Did Jesus Have an Eye-rolling Moment?

 2 Epiphany C January 19, 2025
Isaiah 62:1-5 Psalm 36:5-10
1 Cor. 12:1-11 John 2:1-11

Lectionary Link

Do some people get moved to tears while listening to Beethoven's Ninth?  Yes.  Does everyone who listens to Beethoven's Ninth get moved to tears? No.  Should everyone who listens to Beethoven's Ninth be moved to tears?  That is a very aesthetic question and even if from one's own preference one thinks everyone should cry at the performance of Beethoven's Ninth, such preference cannot make it happen or even prove that it happens for the same reason for everyone who is driven to tears.

But it is historically true to say that some people are moved to tears by listening to Beethoven's Ninth.

In a similar way it is historically true to say that many people in the last two millennia have had what they call experiences of the Risen Christ.  One can characterize such experiences as mental illness and provide endless alternate explanations for such experiences, but only by denying what those who have such experiences say themselves about them.

The Gospels are not written "autographs," which is to say we do not have any original copies.  And scholars think that original is misleading in the sense that there was a single inspired Gospel writer who took dictation from beginning to end of each textual production.  What is more likely is that the Gospels represent writing process within various communities at different times, and the process represent re-editing and redactions to fit the many various situations in which the traditions about Jesus of Nazareth were brought to provide community identity.  The earliest copies of some New Testament book date from the late second century and we are uncertain about what specifically happened in the textual process for nearly 150 years, with the fullest early copy of the New Testament that we have did not occur until around 350.

The textual transmission process of the Gospel might be what in legal testimony would be called a series of hearsay.  So and so said that Jesus did and said this to so and so who said that a previous person said that Jesus did and said this, and on and on until various forms of this hearsay comes to text as a technology of memory to preserve it in some final way through the written word.

The writer or writers in the textual tradition of the Gospel of John can be said to be persons who claimed to have experiences of the Risen Christ, or experiences of what they called a new birth, being born of the Spirit.  The writers of the textual tradition of John's Gospel had probably read the other Gospels but decided for the promulgation of the witness of a Christ identity within their community, they used decidedly different presentations.  No parables, but signs and attending long discourses from the mouth of Jesus.  The mystical sub-text of the writers of John's Gospel is this:  The Risen Christ experienced through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a telling Sign of God to you, to us within all of the probable conditions that can come to us.  Life narratives of Jesus are presented as parables explicating the Sign of the presence of the Risen Christ in the array of what might happen to us in life.  And the physical aspects of the story are not literal; they embed the spiritual meaning of Christ in us, the hope of glory.

And where can the signs of Christ be found?  In illness, in being paralyzed and unable to walk, in the sickness of one's child, during the storms of nature, in the death of one's family member, in the hunger of the masses, in blindness, in being thirsty...all of these conditions are portrayed in John's Gospel as human situations which can know the presence of the Risen Christ.  And these are very serious conditions indeed.  But all of life does not consist of serious conditions, most of life consists of the mundane, the quotidian, the ordinary, the drudgery, and lots of small frustrating things, when even the trivial matters seem to conspire against us.  Someone took my parking space and I was late.  My child is heart broken for losing his basketball game.  There was a hundred dollar mistake made on my utility bill....life is made up trivial stuff that is not life threatening, but only irritating in upsetting what we would wish or desire.

So, it is very interesting that John's Gospel begins with the first sign being on the scale of human priority, a very trivial thing.  The wedding party ran out of wine.  Boo hoo, big deal.  It might make one be a little cynical, like we feel when the football players and basketball players thanking Jesus for helping them win the games, the same Jesus who let their opponents lose the game.  If winners need to thank Jesus for success in the trivial then so do the losers, because winning and losing is all the same as to whether the Risen Christ is present.  The cynic might think, well Jesus is taking up all his time tending to lottery winners, bingo winners, game winners, beauty contest winners, and just letting those poor children starve in terrible conditions throughout the world.

One wonders if Jesus is not presented as having an "eye rolling" moment with his mother when she asked him to take care the wine shortage.  "Mom, if they already finished the wine, they are drinking too much and they do not need to drink anymore.  Shouldn't they be cut off?  And when does a rabbi have to supply the liquor?  I guess it has to do with that commandment to honor one's mom and dad?"  I can imagine Jesus changing water to wine in the minds of the drinkers who had drunk too much and who really needed to be hydrated with the best refresher of all, yes, water.

The seeming water of ordinary life needs to accompanied by the inward eternal Word to inform meaning purpose of life and existence.  We don't have to live in the external world bereft of it being vivified by the accompanying imaginations of an Inner Word life which excites, inspires, and imparts the kinds of meaning which make life worth living, words of love, hope, kindness, connection with others and with our best human vocation.

The Sign is knowing the Accompanying Risen Christ as the interior Eternal Word within oneself that can always already give us wonderful attending Meaning to the purpose of our lives, in the small crises of life and in the major crises of our lives.

John's Gospel proclaims that the Risen Christ is the interior Eternal Word of God which is able to come to meaningful expression within all of what might probably happen within our lives.

So, today again we pray, Eternal Word of God, be the great Sign in our lives today as we traverse the trivial and the great and everything in between.  Amen.

Prayers for Epiphany, 2025

Friday in 1 Epiphany, January 17, 2025

Omni-present God, we often wish that omni-present sustenance of all were more discriminating in what is being sustained as we observe that everything that has happened has the proof of having been sustained, even by the divine omni-presence;  we ask for fearful respect for the genuine freedom which we have in shaping how our world is sustained and help us shape the world toward love and justice.  Amen.

Thursday in 1 Epiphany, January 16, 2025

God of all and in all, individualize the signs of your presence to as many a possible so that our world can survive and be sustained in peace and care for one another.  Amen.

Wednesday in 1 Epiphany, January 15, 2025

God, how can we know your signs unless we first know the codes and translations of what a sign of you would be?  You gave us Jesus as the chief sign revealer of how to be humanly best in knowing the sign of what is divinely human and what is humanly divine.  Amen.

Tuesday in 1 Epiphany, January 14, 2025

God you have given us Christly presence as the power of imagination to supplement the seeming ordinary water of life and make it seem like an extraordinary feast such that others think we drink the elixir of wine, but we must confess that we are Holy Spirited people.  Amen.

Monday in 1 Epiphany, January 13, 2025

God, we like Mary, seek for the Christ to be in the mundane of our lives akin to dealing with shortage of wine at a wedding party; and even though in rebuke of our trivial priorities, we may hear a sigh of "what does that have to do with the higher priorities of the Risen Christ," we thank you for being involved in the child-like ordinary stuff of our lives.  Amen.

Sunday, 1 Epiphany, January 12, 2025 The Baptism of Our Lord

Eternal Word of God, you are coming to full solidarity with all humans in all human experience, and we commemorate your baptism as a event of the solidarity of the divine life with us, thus affirming ways of being human as valid ways to come to know what is more than human, even God as the Great Expanding Container of Life.  Amen.

Saturday after the Epiphany, January 11, 2025

God of Water, Wind, and Fire; who cleanses, quenches, breathes life, and warms and gives light; save us from floods and hurricanes, tornadoes, and devastating fires, and bring us renewing and rebuilding resilience when we know the worst effects of being caught in harms way of nature.  Amen.

 Friday after the Epiphany, January 10, 2025

God, the Container of All, into whom we have all been initiated by being born; we thank you for specific baptism and being received into particular communities of faith so as to continuously remind ourselves that you in Jesus represent the divine with us in such complete solidarity as to allow us to regard our paths as being valid ways of affirming our relationship in and through You.  Amen.

Thursday after the Epiphany, January 9, 2025

Forgive us God of all, for wanting the name of being a Christian country, or Christian community without manifesting the basics of being Christ-like in loving you and our neighbor as ourselves.  Amen.

Wednesday after the Epiphany, January 8, 2025

Eternal Word of God, giver of language which gives us ritual process within community; you became baptized by John to express solidarity with humanity in a particular moment of time and in becoming one with us you now invite us to become one with you in your Risen State in our baptismal states of becoming more Christ-like.  Amen.

Tuesday after the Epiphany, January 7, 2025

God of Omni-Manifestations, your omnipresence often obscures specificity to be known in personal ways; we thank you for the personality of Christ who is human enough to allow us to reduce you to anthropomorphic ways to perceiving your relevance to us in our specific situations.  Amen.

The Feast of the Epiphany, January 6, 2025 

God, who existed before our calendars to observe your manifestations to us; we recognize that the Christ nature came from the beginning and came in Jesus, and will continue to come as the Light which enlightens toward the surpassing goals of enlightenment to which we are called; give us grace to adjust our seeing behaviors to the light of Christ today.  Amen.

Aphorism of the Day, January 2025

Aphorism of the Day, January 17, 2025

There are no existing "autographs" or original copies of any biblical books.  There are various texts which have been discovered and dated to many years after the purported "originals."  What existed before any original were the communities and people who "received" and wrote them.  

Aphorism of the Day, January 16, 2025

It could be that John's Gospel's does not have parables because the stories about the Jesus are used as "sign parables" to illustrate in teaching stories the presence of the Risen Christ to the Johannine community.  The subtext of John's Gospel is words are "spirit" and non-literal meanings are the preferred meanings.

Aphorism of the Day, January 15, 2025

A sign is a constellation of socially coded meanings and does not have sign value for those who don't know the codes.

Aphorism of the Day, January 14, 2025

The story of Helen Keller illustrates that language ability an inner innate ability has to be activated from one's exterior world through sensorial interaction or one's inner language is so individual that it manifests frustrating behaviors as interpreted by those who possess language.  A pre-language baby may have its language ability expressed in a similar way.  Why can't anyone understand me?  Eventually the baby has no choice but to conform by learning the imposed language of his or her environment.  Individuality then becomes expressed as how can I be non-conforming me while conforming to the language of them.

Aphorism of the Day, January 13, 2025

The archaeology of who we are is found in history as a "test pit" hole to look at strata of word use in the various streams of traditions of language use which have come comprise our lives.  Life involves the impossible task of trying to name the mystery of everything all at once in words which feign to freeze mystery in an observable form, and the best we can do is to attain some insights to cope with where we are now.

Aphorism of the Day, January 12, 2025

When people read the Bible, they do what Roland Barthes called "writerly reading," i.e., the reader is in the role of the writer because the reader essentially filters or writes the texts from the biases of ones particular context.  There is no way to confirm a coincidence of meaning with the writers of the ancient texts since exact meanings conveyed in words that derive from oral traditions and having been transcribed and translated in various ways creates such a range of meanings some of which can be contradictory.

Aphorism of the Day, January 11, 2025

Modern science has contributed to the clarification of language genres or discourses exposing the need to distinguish between discourses and their appropriate meaning values.  A scientist can enjoy fantasy, science fiction, and all sorts of utopian cinematic presentations as having the meaningful truths of the sheer expression of the imagination.  But if one tries to tell the scientist that such imaginations are or could be empirical true, the scientist would say you are trying to switch the meaning appropriate to one mode of discourse to another resulting in wrong meaning application.  A scientist who can read the Bible with mystagogic imagination does not have to say every event reported in the Bible has to conform to natural laws to be meaningful true.

Aphorism of the Day, January 10, 2025

It has been the goal of some modern biblical scholarship to disprove the accounts of the Bible as being reliable historical records while forgetting the very historical reality of communities who have forged their identities to survive within hostile situations bringing language products in text to inculcate their community values.  It's like scholars are saying, "I wish it hadn't happened in this way, and I wish that such community forming mysticism didn't happen now, and surely we have to stamp out this silly mystagogic phenomenon."  At the same time, faith communities have to hold themselves responsible for the outcomes of their community identity behaviors as to whether they truly represent what love of God as highest value means as well as loving our neighbors, remembering that love practices always have to be updated in time or we still would justify the subjugation of women, the horrors of slavery, and the treatment of some peoples bodies as inconvenient to the assumption that psycho-social-gender identities were forged by cookie cutter infallible binary ways.  Faith communities have to be responsible to not be bad thinkers and bad actors in representing the best way to live.

 Aphorism of the Day, January 9, 2025

On the day when eulogists praised a departed president for his character and the importance of character for elected presidents, it became starkly evident that the major of American voters have not had the character to vote for the better person of character.

Aphorism of the Day, January 8, 2025

Rituals happen because repetitions happen within human community.  Brushing one's teeth is a personal ritual, a hygienic ritual in which children at an early age are given initiation into a behavior of self care, in the way in which one's community defines self care of one's teeth.  Rituals have contexts; baptism or water purification rites have their meanings contextually defined within the various communities which practice such rites.  Jesus is presented as being baptized by John the Baptist.  John's baptism was different from the proselyte mikvah baptisms admitting non-Jews into Judaism.  Perhaps John brought a baptismal practice that he had learned in a wilderness community such as the Essenes, and even though there seemed to be a community following of John the Baptist, there is no indication that baptism was a membership requirement.  Jesus did not need a baptism to become the Jew that he already was; his baptism, I think, is viewed by writers as another moment in his history of becoming completely identified with humanity and having specific location within the area of influence of John the Baptist and his followers.

Aphorism of the Day, January 7, 2024

Many Bible readers in temporally provincial ways have been genre-benders when they misread the Bible.  Beginning with common sense reality and/or scientific perspective as the only meaningful criteria for truth, mis-readers do not think biblical writers had the contextual writing sensitivity to use the available genres available to write about their sublime experiences of mystery of the survival of a continuing community of people who were constituted by their interpretive claims of having mystical experiences of the afterlife manifestation that came to named the Risen Christ or the Holy Spirit.

Aphorism of the Day, January 6, 2025

The Epiphany for Christians is celebration of what they view as entering the era of strategic universal offering of the love of God being always already available to everyone.  Christians deny such a reality when they make requirements to membership as being equal to the fact that everyone is a member of God's family because God did an inside job on everyone by placing the divine image there.

Aphorism of the Day, January 5, 2025

To say that there are "errors" in the Bible is like saying to a poet, "There are errors in your poem."  The Bible includes in its textual forms what it is and one can say I don't like this for such and such reason or I don't like the particular way that you read it, but to say there are errors is irrelevant to it having meanings.  We don't say about Plato's Socratic dialogues, "There are errors in his dialogues."  Persons need to be in a right reading relationship with the Bible or any writing.  It seems as though some people are angry about the existence of the Bible as ancient literature and/or upset about how many humans have interpreted and misinterpreted and applied its profoundly influential meanings in the cultures of people who have been formed by reading it.

Aphorism of the Day, January 4, 2025

The way some people read the Bible has led some people to atheism or to the unwitting falsehood of implying that one cannot be a poet and a scientist at the same time.  Persons wrote the Bible as multi-discursive users of language; readers of the Bible are multi-discursive users of language and should read the mystagogic aesthetic portions as such and the portions written with common sense perception as such.  Bible readers should be simply encouraging readers to stay within their discursive lanes when explicating biblical meanings.

Aphorism of the Day, January 3, 2025 

It is historical true that portions of manuscripts of New Testament writings have been found dating from the second century to the most complete manuscript being found in the 4th century.  These writings would indicate a tradition which came to writing of authors who employed the writing genres available in their times to communicate a message about how Jesus of Nazareth defined for them the most cherished human values in their lives.  They wrote about his life and his afterlife experienced as mystical experience as it pertained to the crucial human questions about the meaning and mission of one's life and the vision of what one's afterlife might be.  The life of Jesus was written "under the influence" of mystical experiences.  Other writings about Jesus written under the influence of mystical experiences have not made it into canonical Scriptures.

Aphorism of the Day, January 2, 2025

The word perfection as a state of being should be replaced with the notion of completeness a the last occasion in continuous omni-becoming.  One can say from one's position that all is not what one wants everything to be but one cannot say that all is not completely at that it has become.  The partial does not have the capacity to make a value judgment upon completeness, even while one sees and knows in part about the partial things that one sees and knows and on which makes continuous value appraisals.

Aphorism of the Day, January 1, 2025

Plato imagined perfection as being changeless.  Trying to merge changelessness while being limited to the effects of time is impossible unless a final future already has been determined and integrated all of the imperfections in time as having to have been necessary for some final changeless state.  Perfection which does not allow for genuine freedom of the perpetual surpassing occasions of time makes it some robotic state negating moral and spiritual validity.

Quiz of the Day, January 2025

Quiz of the Day, January 17, 2025

Who are the Father and Mother of monasticism?

a. Francis and Clare

b. Anthony and Scholastica

c. Anthony and Emma

d. Paul the Hermit and Emma

Quiz of the Day, January 16, 2025

What is not true about glossillaia?

a. it is the gift of tongues

b. it can refer to speaking a human language not ones own

c. it can refer to sounds that are not a known human language

d. it is a gift of the Spirit

e. Paul did not have this gift

 Quiz of the Day, January 15, 2025

In John's Gospel, where did Jesus perform his "first sign?"

a. Capernaum

b. Nazareth

c. On the Jordan River

d. Cana

Quiz of the Day, January 14, 2025

Of the following, which would not be an element of John's Gospel?

a. I am sayings

b. a book of signs

c. parables

d. long discourses

 Quiz of the Day, January 13, 2025

Which of the following is not in the gifts of the Spirit list of Paul in 1 Corinthian 12?

a. love

b. faith

c. miracles

d. healing

e. tongues

d. utterances of knowledge and wisdom

e. interpretation of tongues

f.  prophecy

g. discernment of spirits

Quiz of the Day, January 12, 2025

What is not true about the baptism of Jesus?

a. it was in the Jordan River

b. John the Baptist presided

c. Jesus insisted that it was necessary

d. the voice of God declared Jesus as beloved Son

e. his baptism is recorded in the Gospel of John

Quiz of the Day, January 11, 2025

Where in the Bible is it written that the Spirit appears in bodily form?

a. in the creation story

b. in the Word Made Flesh

c. at the baptism of Jesus

d. at the resurrection of Jesus

Quiz of the Day, January 10, 2025

What biblical prophets were used to explain the ministry of John the Baptist by the Gospel writers?

a. Malachi

b. Isaiah

c. Elijah

d. Jeremiah

e. Hosea

f. a and b

g. a,b, and c

h. a,b, and d

Quiz of the Day, January 9, 2025

King Ahab's wife Jezebel is mentioned in what New Testament book?

a. Romans

b. Jude

c. Revelations

d. 2 Peter

Quiz of the Day, January 8, 2025

Which Gospel begins with the baptism of Jesus by John?

a. Matthew

b. Mark

c. Luke

d. John

Quiz of the Day, January 7, 2025

The Nicolaitans are mentioned in which book of the Bible?

a. Jude

b. Luke

c. Ephesians

d. Revelations

Quiz of the Day, January 6, 2025

When did December 25th replace January 6th as the date for Christmas?

a. in the 1 A.D. when Jesus was born

b. in 1582

c. when the Romans made the winter solstice the date for Christmas

d. the date didn't change for many Christians

e. when Western Christendom changed from the Julian to Gregorian calendar

f. two of the above

g. three of the above

Quiz of the Day, January 5, 2025

Who said to Jesus, "Show us the Father?"

a. Thomas

b. Peter

c. James

d. Nathaniel

e. Philip

Quiz of the Day, January 4, 2024

What is the other names for Mt. Sinai?

a. Nebo

b. Horeb

c. Har  ha-Elohim

d. Har Bashan

e. Har Babnunim

f. all the above

g. b through e

Quiz of the Day, January 3, 2024

Which Gospel has the distinctive "I am" statements of Jesus?

a. Matthew

b. Mark

c. Luke

d. John

Quiz of the Day, January 2, 2024

What people mentioned in the Bible did not experience death?

a. Melchizadek and Elijah

b. Melchizadek, Elijah, and Enoch

c. Enoch and Elijah

d. Jesus, Enoch, and Elijah

e. Melchizadek and Enoch

Quiz of the Day, January 1, 2024

Circumcision was the sign of a covenant with whom?

a. Adam

b. Noah

c. Abraham

d. Abram

e. Eve

f. Sarai

Sunday School, January 19, 2025 2 Epiphany C

  Sunday School, January 19, 2025     2 Epiphany C

Sunday School

Themes

Spiritual gifts.

Have a discussion about the children’s gifts and talents.  Ask them if they all are equally good in everything.  Do they all excel in math? Or football?  Or singing?  Or sewing?  Or dancing?  Or baseball?

Why aren’t all people the same?  Would life be boring if all people were the same?  If everyone only played tubas what other wonderful sounds would we miss.

Remind the children that what we believe about baptism is that God gives everyone different gifts and all of the different gifts are needed to make us a better community and church.

Make a list of all of the things that people can do for the church.  When gifts are used in the church we call this “ministry.”  So everyone is a minister.  But we also do ministry outside of the church to when we go to school or when we are at play.

If we understand that God has given us gifts then we understand that our purpose in life is to serve God as a minister.  And we don’t have to be a priest or pastor to be a minister.  To be a minister means that we use our gifts to serve Christ and to help other people.

The Gospel is about when Jesus and his disciples went to a wedding.  Mary, the mother of Jesus told Jesus that they were running out of wine and she ask him to help.

Jesus told the servants to take jars of water and serve them to the guests.  And when the guests drank they thought that they were drinking the very best wine.

This story is a story about faith.  Sometimes life seems to be like ordinary water; but with faith can sometimes find that there are some extraordinary things within the ordinary.  Faith is the ability to find the extraordinary things within ordinary life.  It means we keep alive within us that wonder curiosity to always being ready to find wonderful things in life.  With the curiosity of faith we never have to be bored in life.  So when some people think that we are just drinking ordinary water, we in our experience can taste something extraordinary and wonderful.

A sermon on gifts

  How many of you received gifts at Christmas?  So you received some new toys and some clothes and many other things didn’t you?

  A long time ago, Saint Paul wrote a letter to his friends and he told, “You have many gifts.  And God has given you many gifts and you are to use those gifts to make your family and community better.”

  And as I look at all of you today, I see men and women and boys and girls who have many gifts.  I am not talking the gifts that you received at Christmas.  I am talking how God has made each of you special and how God has given each one of you different abilities.  Those abilities are what we call gifts from God.  And as we find our gifts and abilities as we practice our gifts and ability, we become better at using our gifts.

  There something else about our gifts.  Different people have different gifts.  Now if you have a gift that I don’t have, should I be jealous?  Or happy?  I should be happy, because we need different gifts and abilities to our community get more done.

  What if a music teacher came to class on the first day, and everyone in the class was a drummer?  If a music class had only drummers then that would be a loud class and only a certain kind of music could be made?

  What if a basketball team had only real tall players who were slow and could not shoot long shots?

  What if a football teams on had 300 pound linemen, and no smaller faster players to run and catch the football?

  God has made us all a little bit different and has given us different abilities and gifts.

  One of the first secrets of happiness in life, is to find our gifts.  Your mom and dad and teacher are encouraging you to try lots of things in life because the want you to find your gifts.  Because if you find what you are good at, then you will be happy.  And if you practice what you are good at, then you also have a wonderful ability to share with others.

  And the second secret to happiness in life, is to use your gift to make your family, and your community and your world a better place.

  And thirdly, all gifts are important.  And you have many kinds of gifts.  When you help clean your room or take care of your pets that does not seem like an important thing.  But all of our gifts are important.  And what is most important is our willingness to use our gifts to make our families and church and community better places.

  Today, I want you to remember that God has given to gifts.  God has given you special abilities to do some wonderful things in life.  But you will not know that you have gifts unless you work to discover them or if you do not share them with the people in your lives.

  Repeat after me:  God’s Spirit has given me gifts.   Help me God to find my gifts.  Help me God to share my gifts with others.  Amen.

Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist

January 19, 2025: The Second Sunday after the Epiphany

Gathering Songs: Jesus, Stand Among Us.,He’s Got the World World, Eat This Bread, Shine, Jesus, Shine

Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

People: And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and for ever.  Amen.

Liturgist:  Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.

And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.

Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: Jesus Stand Among Us, Renew! #17

1          Jesus stand among us, at the meeting of our lives, be our sweet agreement at the meeting of our eyes; O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

2          So to You we’re gathering out of each and every land.  Christ the love between us at the joining of our hand; O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

3          Jesus stand among us, the breaking of the bread, join us as one body as we worship Your, our Head.  O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ¹s glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

A reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 36

Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, * and your faithfulness to the clouds.

Your righteousness is like the strong mountains, your justice like the great deep; * you save both man and beast, O LORD.

How priceless is your love, O God! * your people take refuge under the shadow of your wings.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

   Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now." Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

Youth Liturgist:          The Peace of the Lord be always with you.

People:                        And also with you.

Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering

Offertory Hymn: He’s Got the Whole World  (Christian Children’s Songbook,  # 90)

1-He’s got the whole world; in his hands he’s got the whole wide world in his hands.  He’s got the whole world in his hands; he’s got the whole world in his hands.

2-Little tiny babies.   3-Brother and the sisters  4-Mothers and the fathers

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.  Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

Children may gather around the altar

The Celebrant now praises God for the salvation of the world through

Jesus Christ our Lord.

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;

You have made us in your image

And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:

Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.

And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph

And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat

  the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as  

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbor.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, "Drink this, all of you. This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death and resurrection of Christ and that his presence will be with us in our future.

Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.  May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.

By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory

 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,

(Children may rejoin their parents and take up their instruments)

Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Alleluia! Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Hymn: Eat This Bread, (Renew!  # 228)

Eat this bread, Drink this cup, come to me and never be hungry.  Eat this bread, drink this cup, trust in me and you will not thirst.

Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: Shine Jesus, Shine (Renew!,  # 247)

Refrain: Shine, Jesus shine, fill this land with the Father’s glory, blaze Spirit blaze, set out hearts on fire.  Flow river, flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy, send forth your word, Lord, andlet there be light.

1-Lord, the light of your love is shining in the midst of the darkness shining; Jesus, light of the world, shine upon us, set us free by the truth you now bring us.  Shine on me, shine on me.

Refrain

Dismissal:   

Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ. 

People: Thanks be to God! 

Baptism: Jesus' and Ours

1 Epiphany C, January 12, 2025
Isaiah 43:1-7 Psalm 29  
Acts 8:14-17 Luke 3:15-17,21-22

Lectionary Link

Through birth we are unintentionally initiated into the communities of our births and these communities stamp intentional meanings upon our lives based upon the inherited traditions within the language of the cultures of such communities.

The practice of Christian baptism is an intentional community ritual process of stamping meaning upon a person's life within the community which practices such an intentional ritual as baptism.

Baptism as a ritual process has been given theological meaning, and it in turn becomes a communal ritual for stamping those theological, or supremely prized human values upon the life of the newly initiated.

The early church believed that Jesus of Nazareth was born into a family which practiced ritual behaviors, the ritual behaviors which forged the identities of Jews in Palestine of his time.

On this day when we observe the Baptism of Jesus, as well as baptize candidates for Holy Baptism, it behooves to ponder insights about this ritual practice of Christian Initiation.

Certainly baptism predates Jesus, and while the Matthean derivative church at some point understood that Jesus commanded his disciples to baptize in the name of the Trinity, baptism did not originate with Jesus, nor with his own baptizer, John the Baptist.

The Greek word baptizo is the regular word meaning to dip or immerse.  It is the Greek word used in the Greek translation of Hebrew Scriptures, called the Septuagint, for the Hebrew word meaning the same, taval.  In the practices derived from the Torah, mikvah is the name of the ritual bath, and tevilah is the act of immersion.

In Judaism a ritual immersion occurred when non-Jews converted to the faith, in a proselyte baptism.   Other immersion rituals accompanied the ceremonies to remove defined states of impurity.  Such immersions were to be done in "living waters," such as streams or springs or facsimiles of the same.

The desert man John the Baptist is sometimes regarded as one who was influenced by the semi-monastic desert communities of Qumran associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls, some of whom were called the Essenes.  These communities practiced ritual immersions, even daily and repeated.  Ceremonial washings before prayer occur within Judaism as well as in the practice of Muslims to this day.

Certainly one can understand the universal use of water as a substance of cleansing of the body, and of the utensils of our lives.  Water as actual cleanser has incredible sign value as symbolizing the human quest for spiritual cleanliness as instantiated in the Psalmist plea for a clean heart and right spirit.  The words of Jesus to the Samaritan woman present the Spirit as being like an interior spring within the person making the interior cleansing a reality and fulfilling of the request for a clean heart.

What does the meaning of the baptism of Jesus mean then?  Did Jesus need to be cleansed from any impure state?  Did Jesus need to be received into Judaism?  The early church believed that a perfect Jesus did not need baptism for cleansing or for repentance.  They also believed that having been born a Jew and fulfilling the ritual requirements of Judaism, including circumcision, that Jesus did not have to be received into Judaism.

Following the Pauline Christology, Jesus was regarded to be the divine emptied into a mere human, but best human being, and this emptying meant being limited to particular events in time, human events in time.  This emptying of the divine into the merely human was a process of the divine being identified with the merely human such that events such as birth, circumcision, and baptism as expression of human solidarity in being included within the ministry, mission, and community of John the Baptist instantiated what God with us meant in human terms.

The baptism of Jesus might be expressed in a slightly different way but reflect a similar meaning as the ancient statement of Orthodox Church in the theology of theosis.  God became one with humanity so that humanity might become one or know union with God.  Jesus is God being baptized into the particular community setting of John the Baptist, so that we in the particular community settings of our baptisms might understand that we are baptized into God, in whose milieu we live and move and have our being as divine "off springs."

Indeed our baptisms are different directionally than the baptism of Jesus.  Jesus is the expression of God becoming known as one with humanity; our baptisms are the expression of us realizing the image of God upon our lives so as to live our lives as children of God, loving our divine parent, and loving our fellow children of God, by the practice of mutually influencing each other to best loving behaviors in this great wide family.

Let us be thankful about baptism as a celebration of a divine family event.  This is an event of living into our identity.  As the early church practiced this identity ritual, it was being buried or immersed into the death of Jesus as an inner power to counter the bondage of a past determined by habits of sin, and rising from the waters of death to become the new creation to which we are called.

Jesus our sibling, as Exemplar Human Being deigned complete family identity with us so that we might live up to our original identity, inheritance and blessing as those who bear the image of God.  Amen.