This week’s Prayers and Readings for the 1st Sunday after Epiphany.
The Collect for the 1st Sunday after Epiphany.
Eternal Father, who at the baptism of Jesus revealed him to be your Son, anointing him with the Holy Spirit: grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit, that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
The Post Communion Prayer for this Sunday
Lord of all time and eternity, you opened the heavens and revealed yourself as Father in the baptism of Jesus your beloved Son: by the power of your Spirit complete the heavenly work of our rebirth through the waters of the new creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
The Psalm for this Sunday is Psalm 29
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy splendour. 3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over mighty waters. 4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. 5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. 7 The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. 8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare; and in his temple all say, ‘Glory!’ 10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king for ever. 11 May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and shall be forever. Amen
The Old Testament Lesson for this Sunday is taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, Chapter 43, verses 1 to 7
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. 4 Because you are precious in my sight, and honoured, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. 5 Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; 6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up’, and to the south, ‘Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth— 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.’
This is the Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
The New Testament reading for this Sunday is taken from the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 8, verses 14 to 17
Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit 16 (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). 17 Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
This is the Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
The Gospel reading for this Sunday is taken from the Gospel according to St Luke, Chapter 3, verses 15 to 17 and 21 to 22
Hear the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ, according to Luke Glory to You, o Lord !
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’
This is the Gospel of the Lord Praise to You, o Christ !
The sermon this Sunday comes from Rev Chich Hewitt
Here is a strange coincidence! Last time I preached, the theme was John the Baptist where he told his followers that they were a brood of vipers. Today, the first Sunday after Epiphany, always has the theme - 'The Baptism of Christ', and we have the continuation of that passage from Luke with a paragraph of overlap. This is where John says the one who is coming is the one whose shoes he is not worthy to put on - one who will baptise not only with water but with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Then without much ado, Luke tells us that, while John is baptising, Jesus also goes into the water to be baptised. Why should Jesus, the sinless one, require a baptism of repentance? Luke doesn't provide any explanation, but Matthew in his Gospel does give a part answer. In Matthew, John asks why. He says ‘I ought to be baptised by you.’ Jesus' response is enigmatic. He must do this so that all righteousness might be fulfilled. Jesus was implying that he had to identify with all humanity; identification should be total. And in this obedience to God, God acted and people witnessed it.
For the remainder of this address I would like to look at what baptism is, and then, more controversially, our present practice of this sacrament.
John's baptism was a call to repent, with a washing away of sin. But all the Gospels identify Jesus' baptism with the presence of the Holy Spirit. The first three gospels tell us that when Jesus was baptised, the Holy Spirit came down on him in visible form as a dove, while a voice from heaven said, 'You are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased'. Note two things of importance - the Trinity and power.
This is one of those instances in the Bible where Father, Son and Holy Spirit are mentioned together as they work together. The Father expresses his love for the Son, as the Spirit descends onto the Son. Those watching could experience the Trinity at work in love. Remember, too, that Jesus was now an adult, about whom we had heard nothing since he was 12 years old. What was to be his mission? He, too, may have wondered when this was to begin, and this was the moment of assurance for him. Which brings us to the power. From here Jesus went into the wilderness to reflect on what was to come, as he experienced the temptations of the evil one. And it was from there his ministry became active. The Trinity and power. Both involve the Holy Spirit.
In our New Testament lesson this morning, from the Acts of the Apostles, Luke' follows on from his Gospel; we have the rather strange incident. briefly told, in Samaria. This followed the death of Stephen, the first Christian martyr in Judea. Far from inhibiting the growing church, the work began to expand, and and moved into Samaria. People were being baptised. The apostles in Jerusalem would surely have been pleased about this outreach, and that baptism was happening, but it seems not completely. Something seemed to be missing. Peter and John were sent there. These new believers had only been baptised in the name of Jesus. We are not told what was missing in their lives, The Spirit had not come upon these Samaritan believers as had been witnessed in Jerusalem. They were not baptised again. Peter and John laid hands on them and they received the Spirit, but we are not told how the Spirit was made manifest. There is a situation later in Acts 19 where Paul came across some believers in Ephesus, and asked if they had received the Holy Spirit. They said, 'we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit'. Paul asked whose baptism they had received, and they said 'John's'. Paul told them that this was a baptism of repentance. So they were baptised in water in the name of Jesus and had hands laid on them; they received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues as the disciples had at Pentecost.
If this is confusing, don't worry - it has confused the Church through the centuries. I am not going to delve deeply into the complexities of baptism now. It would be appropriate to have a full discussion on this important matter outside of a sermon. Years ago I heard a lecturer say, wisely, that this was a young church formulating its life and activities, and it is better to look at the whole rather than forming our lives on just one text. I want to move on to what happens now.
When we are baptised in the name of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we are privileged to be a part of a loving relationship, with a love that is so great, that it is beyond our understanding. But it is more than just a relationship between an individual and God. We become part of a fellowship of believers, of whom other privileged individuals are a part. We are sisters and brothers in Christ. And it is still more than that. As the love of the Trinity overflows into fellowships of believers everywhere, so that abundant love in each fellowship is, or should be, excessive enough to overflow into the surrounding world and its communities.
If you remember nothing else from today, do remember this. 'Baptism is big'. It should not be belittled or trivialised. I remember someone telling of families from a different faith tradition, where a family member had begun attending Christian worship. They accepted this until the person concerned expressed the wish to be baptised. In some cases the family member was written off. It is sad that other faith traditions understand the implications of baptism more than many Christians do. I say again, Baptism is big - it should not be belittled. It changed the lives of New Testament believers, or when lives changed, baptism was sought after.
Anglicans, along with Roman Catholics, Orthodox traditions, Methodists, URC and others believe in infant baptism. Baptists and Pentecostal traditions adhere only to adult, or believers baptism. As a members of the Anglican family I have never refused a family seeking baptism and would not do so. It does not mean I am comfortable with our present practice. Some of you will remember Ralph Mallinson who died recently, and with whom I previously worked. Ralph was very traditional, yet I remember him saying once to me, 'I don't believe in infant baptism;. I understand why he said it. We have probably conducted literally hundreds of baptisms. The greater majority of these families we never see again. In recent ministry I have used a good baptism course, but somehow the truth of the Gospel is not communicated. Baptism parties can be huge and are large social events with a party to follow. As was pointed out to me, and which I came to observe, this is sometimes the first time the two sides of the parents' families meet.
While infant baptism has a very long history, back into the earliest Christian centuries, it is not mentioned in the New Testament There are hints in its direction, as for instance when the Philippian gaoler experiences the miracle of Paul's release, and says, 'what should I do to be saved?' The reply was 'believe on the Lord Jesus, you and your family'. 'Then he and his family were baptised without delay'. You can imagine the gaoler waking up his bleary-eyed family in the middle of the night, saying, 'come on, we are all going to be baptised'' Children are not mentioned, but it is possible there were younger members. What seemed to be important was the faith of the head of the family.
If infants are to be baptised then a parent should be a person of faith. There is a key phrase in the baptism service, where parents and godparents say, 'we turn to Christ'. Yet there seems so little evidence as time goes on. So, I will continue with this form of the sacrament as it has a long history, it is part of our denominational tradition, and mostly, because in this sacrament God can work.
On a positive note in conclusion, 'Come and See' seems to be developing as a theme for the year. Mike had picked it up in his notices from an address of mine. Laura picked this up in her sermon last week, suggesting it as a theme as we go forward into the year ahead.
So, as we enter a new year , let us try to learn more about this essential sacrament, and along with the welcome we offer to any seeking baptism, let us say in response to any questions they raise, 'Come and see’. May this result in more saying, with meaning and purpose, ’I turn to Christ.’