Baptism

Today we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord Sunday.  This day is the day that John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan at the beginning of his ministry.  Jesus baptism is not the same as the baptism we do today as we baptize with the Spirit and Jesus was simply washed with water.  Yet the baptism was important.  This was a marker, a statement, from Jesus that he was moving forward with God's will.  This was a moment in which God was reveal to all present and that Jesus was reveal as God's son.  During our baptisms, either as children or adults God is reveal to those present, as God is present.

As two Pastors we struggled with when, where and how to baptize our children.  We debated over infant vs. believer as our tradition allows for both.  We debated over if we should baptize at one of our churches or simply at a Presbytery meeting (sorry to all those hopeful for that one).  We debated as to how it would be done - by one of us or by someone else; sprinkle or pour, we were not going to dip a baby.  In the end, with our first daughter we decided a joint worship service with a good friend / mentor Pastor doing the baptism was nice.  This would allow us to be the parents and not just the Pastors.  It was nice.  We enjoyed the moments of Baptism and as the water was being poured out of shell over her head, the presence of God could be felt.  We knew in that moment the Spirit of God was ignited in her and God would be a part of her life.

A few years later, a new baby and a new debate.  What would we do this time.  I felt the desire to do the baptism.  Why not be both Pastor and Parent?  Aren't we the ones who teach our children first and foremost about God?  So there I was infant in hand, affirming statements instead of questions and sprinkling water over my son's head.  My husband didn't want to "do" the act.  He was thrilled to have water in front of him.  He splashed and play.  He enjoyed every moment of this Holy act and in the moment of sprinkle, he suddenly got silent as we felt God's presence in this glorious present of the Holy Spirit.

A few years later, a new baby and a new debate.  This time my husband wanted to Baptize.  This time, he wanted to be a part of that moment when the Spirit is ignited within and God's presence is felt.  And so, we affirmed the statements instead of questions and this time he sprinkled water as this son splashed and played in the Holy water.  This time he was not the only person baptized that day; as he sprayed water around the front of the sanctuary sprinkling all with the Holy water.

They have all become children of God, with whom I know God is well pleased.  These moments in which our children were baptized were not just steps of growing up or markers.  They were not decisions made lightly or without thought.  They were Holy moments in which we affirmed that we will teach, lead and encourage our children to know God.  That we believe the Spirit inside them will call them to God's loving grace.  

Being baptized isn't about receiving the key to the Kingdom of Heaven; it is however about acknowledging
God in not only our life but the world around us.  Jesus baptism was at the beginning of his ministry and ours is at the beginning of our relationship with God.  Baptism marks either our own acceptance of this beginning or our parents acceptance on our behalf.  So we remember today our own baptism.  The baptism that was not just of water but was of Spirit.  The baptism that wasn't just for show but that ignited in us the Spirit and the call for us to accept grace.

The Three Kings Are...

I will admit today that I am going to use a repost.  I wrote many great things at the beginning of my blogging journey and I am sure not all of them have been read by all the eyes who read my blog now.  The challenge on weeks like this is that so much has already been said on the magi.  I am not giving us something new; I am hopefully however making this more relatable.

I've been thinking a lot about the magi for that last few weeks, partly because I preached on it last Sunday and partly because this is one thing I think about every time I get a nativity set out.  I'm pretty sure there is an old post about what the Bible really says about the magi - so this isn't gonna be about that.

This year with all the uncertainties and my hopes for an answer from God quicker then I feel it is coming...I focused instead on the journey the magi took.

I have always been really impressed by the magi for one reason they without giving second thought had faith in the star and themselves to follow it...they trusted that God was going to take them on an important journey and left - leaving for a several year journey that would be dangerous and at the end take them home on a different path, perhaps a longer path.

Trusting in the journey and giving up to God our lives is really hard - especially for people who want to know what is going on.  It takes a lot for us to put our trust in the divine and to ultimately follow without confirmation - and for the magi this journey was several years!

God doesn't just appear to us and give us all the answers - and for those who are seeking for the first time a Creator, there isn't instant gratification.  But instead, by trusting our own intuition which tells us that indeed there is something greater in this world, a power that we would like to know or something beyond ourselves, we can be lead on a journey.  Like the journey the magi's took.  A journey which could lead you to Christ.

For me, an already believer, I need to remind myself that when I trust God and go along the path that my creator is lighting for me - I'm on God's time, not my time.  It might take a longer then I'd like for God's plan to be revealed to me and there are plenty of times along this path that I would like to leave it for my own.  But if I persist by putting my trust in the Divine power, I know that God's plan will be revealed and as the magi came to stand at the foot of the savior - I too will have my epiphany moment.  I just must trust and believe.

Some theologians believe that you don't actually have to have faith to begin going to church or becoming a Christian - for if you begin by doing all the things that a "good" Christian does: praying, reading the Bible, studying, worshiping that eventually these will lead you into belief, into an epiphany or ay-ha moment when you realize that indeed God's presence is all around us. 

For those who are believers, epiphanies - or moments in which we stand with the Divine don't have to be once in a lifetime experiences they can come at any time.  And they do!  If we look back at our lives, it is the moments that we took leaps, moments we did things we thought we would never do, moments that change us and our lives.  It is the moments big and small that set our course in life and which has brought us here today.  On reflection, we can feel God working in those moments where we trusted or leaped; or on reflection we can feel the desire for something new and the push to trust more. 

Let us all challenge ourselves this year - to live into our faith putting trust not in the moment now but in the path that will lead us to the moment when God's self is revealed - perhaps for the first time or perhaps once again!