviously true in the early church too. We know that because of all the times Paul & other epistle writers have to admonish the young Christian churches to use their spiritual gifts to strengthen the whole community, not just to act like super Christians themselves.

We’re all learning, one day at a time, to live together in love & care & to reach out to share Christ’s love with others. God has already offered it, so we’re just cooperating with God’s plan to go into the streets & nooks & crannies of Houston & invite others to come & see a Christian community in action. God offers unconditional love to all, even those we’d just as soon not be in relationship with, so we might as well start loving them instead of trying to set them apart from us. This going into all the world—even the parts of it that our lives touch most closely—is pretty exhausting, but we’re not asked to do it alone. In fact, that’s one reason why we’re supposed to be building up the church, not going it alone. During this time of Epiphany, may we show forth Christ’s light to the nations, or at least to all whom we meet. Amen.

Epiphany III

Sermon for Hope Episcopal Church
Houston, TX
By The Rev. Martha Frances+
Year C Epiphany III
21 January 2007

Text: Luke 4: 14-21
Other Readings: Nehemiah 8:1-3,5-6,8-10; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 12: 12-31a

Last week we revisited Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding at Cana, & today we move on to Luke’s presentation of his inaugural teaching in his hometown of Nazareth. As we listen to Jesus’ important “firsts” during the Epiphany season, perhaps the “showings forth” or “manifestations” of Jesus’ actions & wisdom will guide us to our own epiphanies as Jesus touches our lives in new ways. We may also learn how to share the love & way of Jesus’ life with others, continuing the Epiphany call to let our light shine before others, even to the ends of the earth.

Immediately prior to this passage in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is baptized, receives the Holy Spirit, & then undergoes wilderness temptations. We’re assured that Jesus is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit when he returns to his hometown of Nazareth. Jesus has been praised for his early teaching in the synagogue, & don’t you imagine he’s excited yet a bit apprehensive upon entering the synagogue where as a youth he first sat at the feet of other rabbis to learn the Law & the Prophets as well as the lore of Jewish holy men? Sort of like our going back to a high school reunion.

Back at home, Jesus went to the synagogue, as was his custom, the text says, because it was Sabbath, &, as a good Jewish man, he participated in worship & study. Here in the one synagogue visit recorded by Luke, Jesus affirms 3 of the most important Jewish traditions: the observation of the Sabbath, the centrality of Scripture, & the importance of synagogue worship. As a visiting adult male, he was invited to read from the Prophets & elaborate on the reading, so there’s nothing unusual about his actions on this day. Moreover, I would imagine that the hometown rabbis remembered how good a student he had been.

Notice that he stands up to read, just as we do in worship, & the people would have stood in reverence & affirmation for the reading of the scripture. When you stand for the Gospel reading, just as when Jesus read the selection from the prophet Isaiah, you don’t have to stand all morning long like the people did to hear Nehemiah read in our first lesson for today!

From Isaiah, Jesus reads one of the Servant Songs, one you’re probably familiar with, just as we sang/read today. This passage outlines the hope of Israelite people for the long-awaited Messiah, but notice how Jesus emphasizes that it indeed applies to him, that they are seeing & listening to the fulfillment of their hopes & dreams for a Messiah, a Christ. Just in case they don’t realize that he’s describing himself when he reads Isaiah’s prophecy, he ends the reading by stating clearly, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” You’ll have to return next week to find out how the people responded to this proclamation.

However, we have much to learn today, & to be encouraged by, in seeing how this servant song describes Jesus so aptly & also how the same actions of Jesus predicted in this passage from Isaiah relate to us today. Looking back upon Jesus’ life, death, & resurrection, we can say, “Of course, the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jesus. Jesus was God’s son, so of course, God’s Spirit was upon him,” but we can certainly appreciate how his old neighbors might say, “Who does he think he is? I remember when he used to work in his father’s carpenter shop. He was always a good kid, but going off to Lord-knows-where has certainly made him think a lot of himself.”

We miss the next part unless we remember that the word “Messiah” or “Christ” means “anointed,” so Jesus is telling them right here who he is. They don’t “get it,” at least not yet, but Jesus has declared he is the one set apart—anointed—for his role as Savior but also as one who calls not only Israel but all the world to a new relationship with God. He doesn’t come to wipe Israel’s enemies off the face of the earth as many had hoped a Messiah would do, but he comes to challenge the way things are in their society & to call everyone to live a more giving life. In fact, we can read all the rest of the books of Luke & Acts in light of Jesus’ self-revelation here. In the words of Isaiah, he sets forth his own mission statement—what his intentions are in his ministry.

Jesus says he has come to bring good news to the poor, & certainly for countless poor in the centuries which have followed, Jesus’ Gospel, the word that means good news, has lifted up millions of people who are poor in lots of ways. “The poor” includes not only all who are on the bottom of the economic scale—meaning the impoverished & the homeless—but also those who are outcast for any reason: race, gender, physical or mental limitations, color of skin or slant of eyes, degree of education, sexual orientation, cleanliness or manner of dress. We humans are amazing in the ways in which we can separate ourselves from others & set ourselves above or below other categories of people. Jesus doesn’t make those distinctions; he is convinced his purpose is to extend the Gospel to ALL. That’s enough to make anyone who believed that the Messiah was to come to save only the Jews nervous. We need to be very careful when we think we’re smart enough to figure out who belongs in God’s kingdom & who doesn’t. No wonder Jesus told us that God is the judge & we aren’t.

When Jesus says God has sent him to proclaim release to the captives, he uses the word for “sent” which means he has a commission from someone else, in this case God, to free people from whatever keeps them captive. The word “release” was originally meant to forgive debts, & many people then & now find themselves trapped in a web of debts & hopelessness because they see no chance to get out of debt. There was a Jewish concept which may have actually happened from time to time called Jubilee. The idea was that every 7 years people should be released from debt so they could start from zero instead of constantly trying to pull out of a hole. I can remember times in my life which the idea of “Jubilee” would have given me very-needed hope. Right now, I want you to think about what keeps you captive that you would like release from. Perhaps it is cigarettes or fatty foods, scratch-off Lotto tickets or the need for the latest in electronics, addictive relationships or hopelessness which keeps you from believing that you can accomplish anything better. What are you captive to? Are you willing to let Jesus release you from that?

Who is blind in our society? Perhaps I ought to ask you who is NOT blind, at least about some things, in our society? Recovery of sight for many of us means being able to break through the wall of denial. Education doesn’t solve all the blindness of our society, but it certainly helps us see things we haven’t paid attention to before. That’s why we emphasize Bible Study & small group study & sharing here at Hope. We can all benefit from Jesus’ removing the blinders from our eyes. Often it happens through our being vulnerable to a few people & listening to their stories. What have you been trying to ignore or avoid that you finally need to face squarely & look at in your life? What person or group can aid you in doing that? Your church community can be a resource for your improving your eyesight by breaking through denial.

Who in this congregation has ever felt oppressed? Anyone who doesn’t answer yes to that question, I would contend is in a lot of denial or is just sitting out there asleep this morning. Oppression is sometimes only in our minds, but breaking through that oppression to the offer which Jesus makes of new life is part of what we are about in the Christian community. When we think about what oppresses us, we need to ask what part of that do we have some control over, & then begin to work on that. Sometimes the only thing we have some control over is the way we think about a difficult situation in our lives, but a change in our attitude toward it can make all the difference. We learn about that in the Serenity Prayer that many of us say regularly: “God, grant me the serenity to accept those things which we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, & the wisdom to know the difference.” What we often can change but resist doing is our attitude about a situation. Seeing something as an opportunity to grow instead of something which oppresses us may make all the difference in the world. The ability to figure that out & act on it is wisdom!

Finally, Jesus proclaims the year of the Lord’s favor (the song calls it the acceptable year of the Lord)! The passage begins & ends with proclamation, & anything which Jesus proclaims is surely Good News, don’t you think? Remember what I told you about the concept of Jubilee being a time each 7 years when things go back to their rightful owners & debts are cleared so people start over, even-steven as my kids used to say. It’s like starting a new game & forgetting who won the last one. Everyone starts from square one! I have to tell you that this concept of Jubilee was never practiced as much in Hebrew society as it was preached. But it is such a strong & healthy idea that we still talk in terms of Jubilee when we think of Jesus’ desire for everyone to belong in society & all to live life abundantly.

Today is our Annual Meeting at Hope, the first one since becoming Hope officially last year at Diocesan Council. We’ve come a long way, & we have a lot to give thanks for as we go into our 2nd year together. We need each other in order to fulfill God’s call to us within this parish community & beyond. We need to put legs on Isaiah’s description of a faithful community which Jesus adopted. We need to laugh aloud at the ridiculous image of the whole body’s being an eye or an ear or a hand which St. Paul gives us in the Corinthians’ passage today, remembering that we are each given gifts for ministry & we need each other to make the whole, ever striving for the greater gifts. May we go into our new year learning how to truly love one another & share that love beyond the barriers of these walls. Let us bless the Lord who through us can do more than we can ask or imagine. Alleluia!

Epiphany II

Sermon for Hope Episcopal Church
Houston, TX
By The Rev. Martha Frances+
Year C Epiphany II
14 January 2004

Text: John 2: 1-11
Other Readings: Isaiah 62: 1-5; Psalm 36: 5-10; I Corinthians 12: 1-11


The story of the wedding feast at Cana is a favorite of mine, & one reason is that the mother of Jesus is the character who activates the action. She is at the wedding, & we’re told Jesus & the disciples have also been invited. Why does Mary, a guest at the wedding feast, become aware that the wine has run out, even though the chief steward doesn’t even know it. She’s curious enough, or trusted enough, to have learned there is no more wine. Mary is concerned that the family giving the wedding feast will be embarrassed not to have enough wine. So she turns to Jesus.

When Mary explains the dilemma to Jesus, we’re surprised at his harsh response: “Woman, what concern is that to you & to me? My hour has not yet come.” Now I have sons just about the same age that Jesus was when he began his public ministry, & if they addressed me as “Woman,” I would not be happy! Yet, Jesus seems to mean no disrespect or harm to his mother as he tries to keep a low profile. He’s not ready to come out & show his power publicly. He’s “off duty” at this function, also, so he may just want to relax & enjoy some down time with his buddies.

Jesus is not unlike other leaders called to step out of their comfort zone & risk. Do you remember Moses’ response to God at the burning bush? He tells God he’s not much of a speaker & doesn’t think he’s suited to lead the whole nation of Israel out of bondage. God doesn’t put up with such excuses but sends Moses back to Egypt to begin the Exodus. And then there’s Jeremiah, none too pleased that God calls him to the thankless job of prophet to misfits who weren’t important enough to get hauled off to Babylon. Jeremiah says to God, “You must have gotten me mixed up with someone much more experienced. I am only a boy!” God isn’t impressed with that excuse either. So off goes Jeremiah to straighten out a group of 2nd classed citizens who got left behind when the beautiful people moved to Babylon.

Why, even Martin Luther King, whose birthday we celebrate tomorrow, was none too eager to get mixed up in the civil rights movement. He was a young Baptist minister, just called to his first church after serving as his dad’s associate, & he had no intention of getting involved with a movement which would detract him from his local church & eventually led to jail time, threats on his family, & eventually death by an assassin’s bullet. Dr. King was called out of his comfort zone to greater & greater leadership & developed his belief in & practice of non-violent resistance while among the protestors & through countless sleepless nights.

Jesus didn’t think he was ready to come out in public either, but his mother has been watching & waiting for all his life now. Remember his presentation in the temple at Jerusalem when he was an infant & then 12 years later, when Mary & Joseph found him speaking with the elders at the Jerusalem temple? Both scripture stories end by saying that Mary kept all these events, pondering them in her heart. Jesus’ mother must have pondered a lot by the time he was 30, & SHE knows, even if Jesus doesn’t, that it’s high time for his public ministry to commence. Even though Jesus tries to quieten his mother, she tells the servants to follow Jesus’ instructions. Sometimes when I am on the brink of doing something new & risky, I need the unconditional confidence of a friend who believes in me. Sometimes, someone has to say, “Martha, just do it!” Jesus’ mother did that for him.

Now we come to the miracle itself. The evangelist John provides much detail about these huge stone water jars filled to the brim which Jesus very simply changes from water into wine. John goes to great length to impress us with the extravagance of this miracle. Not only are there suddenly copious amounts of wine to continue the celebration, but the steward assures us this is the best quality wine served all day. If we’re but willing to trust Jesus in the risky areas of our lives, the gifts given us are greater than we could ask or imagine. Jesus takes the common old stone water jars with just plain water but transforms it into more flavorful new wine than the whole crowd could have dreamt.

That’s how God works in us if we but take the risk to trust. Two years ago two churches were struggling to stay alive, & this woman priest wondered where God wanted her to serve. We stepped out in faith to grow together in love, & Jesus has transformed us into a new beginning called Hope. Next month we’ll celebrate our first anniversary. Praise God!

I want to emphasize that Jesus’ transformation of water into new wine didn’t happen effortlessly. Mary, Jesus & the servants all had their parts to play in the miracle’s happening, & Hope wouldn’t be here today had many people not stepped forward to accomplish the practical tasks of coming together. A much larger group has prayed faithfully for our community throughout the birthing process. When we pray for a miracle, it is best to be willing to do what God needs us to do so that miracle can come about.

St. John tells us this miracle was the first sign that Jesus performed. The transformation Jesus caused to occur in the wine certainly revealed Jesus’ glory only fully revealed when he was crucified, buried, & resurrected. We often encourage a new person coming to their first group of Alcoholics Anonymous or AlAnon meetings not to quit until the miracle happens. We’re often so sure what Christ’s miracles will look like in our own lives that we miss the real miracles when they occur.

Fortunately, as John says “the disciples believed in him.” Part of the outcome of this first of Jesus’ miracles is that the disciples saw what amazing things could happen if they but believed. I’m put in mind of 2 things related to the disciples’ belief. First, the disciples had to believe in Jesus before they could experience what power God could work in each of them. Our epistle to the Corinthians today reminds us that we all have spiritual gifts which we need to discover them & offer up to God’s glory. Paul tells us all the gifts are given by the same Spirit, the Holy Spirit, & the gifts are given for the common good. Other places, he says that each gift we have is meant for the building up of the body of Christ, not just for our own gratification. In looking at what we do well that the larger community needs, let’s not sell ourselves short. All of us have talents which we’ve not explored. Paul offers quite a list in our scripture today: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, & discernment of spirits as well as speaking in tongues & interpreting them. If we listen to our hearts, to God’s call, to where we’re encouraged to stretch out of our usual ruts, we may find extraordinary gifts we’ve previously ignored. No fair saying we don’t have gifts. Paul says clearly we all have gifts & the Spirit activates them. Let’s give God a chance to work in us to develop those gifts.

Why? So we can be super Christians? Nope, Paul says so that we can build up the body of Christ, to reach out to others & help them know the love we’ve received. Just think; that small band of apostles spread the gospel of Good News throughout the known world. We’re called to do our part, too. Part of what we celebrate during this Epiphany season is Christ’s light which we hope others can see through us because the Spirit dwells within us. We can’t keep the light shining alone, though. We’re called to do this in community.

As we begin our 2nd year as Hope parish, I challenge you to open yourself up to how God wants you to use your gifts for the up-building of our community. Through Epiphany & Lent, we’ll be exploring internally & in & beyond our community to learn where God wants us to focus our efforts. I invite you to do the work of discernment that we may ALL benefit.

There you have it. I’m asking you to step out of your comfort zone & discover what Christ may be calling you to do with the gifts which are yours. I’m suggesting that, if you believe that Jesus Christ can make all things new, you give Christ a chance to do just that in your life. For Hope to fulfill God’s call to us this year, we must think & act outside the box. Each day, open yourself up to learn what new opportunities Christ is offering you to grow in faith & love & to share with the world.

Epiphany I

Sermon for Hope Episcopal Church
Houston, TX
By The Rev. Martha Frances+
Year C Epiphany I
7 January 2007 8:00 only

Text: Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22
Other Readings: Isaiah 43: 1-7; Ps 29; Acts 8: 14-17

Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany as well as one of the emphases during the Epiphany season: the baptism of Jesus by John in the River Jordan. Just as we celebrated during the 10:30 service last Sunday, John the Baptist’s baptism was a public one. We have a lovely baptismal font in the midst of our nave rather than the River Jordan which would undoubtedly be cold today. The crowd in John’s time asked questions of each other standing on the banks of the Jordan. Their questions centered around whether John the Baptist was the Messiah for whom the Jewish community had long waited, & St. Luke handles that question in a very curious way. John tells us himself that he baptizes with water but one more powerful than he—here he means Jesus the Messiah—will follow him & baptize with the Holy Spirit & with fire. John humbly states that he is not even worthy to untie the sandals of the one who is to come.

Then, notice that John practically disappears. The next bit of information we have is that Jesus has been baptized & is praying. Luke is forever emphasizing Jesus at prayer, especially at these special times in his life. We aren’t even told that it is John who does the baptizing; we’re left to assume that. John is important but only as the forerunner of Jesus; he disappears before Jesus ever begins his public ministry.

Luke focuses our attention on Jesus to whom the heavens are opened & the Holy Spirit descends in bodily form like a dove. All of these images are familiar ones from the Old Testament, but Luke’s linking them with Jesus’ baptism & public presentation helps us realize that this man is a very special one.

We do know that the Holy Spirit descends to Jesus, not to the whole community, & it is unclear whether the crowd either sees the dove or hears the voice from heaven which declares, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” The heavenly voice tells us a lot, however, as we read the account so many years after, we might be reminded of God’s voice to Abraham who tells him that he must take his son Isaac, his only son whom he loves, & sacrifice him.

The reading from Isaiah urges us to remember all the way back to the creation story in Genesis when God created Jacob & formed Israel by speaking each day of creation into being & then declaring that each day was good. Jesus’ baptismal story connects with the creation story all the more if we realize that another translation of the last verse says, “This day I have begotten you.” Indeed, just as God thought the creation of humans was very, very good on the 6^th day of the week, here God is well pleased with God’s new creation, Jesus. The more we study the Bible, the more we realize how much the stories intertwine & enhance each other.

I’ve always thought of the Epiphany season as the season emphasizing sight with images such as Jesus as light of the world, but as I prepared for today, I realized that each scripture today hinges on the gift of hearing & the power of the spoken word. Just as Isaiah reminds us that God spoke the creation into being, so the psalmist speaks of the voice of God actively providing for the people & finally, giving God’s people the blessing of peace.

During Epiphany, we have stories of God manifest in the world, to all people, even the Gentiles, such as the Samaritans’ acceptance of Jesus as the Word of God in the epistle for today. God’s launches a new age for all people, declaring through the Spirit that this is God’s own son. We learn that Jesus is indeed the Messiah & that this Messiah, unlike the Ruler the Jews were looking forward to who would take over by force, this Messiah has come as a servant who does the Father’s will.

Jesus’ baptism story isn’t just a nice story about how Jesus began his public ministry although it certainly includes that. In the opening collect today, we prayed to the God in heaven who proclaimed Jesus God’s son at Jesus’ baptism & even anointed him with the Holy Spirit. What did we ask God to give us? First, for those of us who are baptized, we ask for strength to keep the covenant which he has made with us, & secondly, we are to confess him boldly as Lord & Savior. Hey, that sounds pretty up-to-date 21^st Century to me. What about you?

Last Sunday we baptized Bob in the name of the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit. Bob made some vows by which he intends to live & chose to enter into Christ’s one, holy, catholic, & apostolic Church—not just the Episcopal Church but the Church Universal. His baptism symbolizes or shows forth his desire to die to his old life & be born anew in Christ, to continue to grow as a disciple as part of a Christian community.

Bob didn’t take the vows he made alone, though. Members of his family sponsored him & presented him for baptism. Furthermore, we each stood & affirmed our faith with him, responding to my questions in the words of the ancient Apostle’s Creed.

We renewed our vows with Bob, remembering that this gives us an opportunity to strengthen our own resolve to continue in the Christian journey but also we promise to encourage & support Bob—& all others who receive baptism—as they begin to lead a new life in Christ. We’re all in this together, my friends; that’s why we call ourselves a Christian community. We need always to encourage & support each other, not to tear each other down by gossip or criticism. You see, this baptismal thing is a life-long commitment, & we share together through other sacraments & life in community our receiving of God’s grace more & more into our lives.

Each time there is a baptism, we promise to turn to Jesus Christ & live a new life. That’s what “conversion” is: turning our lives around & heading in a new direction, walking the way the Jesus walked. Of course, you can’t turn around & then walk away from the steering wheel. We have to continue to steer the boat, allowing for storms & miscalculations & unexpected hazards in the middle of the sea. We promise we will promptly admit when we are wrong & will go about correcting our faults. We promise that we’ll all respect the dignity of every human being & watch for Christ in our neighbors. We’ll even work to make the structures of society more just, caring, & peaceful, one day at a time, with the support of the community around us.

My goodness, we promise a lot when we are baptized, don’t we? No wonder we need to reaffirm our baptismal promises from time to time. We need to remember what we vowed to do & that we’re all in this together.

Each Sunday we come to the altar to receive the body & blood of Christ in another sacrament which we call the Eucharist. We need bread for the journey & drink for our souls, & we join other Christians in eating & drinking in Christ’s name. Come to Jesus today & come to Jesus every day as you, too, commit to the ongoing conversion available through Jesus Christ. Come, respond to Jesus’ invitation to new life!