Sermon for the First Sunday after Epiphany

Sunday 8th January 2006

Preached by Rev Brian Parker

Resolutions

A psychologist said the other day that New Year resolutions are bad for us. He reckoned the failure rate each year is so high the whole process lowers morale and undermines confidence.

And, as if we didn’t know, he pointed out that very few of us stick to our New Year resolutions beyond eight days!

Perhaps you are the exception!

One of the finest examples of a resolute character was the French writer Jean Barby. He was 45 when he suffered a very severe stroke. It left him unable to speak and the only part of his body he could control was his left eyelid.

He resolved to write a book! First he learned to communicate with that eyelid. He blinked signals for ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Later a therapist recited the letters of the French alphabet to him and he would blink when she reached the letter he wanted. In this way he formed words and sentences. He completed the book. It sold 150,000 copies in its first week.

That was a resolution! The American Washington Irving once said: “Great minds have purposes, others have wishes”.

Jean Barby was a man of purpose. His brand of resolution makes our so-called New Year resolutions look more like wishful thinking.

In John the Baptist, the last of the Old Testament prophets, we see resolution personified. Here is a determined voice that shook up the complacent and challenged lukewarm faith.

“Do not think you can say to yourselves ‘We have Abraham as our Father”. All, their traditions and rituals were as nothing if they lacked a genuine, resolute faith in God.

“The axe”, said John, “is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

John’s message was certainly direct. It hit hard at apathy and went on to confront wickedness in the court of King Herod.

Jsus, we are told, came to John to be baptised. It’s a very simple statement that shows a certain resolution on the part of Jesus. This is the beginning of his ministry. It is the moment of decision that sets his direction in life. It’s been said “Baptism is a beginning, a point of departure”.

In the wonderful symbolism surrounding the story – the heavens opening, the dove descending, the sound of God’s voice – in all of this it’s as if the testimony of the prophets down the ages reaches a great crescendo.

Here is an Epiphany – a manifestation of God in our human experience – and John the Baptist is part of it – God’s instrument in the baptism of Jesus.

“You are my beloved Son.”

It is divine intervention. God’s Spirit settles on Jesus, affirming his identity and his mission

When we reflect on our own baptism we may think carelessly of it as a ‘naming ceremony’, a matter of identity. Or we may think of it as merely a rite of passage to membership of the Church of Ireland. We may see in it Jesus’ ethical teaching and use his guidelines as ideals to strive for.

Yet the promise of baptism is that God’s life – the Holy Spirit – comes to us affirming our unique identity and giving us purpose in life.

Someone once said that the coming of the Holy Spirit into our lives sounded like a takeover bid, even farfetched and a bit whimsical. Others may feel threatened by the prospect and prefer that God kept his distance.

 

Nevertheless the scriptures give us evidence of the living Spirit of God at work. It is the Spirit that broods over the chaos and breathes God’s creative life into it. It is the Spirit who sends Jesus on his life’s work.

It is the Spirit who brings a new dimension of living faith to the Church, that opens up possibilities for a full life. This is no takeover, but a setting free.

And for generations of believers, for the saints in every age and in every walk of life it was not about kidding themselves but accepting the truth of God’s grace.

By the grace of baptism we call God “Abba Father”. But as children we are required to mature and grow. It’s possible to be so indifferent and half-baked about our baptism that like a New Year resolution we know its there but we do nothing about it.

Or as members of His Church we may remain childish in our resolution to work out our faith.. As someone said we like the ice cream and the lollipops, the festive occasions and the ritual or whatever but we keep God out of it.

The growing up bit, the taking on responsibility, the idea of making a meaningful contribution, that practical resolution, that commitment and purpose we can hold back.

“You were marked,” says St Paul: “You were sanctified, you were justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. Remember your baptism with thanksgiving and rejoice that your sin has been blotted out”.

As with Christ, our baptism is the beginning of our ministry as members of His Church.

is the outward sign of the Spirit coming into our lives – commissioning us to responsibilities and duties, service and obedience.

The poet John Donne said it is manifested in “people striving to do what they ought to do, led by the Spirit of God”.

That’s a magnificent vision of the Church in the world; a magnificent obsession to reflect on in this New Year.

All the better if we let our reflections mature into some really grown up resolutions.

Amen