Baptism: Choosing to Live in a Community with Values

1 Epiphany C, January 9, 2022
Isaiah 43:1-7 Psalm 29  

Acts 8:14-17 Luke 3:15-17,21-22

Lectionary Link

Baptism is referred to as Christian initiation.  And what kind of initiation is baptism?  We are familiar with formal and informal initiations in different organizations that we belong to in our lives.

Some initiation rites are very formal and even private, like various Freemasonary groups and Lodges for men and women.  College Fraternities and Sororities have initiation rituals; some are infamously hazing ritual that are extreme ordeals for those wishing to become members.

Other organization like scouting organizations and clubs have membership requirements and fees.

What would be some of the main features of baptism as Christian initiation?

The main feature of Christian initiation of baptism is the notion of personal intention.  One has to choose the community with the chief values with which one is going to live.

But you say, I was baptized as an infant, so I did not choose.  You didn't choose as an infant to be baptized, but as an adult you intentionally were confirmed or you have agreed to participate in the church as a baptized member.

Intentionality is important in Christian baptism.  Why?  We are passively and unintentionally human.  We did not choose to be born and and have the parents in the setting of our birth.  So, we received as passive young infants, the coding of the language and habits of our family and cultures.  Part of responsible maturation is to grow in our moral significance by understanding the intentionality of the identities which we choose to embrace.

Many people can live unexamined lives;  that means they may remain satisfied with what they have been raised with from birth and so they may not want to change or see any need for value adjustments, even as they grow older.

But in the rigorously examined life which can happen through significant education and exposure to various models of moral and spiritual influence, one is forced often to new intentionality, the intentionality of repentance, the intentionality of the renewal of one's mind, with attending behavioral changes as well.

How intentionally are we baptized Episcopal Christians now?  And what does that mean?  Is our community what we are used to from early age, or is it also a community within which we are rigorously and intentionally being made more Christ-like?

Jesus Christ set the bar so high for humanity, that we have to be those who want to intentionally be more Christ-like. 

We, Episcopalians are out-numbered these days, since we are losing members.  There are people who have left the Episcopal Church because we changed our prayer book to more contemporary English language.  There are people who left the Episcopal Church because we believed that baptized women could also serve on vestry, serve at the altar, and be ordained as deacons, priests and bishops.  There are people who have left the Episcopal because we have embraced sacramental justice and full participation for gay, lesbian and transgendered persons.  It would seem that a more inclusive church, should be a more popular church, but that has not been the case.  Many people who follow Christ do not allow the full participation of their churches lots of people because of knowing themselves to be women, gay and transgendered people.

One of the radical things about our baptismal liturgy are the vows that we take to love our neighbor as ourself and to respect the dignity of every human being, because we seek the image of Christ which is on each person.   But why are these values of Jesus Christ regarded to be radical instead of the basic values of human justice, dignity, and respect?

You and I have to be intentional baptized Episcopal Christians today, because we value the basic dignity of every person.  We must be for the equal justice for all people if we are going to live up to our baptismal vows.  Rather than leave the Episcopal church because of being offended about who God loves;  let us stay and and invite people to be initiated into a community which holds to loving our neighbor as ourselves.

God in Jesus Christ is how God chose to show us how to be our human best.  When Jesus was baptized he was initiated into a particular group of people at a particular time.  This was God's way of saying, I am with you completely even though you are not perfect and never will be perfect, I am with you in the messiness of human community.

And today, Jesus is still baptized as one among us, initiated into our community, and not because we're perfect, or even adequate, so why is Jesus the beloved one of God with us?  Because he believes that you and I are called to be beloved ones of God too, and that we are to be a community of people who are calling other people to know their belovedness in God's eyes and in our ours.

May God help us today to be more intentionally Christ-like, as we invite every person to know themselves as beloved children of God, who celebrate the mutual belovedness of all people in the great Love of God.  Amen.

Prayers for Christmas 2021

Wednesday in 2 Christmas, Eve of the Epiphany, January 5, 2022

God whose very name would imply universality, what would be the universal meaning of Jesus Christ to everyone in the world?  We ask that the Christ nature of God's image being upon all persons would arise in each person and allow each person to recognize our common family identity so that we would care for each other as we seek to take the very best care of ourselves.  Amen.

Tuesday in 2 Christmas, January 4, 2022

O God, we believe that in Jesus Christ, the divine life became initiated into humanity in the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist; help those who are strong and powerful to accept their initiation into community for the the purpose of ministry and helping the entire community to raise their level of well being.  Amen.

Monday in 2 Christmas, January 3, 2022

God whom we know in palpable ways when the experience of the Sublime marks our human experience with the extraordinary and the uncanny, we ask for events of the Epiphany of Christ in increased events of the active practice of love and justice in the behaviors of all people.  Please God, inspire the sublime results of love and justice to become manifests so that the world can be saved.  Amen.

Sunday, 2 Christmas, January 2, 2022

God whose realm is everywhere, you make your realm accessible to all who with wisdom comes to find that all human life is possessed with Word ability that can become expressive of the wisdom which best characterizes the wisdom of God and life.  Amen.

Saturday in 1 Christmas, January 1, 2022, The Holy Name

O God, we have measured another year in the 4.543 years which have passed according to our own location and measuring standard; forgive us for overestimating our own time because we are prisoners of our own era.  Let our estimation of our own time be a time to add the qualities of love and justice to our world and help us to reverse the arc of damage that we are inflicting upon the people of the future because we live as though our world only belongs to us in our own time.  Amen.

Friday in 1 Christmas, December 31, 2021

God of Time, we label in arbitrary ways time in measurements as a way of telling our story located in time and space.  The end of a unit called a year is an attempt like grasping the water in the river that flows aways and we might call a handful of river water representative of the entire stream.  And so we clasp the river of Time with our calendars because we want that the time of our life to be qualitative time punctuated by the good deeds that qualify the days of our life.  Amen.

Thursday in 1 Christmas, December 30, 2021

Gracious Word of God, forgive us for keeping faith stories within their own logic and failing to see how they are meant to inspire us to do the seeming impossible task of making heaven on earth in the practice of love and justice.  God, we look to the impossibility of the miracles stories so that we might be inspired to overturn the logical gravity of selfish sin and let God do the seeming impossible work of justice through us in our daily practice.  Amen.

Wednesday in 1 Christmas, Holy Innocents, December 29, 2021

God of power and might, you share that power and might with people so that they can protect and care for infants and children; we condemn in your name the abuse of power which causes the needless death and harm of any infant or child and we ask that the power of humanity be converted to care for the vulnerable in Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Tuesday in 1 Christmas, December 28, 2021

God of the incarnation, make the Word flesh in us again and again as it can be made active in the words and deeds of love and justice in our lives.  Amen.

Monday in 1 Christmas, December 27, 2021

O God of the Martyrs, who presides over the free conditions where good people get killed wrongly, and bad people live on to do harm and evil for their power and their greed; you continue to inspire the humble and the good to overcome evil with the seeming pitiful weapons of goodness because you do not want good people to perpetuate evil in any way.  Give us hope to believe that the seeming invisible effects of goodness are building the infrastructure for future goodness.  Amen.

Sunday, 1 Christmas, December 26, 2021 (on the passing of Archbishop Tutu)

O Christ, the Eternal Word, made flesh in Jesus; you became made flesh again in your prophet and priest Desmond Tutu and the people of South Africa were rebuked into the work of reconciliation, forgiveness, and restoration.  Thank you for revealing in the work of our brother Desmond how bad our sins have been, how significant the changes to betterment have become, and yet further revealing the work that needs to be done in the loving of God and our neighbors.  Amen.

Christmas Day, December 25, 2021

Dear God, we thank you for uncovering the mystery of the ages, in the birth of Jesus who was the New Adam to help us realize that the image of God upon us is in fact the realization of the Risen Christ with us.  Thank you for using all creation as a midwife for Christ to be born in us.  Amen.

Sunday School, January 9, 2022 1 Epiphany C

 Sunday School, January 9, 2022  1 Epiphany C

The theme is the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.  It is also a baptismal occasion within the church.

If the parish has baptismal candidates then it is important for children to be there to witness it and renew their own vows.  If there are no baptismal candidates then there may be an renewal of baptismal vows.

Explore the very basic meaning of baptism.

Use the analogy of having two families, the family of one’s natural birth or adoption.  One’s baptismal family in its most general sense is being a member of the family of God by virtue of our belief that we have been made in God’s image.

What does being made in God’s image mean?

Sometimes children look like their parents in shape of nose, color of eyes and other ways.  Children are born in some ways in the image of their parents but they are not their parents.

Each person is born in the image of God and so each person has the image of God in them as what we call our spirits.  So in spiritual ways we can be like God our heavenly parent even though we are not God.

We have to know about being made in the image of God.  We have to know that we are spiritual people.

Holy Baptism is a celebration of our having been born into the family of God.  But we are also recognized as being born in the family of Christ since Jesus was God’s special Son who came to remind us that we are made in God’s image and therefore we too are God’s sons and daughters.  Jesus is our brother in God’s family who came to remind us that we God’s children.

When we are born we receive a name and it is a sign of belonging to the family of our parents.   When we are baptized we receive our “Christian” name.  We have the sign of Christ written on our foreheads when the oil of chrism is used to mark us as belonging to Christ forever.

So baptism is a reminder to us about being a member of the spiritual family with God as our Father and Jesus as our brother.

It is important to remember that we are made in God’s image because if we remember this we will value our lives and do everything we can to make them better.  Also if we believe that other people are made in God’s image, we will value their lives too and we will give them the same kind of respect and care that we want for ourselves.

This celebration of being in God’s family, the family of Christ, is what is very important to remember about baptism.

When Jesus was baptized by John, he was telling us that he was happy to be a part of our human family but he was also reminding us that we were made to be in God’s family.

A voice from heaven at the baptism of Jesus said, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Each of needs that the voice of God says this to us:  You are my beloved son or daughter.  I like you and I am pleased with you.  If you and I can know that God regards us to be sons and daughters who really likes us, then we can know that our lives have special value.

Baptism as a rite of remembering who we are, who we were made to be.

What is the most common mistake that everyone makes, children and adults?

  I think the most common mistake that all of us make is the mistake of forgetting.

  Do you ever forget?  Forget to do your homework?  Forget to clean your room?   Forget what your teacher told?  Forget what your parents told you?  Forget what you promised to your children or spouse?

  Forgetting is easy to do.

  But the most serious forgetting is forgetting about God.   Today we have read the story about John the Baptist on the day that he baptized Jesus in the Jordan River.

  John the Baptist and Jesus were special men who were prophets.  And they came to help people recover from their forgetting.  See many people had forgotten some important things about God.  Even the religious leaders had forgotten some important things about God.  And what is often forgotten about God.

  People often forget that God loves them.  People often think that God loves the people in our country, or in our neighborhood or in our race better than people in another country, neighborhood or race.

  When Jesus was baptized, the voice of God said, this is my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.

  You and I need to remember what baptism means.  Baptism looks like just pouring some water over the head of a baby or an adult.  But what does baptism mean?  It means that we celebrate that each and every person is a child of God, a son or daughter of God.

  You see the problems in our life happen when we forget that we are sons and daughters of God.  The problems in our life happen when we forget that other people are son and daughters of God.

  When we remember that we are children of God we treat ourselves with respect.  When we remember that other people are children to God, we treat them with respect too.  When we remember God, then we remember to live good lives for God and we remember to live in peace and love with each other.

  John the Baptist and Jesus came to remind us about some things that we had forgotten.

  Let us remember the meaning of baptism.  Our baptism is a reminder that we and all people belong to the same family of God.  And if we remember that we will work to love one another and live in peace with each other.  Amen.

January 9, 2022: The First Sunday after the Epiphany

Gathering Songs: Hallelu, Hallelujah; Peace Before Us; Seek Ye First; This Little Light of Mine

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: Hallelu, Hallelujah   (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 84)

Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord. 

Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord. 

Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah. 

Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 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 Acts of the Apostles

When the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 29

The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders; * the LORD is upon the mighty waters.

The voice of the LORD is a powerful voice; * the voice of the LORD is a voice of splendor.

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 Luke

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 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. 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." Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 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."

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: Peace Before Us  (Wonder, Love and Praise,  # 791)

1-Peace before us.  Peace behind us.  Peace under our feet.  Peace within us.  Peace over us.  Let all around us be Peace.

2-Love, 3-Light, 4-Christ

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.

All  may gather around the altar

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.

The Prayer continues with these words

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,

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:  Seek Ye First  (Blue Hymnal, # 711)

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you; Allelu, alleluia.  Refrain: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, allelu, alleluia.

Ask, and it shall be given unto you, seek, and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened unto you; Allelu, alleluia!  Refrain

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: This Little Light of Mine (Christian Children’s Songbook,  # 234)

This little light of mine.  I am going to let it shine.  This little light of mine, I am going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel, no.  I am going to let it shine.  Hide it under a bushel, no.  I am going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Don’t let anyone blow it out, I’m going to let it shine.  Don’t let anyone blow it out, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Shine all over my neighborhood, I’m going to let it shine.  Shine all over my neighborhood, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Dismissal:   

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

People: Thanks be to God! 

    

Openness to Those Wise for the Light of Christ

2 Christmas C January 2, 2022

Jeremiah 31:7-14 Ps

Eph. 1:3-6,15-19a Matthew 2:1-12

Lectionary Link

The use of language is for communication purposes. So, events of communication have purposes. Like this sermon today. Besides being in my contract as a requirement of my employment and justifying my large salary, the purpose of this language event for me would include the attempt to provide some insights on the appointed readings from the Bible, but to try to finish with a charge about what it means for you and me to live the Gospel after we leave the liturgy. In this sermon a language event, I am trying to persuade you about certain values, but not just blindly; I am also trying to show corresponding persuasive techniques with what the Gospel writer and preacher was trying to do.  For a language event to be effective, a speaker needs to understand the audience and what might be relevant to their cultural symbols.  An audience might include people with diverse backgrounds and so the speaker may have to make multiple appeals.

 

Today, we've read the story of the Magi as it was presented in the Gospel of Matthew.  What was the Matthew preacher trying to do with this parable of the magi?  The preacher was appealing to an audience.  From the rest of the Gospel of Matthew, we know that the audience included many Jews who had come to follow Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophetic expectations presented in the Hebrew Scriptures.   Matthew, the preacher made an effort to present the life of Jesus in direct parallel to the events in the life of Moses, and show how Jesus surpasses Moses in being the new direction that God is leading people in.

 

And even though there is a dominant Jewish readership for Matthew, the writer of Matthew also knew that the message of Jesus Christ had come to significant success among the Gentiles.  How does one present the mission to the Gentiles as being crucial from the beginning of the life of Jesus?

 

For this we have the parable of the magi.  They are wisemen and foreigners.  What is the writer of Matthew presenting?  Matthew is showing that the Gospel of Jesus was meant to fulfill the universal appeal of the God of the Jews to entire world.  The Jews had been so oppressed by Gentile overlords for so many years, it was hard to think that the message about the love of God was for the Gentile too.

 

Just like St. Paul tried to show how the message of God was for the Gentiles, the Gospel of Matthew was showing how a Christ-centered Judaism was meant for the entire world, even for the diverse peoples of the Roman empire.

 

What did a foreign person need to find the significance of Jesus in a presentation of God?  Any foreigner, any Gentile, needs wisdom, needed to be wise to follow the natural signs of nature, the guiding stars to come to see the significance of Jesus to the world.

 

The magi parable highlights that natural wisdom can lead anyone, including a foreigner to the significance of Jesus Christ.  The way in which the magi morphed into kings, is because of the impressive gifts, and because of Hebrew Scriptures where it is written that kings would come to an event of light.  In Isaiah 60, it is written, "Nations will come to your light, kings will come to the brightness of your dawn."  Who did Matthew believe to be the light?  Jesus Christ.

 

Can we appreciate how the writer of Matthew writing four decades after Jesus, believed that a Christ-centered Judaism was how Judaism can become a universal religion appealing to the entire world and fulfill the universal intent of God, whose Temple according to the prophet, was to be a house of prayer for all people.

 

Matthew was trying to show how God's house, God’s realm,  belonged to everyone, including foreigners, who were prefigured in the story of the magi.

 

So, what does this mean for us today, for Episcopalians, who may be often God's frozen chosen?  Matthew was writing for Jews but telling them through the story of the magi that Jesus Christ was relevant to the Gentiles who through wisdom could come to know him.

 

Even though we are Episcopalian, we should not be only Episcopalians in the largesse of our open hearts to how God makes a loving appeal to many, many people in our world.

 

While we might appreciate our liturgy and pieties of our particular tradition, let us be open to the appeals of a loving God to all people.  People who practice love and justice have the correct wisdom and we can affirm this kind of wisdom wherever we find it.

 

We are asking for God's blessing on our La Misa in English this year as a way for us to see the universal appeal of the love of Christ beyond our normal practice of liturgy.

 

Let us be willing for the magi beyond our own preferences to arrive at Christ as the light of the world who shows us the way to the love and justice of God.  Amen.

Aphorism of the Day, December 2021

Aphorism of the Day, December 31, 2021

A person's life might be characterized as living and moving and having being in language.  One begins as a potential language user totally coded by the culture of one's upbringing and one begins to move from passive recipient of being others'  linguistic object to being a linguistic subject using and being used by language and having the ability to make the inner and outer worlds linguistic objects.  Finally, one can arrive to the state of knowing that one lives in the state of being a perpetual synonym maker for even the synonym of existence itself.

Aphorism of the Day, December 30, 2021

It would seem that persons have to decide the degree that they adopt the probability of theory of the scientific method to make the telling decisions of life.  Not that one can choose to follow the scientific method, since gravity happens consistently according to the rules whether you think levitation happens or not.  Commonsense reality can seem so boring that embellishments are preferred and that is where entertainment art enters.  How does the entertainment of Superman co-exists with people who cannot but behave according to the laws of gravity, especially those who say and believe that in the unique case of Superman, gravity is defied?  The truth of art and aesthetics and faith story is that aspiration need not comply with gravity on its own terms since the internal logic of the story is different than the logic of science, even though the logic of the story depends upon consciously defying science.  A Dali painting co-exists with what we actually see and we contrast surreality with reality.  Faith stories are surreality which influence how we live in reality.  The distraction of mis-aimed religion is to be concerned more about the "surreality" of levitation of one's "hero" than about what the practice of love and justice for all means.

Aphorism of the Day, December 29, 2021

The Feast of the Holy Innocents is a day to remember the terrible collateral damage to infants and children caused by adult greed, selfish power, and outright human cruelty.  The primary adult task in life is to make the world safe for children.

Aphorism of the Day, December 28, 2028

The twelve year old Jesus wanted to live in his "Father's house," the Temple, but he became obedient and went to live in his "step-father's" home in Nazareth.  He wanted to be where the intellectual action was and Mary was always pondering the life of her young prodigy.

Aphorism of the Day, December 27, 2021

The "home alone" theme of the Gospel is when the parents of Jesus left for their Galilean home from a trip to Jerusalem and forgot to make sure that Jesus, age 12 was in the caravan.  The frustrated parents returned to retrieve the child prodigy discussing theology with the "doctors" in the Temple.  This is the last glimpse of Jesus provided before he begins his "adult" ministry.

Aphorism of the Day, December 26, 2021

We mourn the passing of Archbishop Tutu.  He helped in the truth and reconciliation which helped to dismantle apartheid and put South Africa on a different course toward the dignity of people of color.  His voice will be missed in this world and may his prayers for us continue in his afterlife in the continuity which God has given him.

Aphorism of the Day, December 25, 2021

Christmas Haiku

Unwrap the Presence
Of the Divine Holy Life
Born deep within you

Aphorism of the Day, December 24, 2021

The rising of the feast of Christmas was a motivated by the evangelistic impulse of Christians to present Jesus as the "interior" light of the world at the time of the winter solstice when the darkness controls a greater portion of time because of the amount of time the sun spends above the horizon.  The lack of "sun time" as it seems to wane and "die" in times of little artificial lighting was the right time for a festival of light.  Jesus as the Light of the world, might also be metaphorically called, the Sun of the world.

Aphorism of the Day, December 23, 2021

The irony of corporations and governments is that if they are committed to equity in helping all people, more can actually get done on a wide scale and it is too often the case that charity is the "band aid" efforts of specialized non-profit groups which do more intermittent and scattered work because of lack of resources.  It is important to convert businesses and governments to the truth of it being in their self interests to take good care of as many people as possible.  The problem is the greed of the very few in business and government.

Aphorism of the Day, December 22, 2021

The mystical experience of Christ Identity is called a new birth, and it is given narratives in Matthew and Luke's parables of the birth of Jesus.  The narratives get become made into empirical events and the mystagogy gets lost.

Aphorism of the Day, December 21, 2021

What did the famous doubting Thomas doubt?  In a sense, he was doubting the chain of the witnesses.  He did not believe that his close friends and companions had an appearance of the Risen Christ.  He was doubting his friends' testimony; he was doubting them.  That is purpose of the story; to highlight the diminishing of the modes of witnessing of the appearances of the Risen Christ.  The disciples and friends told Thomas; the Gospel of John writer wrote and believed what he wrote about the appearances of the Risen Christ were valid enough for people to come to faith in their own experiences of the Risen Christ.

Aphorism of the Day, December 20, 2021

If the Christmas magic is about the appeal of the infant, Christmas love and just should be mainly about helping the vulnerable people of the world, and not just through the "Christmas charity" drives; taking care of the vulnerable should be systemic in government and in a truly creative capitalism.

Aphorism of the Day, December 19, 2021

Reification is called the fallacy of making abstract things concrete which in the religious world might correspond to "idolatry" or the making of something completely concrete into something omni-abstract or conceptual.  It also might be the declaration that different things are the same.  Anselm used "that which none greater can be conceived," as his definition of God.  How would such a "God as greatest concept" be reified?  By over-identifying the divine with anyone or anything with the pretension that such a thing could be separated from all omni-differences within the universe.

Aphorism of the Day, December 18, 2021

The Magnificat is like the Bible a Book of Hope, and that means there is much that is not yet finished.  Has the Lord cast the mighty from their thrones, has the Lord lifted up the lowly, has the Lord fed the hungry?  The recurrence of continuing ills in our world would mean that God is not a coercive interventionist except that Time and Ending does point to sustenance in Time which is perpetually ending the lives of tyrants (eventually) and some lowly get lifted up and some hungry get fed, and it could mean a deferral to completeness occuring the the afterlife.  The continued co-existence of lowly and hungry with the proud, greedy and powerful certainly means that God's work and our work is not yet done in becoming a better world of people.

Aphorism of the Day, December 17, 2021

Does endless time mean that we will finally be persuaded about living together well or in failure to live together well, will language users become extinct?  What is time if language users aren't in it to be its clock?

Aphorism of the Day, December 16, 2021

We should be thankful for the continuous before and after experience of events in Time.  Time is the cosmic plot to give humanity the continuous opportunity to clean up our act.  The Bible and modern apocalyptic dystopia present us with images of milestone events which paint bleak pictures of outcomes for negative trending in our behaviors.  Thank God for another day to try to be better.

Aphorism of the Day, December 15, 2021

Can our "empire" be further converted to "lift up the lowly," feed the hungry, and bring health, well-being to all people with equal opportunity?  Can American ideals be made actual?  Are our leaders actually interested in trying to instantiate our ideals?  We should pray that Christ-like orthopraxy come to American life in a fuller way.  Orthopraxy does not need religious credit.  A child who gets food or health care does not care if an Episcopalian or Baptist is delivering it.

Aphorism of the Day, December 14, 2021

We cannot avoid the anti-empire message of the Magnificat:  scattering the proud and casting the mighty from their thrones?  A very subversive song against a Caesar?  And now that Christianity has had long favor with the power brokers of the governments of the world, how do we assess Christian Empires in light of the Magnificat?  If power is not used to lift up the lowly, it has nothing to do with Blessed Mary.

Aphorism of the Day, December 13, 2021

Can empires even theocratic empires be beneficial for the common good of all of the people on earth?  There is a romanticized notion of heaven on earth with a perfect ruling messiah, probably based upon outdated notions of monarchies being ideal forms of government.  One might see the notion of the Messiah being the unattainable because of time and the future.  The Messiah is the always already hope for a better surpassable future which always will deconstruct the present which is imperfect because it yet needs the future to describe what its role and purpose will yet be in the continuity of humanity knowing itself through having language.

Aphorism of the Day, December 12, 2021

Spirituality is compensatory when the situations in the external world are not good.  The Jesus Movement was compensatory for people living under the oppression of Roman Caesars.  When people of faith "become" the empire in attaining social acceptance, too often they don't use their "spirituality" to equalize and lift up the lowly on a wide scale.  The Jesus Movement today seems to be content with doing small acts of charity among the vast numbers who do not get caught in the safety net of rescue.

Aphorism of the Day, December 11, 2021

The virtues means that we are called to completely versatile because the conditions of life confront us with so many situations which require a multiplicity of responses, some of which might seem contradictory.  Gaudete or Rejoice Sunday invites us to rejoice because of and in spite of what might be happening to us and our world now.

Aphorism of the Day, December 10, 2021

Perhaps the most basic message of Jesus was about their being a kingdom, a realm, of God to which people could have access even while living in the seemingly omni-present "world" kingdom of the Caesar.  Jesus said that one had to have "faith eyes" to see the greatness of God's kingdom while living in the situation of control and oppression of the Caesar.

Aphorism of the Day, December 9, 2021

In the presentation of John the Baptist, he was one who confronted religious hypocrisy, was practical about the application of perfectability to each person, and he "knew himself."  John was extremely hard on religious people who were commented to "good ritual living," but not good loving living.  John presented repentance in very practical ways to each person, almost obvious platitudes, like, do better and do the right thing.  Finally, he knew himself, and humbly deferred to the Messiah, refusing a false identity for himself.

Aphorism of the Day, December 8, 2021

One can wish that we would learn empathy from history?  New Testament discourse in writing derived from the conditions of being a persecuted minority.  Such a situation meant that the winsome behavior of living the beatitudes was the "ideology."  But when the winsome behaviors of the beatitude morphed into "Christians" becoming the empire, they lost the practice of beatitudes.  When Christians became the empire they too often became the subjugators themselves, having forgot the history of their ancestors who lived as the subjugated.

Aphorism of the Day, December 7, 2021

Gaudete, Rejoice Sunday, Rose Sunday, is a liturgical reminder to rejoice always. That command is not easy but it is a reminder to focus upon the spirit of joy which is always accessible even in the midst of lots of trial and losses, and for many people in oppression.  The Christmas story is a counter-culture story of how to resist the oppressive empire and find new birth of one who is greater than Caesar and can be the King Risen Christ within each person, no matter their situation.

Aphorism of the Day, December 6, 2021

The audiences for John the Baptist received different messages.  Some were accused of being offspring of the serpent (you brood of vipers) and others were given good news.  And isn't that nature of messages?  Sometimes we need rebukes and sometimes we need affirmation.

Aphorism of the Day, December 5, 2021

The sociology of the electorate is sometimes divided by urban or rural perspective.  In first century Palestine one can note that city dwellers had to live in closer proximity with Roman occupying functionaries whereas the rural and countryside folk could feel embolden in their political views expressed to the trees, the birds and the bees without fear of consequences.  Jesus and John the Baptist brought perhaps, a more far out tradition to both countryside and city, the desert traditions of perhaps the semi-monastic Essenes who were even more isolated than villagers.  John the Baptist had a spartan no-compromise presentation, whereas Jesus who was accused of eating with sinners and drunkards, made the "desert" tradition more accessible to the townies, villagers, and the city-folk.

Aphorism of the Day, December 4, 2021

Imagine Jesus and John the Baptist with the Essene "monastics" and opining: "How can we keep our desert knowledge locked up with the few who live in the desert? Shouldn't we take it to people of village and city and countryside?"  John got it started and Jesus finished taking a different kind of message to the people in accessible ways.

Aphorism of the Day, December 3, 2021

It could be that Jesus realized his colleague John the Baptist was too much of an "either/or" person to live in close proximity with people faced with very messy issues.  It could be that Christic movement to the Gentiles came about as a strategy to spread the insights which began in the Torah to the wider audience in the more "messy" Roman societal dynamic.

 Aphorism of the Day, December 2, 2021

One might associate John the Baptist with the pre-Higher Power steps in the 12 step program meaning one has to see and desire repentance and reform from enslaving behaviors even as one grapples with habits which seem to have control of one's life.  John the Baptist was the water and repentance man and Jesus was the Higher Power, Holy Spirit baptizer.

Aphorism of the Day, December 1, 2021

What perhaps is lost in our understanding of the times of Jesus is a full appreciation of the scope of Judaism especially the desert tradition Essenes who may have been an ascetic and rural revolt against the compromises which religious leaders had to live in Roman controlled Jerusalem.  The ascetic tradition was seen in John the Baptist who lived closer to the simplistic binary of right and wrong with no gray areas in between.  Living apart from communities allows one either/or simplicity because living in communities requires compromising gray strategies.  Jesus may be seen as a hybrid from the desert traditions and making "compromising" appeals to the poorer class of people in Palestine, or those who could not live in complete adherence to the ritual purity traditions of Judaism.  This made his message more accessible to more people in the eventual Gentile mission.