+ In the Love of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Please turn in your pew Bibles to Genesis, chapter 1, verse 1.
“In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep”― meaning, the waters― “while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.”
Notice right away that water is the first element of creation and it’s mentioned twice.
Now skip down to verse 6 and read through verse 10:
“And God said, ‘Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’ So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. And God said, ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.”
Again, notice how prominent water is― dry land only comes on the third day of creation! So think of what a powerful symbol water is for Baptism as a sign of new beginnings and new creation.
Now let’s go back up to the second verse and the phrase “wind of God.” Do you see the footnote? It tells us that the phrase could also be translated “the spirit of God.” And that in fact has been the traditional way it’s been translated.
For example, here’s a verse from a Jewish interpretation of this verse:
“And the Spirit of God brooded over the waters like a dove which hovers over her young without touching them” (Targum of B. Hag. 15a).
What does the phrase “the Spirit of God brooded over the waters like a dove” remind you of?
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[this morning’s Gospel, which describes “the Spirit descending like a dove on him”]
Now please turn in your pew Bibles to Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 10, verses 1 to 4:
“I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud”― what does this refer to?
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[After the Exodus from Egypt God led the people of Israel through the wilderness with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night],
“and all passed through the sea”― what does this refer to?
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[when Moses led the people of Israel across the Red Sea to escape the Egyptians],
“and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea”― so Paul understands the Exodus to be a kind of baptism―
“and all ate the same spiritual food”― what does this refer to?
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[manna, the mysterious food God provided for the people of Israel in the wilderness], “and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.” ― what does this refer to?
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[when the people of Israel were thirsty for their wandering in the desert and complained to Moses, Moses struck a rock to get water for the people of Israel in the wilderness].
For Paul, Jesus is the rock from which refreshing and renewal water comes forth.
Now please put the pew Bibles back and turn in the Book of Common Prayer to page 306 in the service of Holy Baptism just before the blessing of the water:
“We thank you, Almighty God, for the gift of water. Over it the Holy Spirit moved in the beginning of creation. Through it you led the children of Israel out of their bondage in Egypt into the land of promise. In it your Son Jesus received the baptism of John and was anointed by the Holy Spirit as the Messiah, the Christ, to lead us, through his death and resurrection, from the bondage of sin into everlasting life.
“We thank you, Father, for the water of Baptism. In it we are buried with Christ in his death. By it we share in his resurrection. Through it we are reborn by the Holy Spirit.”
Finally, take up your bulletin and turn to our Gospel this morning. If you were here just a few weeks ago on the Second Sunday of Advent this may have sounded very familiar, because we read this passage right up to the point where John the baptizer says: “I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
But we didn’t see Jesus because it was the Season of Advent! Now it’s Epiphany, which means “appearance,” and so in today’s reading Jesus makes his appearance:
“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
How many of you have read about Easel-R in the Newsletter over the last two weeks?
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Do you remember what Easel-R stands for?
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[Episcopal Spiritual Life Renewal]
A lot of impressive research has gone into the Episcopal Spiritual Life Renewal project, and among its findings is that spiritual growth begins with three basic beliefs: first, that salvation is a gift from God; second, that God is a Trinity of Persons― Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and third, that God is personally active in our lives. And so I find it fascinating that Mark’s Gospel begins by enacting these three basic beliefs.
From the very beginning of Mark’s Gospel it is clear that everything is a gift from God and which God initiates, from the call of John the baptizer in the wilderness to the tearing apart of heaven and the descent of the Spirit. Baptism itself is a sign that salvation comes as a gift because no one can baptize himself or herself. Even Jesus must be baptized by someone else. And infant baptism is the ultimate sign of salvation by grace― for infants have obviously done nothing to earn their salvation; it is received as a gift from their parents who themselves have received God’s gift of salvation.
And also here at the beginning of Mark’s Gospel we are introduced to the God who is Spirit, descending from heaven; Father, speaking from heaven; and Jesus, the beloved Son.
And finally, this is a personal God, active in John the baptizer, active in the people coming out to be baptized, active in Jesus, and, as we will rediscover in all kinds of new ways this year as we participate in the Episcopal Spiritual Life Renewal Project, active in us.
This morning’s Gospel and the three basic beliefs that are identified in the Easel-R as catalysts of spiritual growth are all summed up in this passage from Titus (3:4-7) which was one of our Christmas readings:
“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit he poured out on us richly”― notice that the Spirit is described as being poured out just as water is poured out― “through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Thanks be to God.
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