First Lutheran Church

January 8, 2023 + The Baptism of Christ (A)

The Journey to Epiphany

Pastor Greg Ronning 

“I will be, I will be, I will be strength for the journey.”

This past Thursday the church celebrated the last day of Christmas, the Twelfth day of Christmas.  And on Friday we celebrated the Day of Epiphany, the day we remember the journey of the Wisemen to pay homage to the infant Jesus.  We are now officially in the season of Epiphany! 

The word Epiphany has its roots in the Greek language, literally translated as “an appearing” or “manifestation.”We often think of an “epiphany” as “a moment when you suddenlyfeel that you understand, or suddenlybecomeconscious of, something that is very important to you.”One of those precious “aha” moments of clarity.

However, we need to be careful, because at its core, Epiphany isn’t only all about having those wonderful“aha” moments, revelations, discernment, clarity, and all the answers.  Epiphany can take us there, but only if we begin where Epiphany begins, withhard questions, with discontentment, with struggles, - with those “disruptions” caused by the Spirit.  Epiphany is not about finding easy answers, it’s about finding the courage to ask the hard questions of life, it’s about taking a road less traveled, to that distressed place where true Epiphany happens.

So it is that we begin, on the First Sunday in Epiphany, with “The Baptism of Jesus.”A story about someone who is asking hard questions, thosereally big questions, someone who is not satisfied with his place in life, someone whose life is feelingunsettled, someone wrestling with foundational questions, ultimately someone desperate enough to take that road less traveled, someone who is compelled to leave home and makea difficultjourney out into the wilderness. Our Gospel begins, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan” (Matthew 3:13)

Why does Jesus make the difficult journey from Galilee to the Jordan River?What compelled him to walk some 60 miles, a journey that will take three or four days?And why out to the very edges of Jewish Civilization? And why at the age of 30? What were the questions he was wrestling with?  What was going on in his life?  What was not going on in his life?

We really don’t know much about the life of Jesus up to this point.  We know the birth story, we know the family fled to Egypt to avoid persecution and then returned to live in Nazareth. We know that Jesus at the age of twelve spent a few days in the temple sitting among the teachers listening and asking questions.And we know that he eventually grew up to be a carpenter like his father Joseph, - that’s about it. Lukesums up all those in between yearswith just a few verses.  Luke tells us thatJesus was obedient to his parents, that he grew up and became strong, and that he increased in wisdom and in years and in divine and human favor.

And “then,” for some unknown reason, Jesus travels from Galilee to the Jordan River.  We are not told why, we don’t know if he had a dream telling him to go there, we don’t know if some event, good or bad, triggered the trip.All we know is that suddenly, at the age of thirty, Jesus is on his way to see John the Baptist.

I don’t know about you, but I find myself wondering what’s going on in between the lines of this story.  What did the scriptures skip over?  All of which activates my holy imagination, causing me to wonder, what’s going on?Could it be that was Jesus experiencing a midlife crisis? 

We are reminded that while we might think being thirty years old is young, in the time of Jesus thirty was perhaps more like being fifty or even sixty. In those days children that lived past the age of ten, (only 40% of the population) wereexpected to live, depending on their economic realities, till about fifty years of age.So, Jesus was more than half the way there!

So perhaps Jesus, suddenly woke up one day in the second half of his life, asking the same questions that many of us have asked?(The questionsthat those of you under forty will ask in another ten to fifteen years!)It is not uncommon to become emotionally and spiritually unsettled in the middle of life.  It’s not uncommon to wrestle with renewed questions of identity and vocation, the haunting questions of mortality, the heretical questions of faith, the existential questions of the soul that arise when the “ego” finally loosens up, and the true self, your soul, slips in and demands to be heard. 

Did Jesus the carpenter finally reach that moment where he knew deep down that he was more than just a carpenter? Did Jesus finally reach that time where he needed to engage in something deeper and more meaningful? Did Jesus finally reach that point where the things of this world ceased to matter, and the things of the kingdom became his ultimate concern?  At the ripe old age of thirty, did Jesus have a feeling that his destiny was still out there waiting to be lived?

Some people don’t like to imagine such a human Jesus, but I love it when we stumble upon a truly human Jesus.A Jesus we can relate to, a Jesus who wrestles with life just like we do, a Jesus who has occupied the same uncomfortable places that we do, a Jesus who has more questions than answers, a Jesus desperately longing and hoping for some kind of an epiphany.

This is where I am able to find myself entering into the gospel this Sunday, this is the place where I can begin to hear the good news, this is where I am inspired and filled with some hope.I find comfort in a Jesus who doesn’t have it all figured out yet, because I don’t have it all figured out yet!  I find peace in a Jesus who needs an epiphany, because I could surely use some kind of, any kind of, epiphany.

No matter where we are in life, in the first half of life trying to faithfully create our life, or in the second half of life trying to faithfully live out the life we have created in a new and different way, or somewhere transitioning between the two, Jesus has been there and thus is with us now. 

Not with us in a magical way, but in a way that might guide us, encourage us,and embolden us;to set aside our fears, engage the more difficult questions and moments in life,to take the road less traveled that leads away from the familiar and comfortable; and in doing so, discover the places where the“aha moments” of faith happen.

This is what is modeled for us in today’s Gospel; the faith practices, the journey,the road, - that lead us into epiphany.

Jesus’ life is disrupted by the Spirit, compelling him to do the work of the soul.  Work that is not easy, the battle between the false self and the true self, the battle between convention and the extra-ordinary, the battle between the voice of over cautious safety and that voice that is your deepest intuitive relationship with yourself. Work that can be troubling and depressing, work that feels reckless, work that raises the level of anxiety so much so that most people will never dare to engage in it. This is the work that Jesus must do, and it is the work we are being called to do.  Let us not be afraid, let us trust in grace, let us be kind to each other and ourselves.  We are not alone in this demanding work, we have each other, and we have Jesus, the one who has gone been there before us.

The Work of the Soul once engaged eventually takes Jesus on a journey.  Note that Jesus is not sent to Jerusalem but instead on a long and hard journey from Galilee to the wilderness region of the Jordan River.  Jesus is not sent to priests wearing fine linen but to a wild man dressed in camel’s hair, eating locusts and wild honey.  Soul Work is best done away from home, away from the familiar, away from convention, away from the way things are; because soul work is about making all things new.  Jesus must leave home to find his epiphany.   We too must make this kind of demanding journey, away from home, away from our Jerusalem, and deep into the unfamiliar. Jesus walks sixty miles to meet John the Baptist, and each step, is a step in our shoes, making the same kind of journey possible for us.

And finally, there is the moment of Epiphany.  Jesus humbles himself and is baptized by John.  The heavens open up, the Spirit descends like a dove, and a voice from heaven declares, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”And Jesus’ life begins again.  Strengthened in his beloved identity, and more certain of his calling, he enters deeper into the wilderness to be prepared for his mission, his public ministry; a life of teaching, a life of reaching out to others, a life that will lead to death, and a life that will rise up in resurrection.

This is the faith of Jesus, the same faith that each of us has been given in Christ. Faith that engages the hard questions, faith that risks a journey into the desert wilderness, and faith that always finds the waters of baptism.And so too, an epiphany awaits each of us at the end of the journey we are making even now, an“aha moment” that will strengthen us in our identity and our calling, in the time and place where we need it the most the word of God awaits each of us,“You are my beloved, with you I am well pleased.”

In this season, may Christ be our guiding light, the source of our faith, our inspiration and hope, and our strength for the journey.

“I will be, I will be, I will be strength for the journey.”

Amen

First Lutheran Church

December 18, 2022 + The Fourth Sunday in Advent

Matthew 1:18-25 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

“The Great O Antiphons”

Pastor Greg Ronning

Today’s sermon flows from the seventh century liturgical prayers known as “The Great O Antiphons,” the prayers that gave birth to the traditional Advent hymn, "O come, O come Emmanuel.”  The context of this traditional prayer and hymn is that of a people in captivity.  The text looks back and remembers the nation of Judah and the Babylonian Captivity.  A time when God's people had lost everything and had been carried off in chains to live in a foreign land.  A time when God’s people found themselves in a deep winter of despair longing for the light of spring and a time of rebirth.  Each verse begins with the exclamation “O,” emphasizing the deep longing in our hearts, the great desire for freedom, for light to shine in the darkness, and the awe filled anticipation of God’s advent into our world.

Today we reflect on the “The Great O Antiphons,” we pray as we sing each verse of the hymn, and we open up our souls in the deep outcry - “O,” because we too are desperately beseeching Christ to break into our world.  We too are looking for God’s advent - in the midst of pandemic, economic struggles, and social unrest.  We too are seeking - freedom in a time of captivity, light in a time of darkness, and life in the midst of death.  So it is that we join the saints of God in all times and places, in this time and in this place, in the timeless prayer of every place, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”

O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel, shall come to you, O Israel.

“O Come, O Wisdom from on High”

In a world filled with an overload of information, in a world filled with great knowledge, - we don’t always make the best decisions.  Too often we react in fear, too often we act from pride, too often we are anything but wise.  As individuals, as communities, as nations, as the world; we pray for wisdom on high.

O come, O Wisdom from on high, embracing all things far and nigh:

in strength and beauty come and stay; teach us your will and guide our way.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel.

“O Come, O Come, O Lord of Might”

In ancient days God led the faithful with a great cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night as they wandered in search of a promised land.  Along the way God gave the people the gift of the law to keep and order a good life.  At Christmas the law is fulfilled in the life and teachings of Christ.  Each day and each night we pray for guidance as we begin our advent journey.

O come, O come, O Lord of might, as to your tribes on Sinai's height

in ancient times you gave the law in cloud, and majesty, and awe.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel.

“O Come, O Branch of Jesse, free”

A prophecy from Isaiah, "The royal line of David is like a tree that has been cut down; but just as new branches sprout from a stump, so a new king will arise from among David's descendants." (Isaiah 11:1). The lineage, along with the hopes and dreams of Jesse, seemed dead.  Yet “the stump of Jesse” was anything but dead.  In the fullness of time a new branch appeared, and a lovely flower bloomed.  As we prepare for Christ, we are reminded that God comes to us in unexpected ways. Perhaps God is once again present for us, present with the gift of new life in our broken, forgotten, and hopeless places?  We pray for courage to look for life in the midst of death.

O come, O Branch of Jesse, free your own from Satan's tyranny;

from depths of hell your people save, and give them vict'ry o'er the grave.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel.

“O Come, O Key of David, Come”

Keys hold power. They allow us to enter a building or a house, to start up a car, to keep things safe. Keys can also be symbols of authority. The one who has a key can open and can shut. The one who holds the keys to life and the power of love comes to us at Christmas.  God's advent into "our life" opens the door to "our life."  God opens the door of forgiveness that sets us free from sin.  God opens the door of peace that gives us a new way to live and a reason to live.  The one who comes to us at Christmas holds the key to life and the power of love.  May God grant us the courage to open new doors and embrace new possibilities.

O come, O Key of David, come, and open wide our heav'nly home;

make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel.

“O Come, O Dayspring, Come and Cheer”

In this season the days get shorter, and the nights get longer.  And before Christmas arrives on December 25th, we must first endure the longest night of the year on December 21st.  So it is that in Advent, we find ourselves living in increasing darkness.  Just as the sun is nature's source of light and life, bringing seeds buried in the earth to life, so is Christ the source of our life.  Christ is the rising sun who brings, warmth and light to our darkness.  We pray that in our season of darkness we might be drawn to the light of God.

O come, O Dayspring, come and cheer; O Sun of justice, now draw near.

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death's dark shadow put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel.

“O Come, O King of Nations, Come”

Another Christmas will soon be here and still the world finds itself in great conflict.  O how we long for a king or a queen that might be different, a sovereign committed to justice for everyone, a ruler that might lead us in the ways of peace.  We pray for the coming of God’s commonwealth, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

O come, O King of nations, come, O Cornerstone that binds in one:

refresh the hearts that long for you; restore the broken, make us new.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel.

“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”

“In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.  He  was in the beginning with God.” …  And in the fullness of time ..“the word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory,” …. “full of grace and truth.”  And Mary named him Emmanuel, which means, “God with us.”

O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel,

that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel.

We conclude with a word from the prophet Isaiah, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness - on them light has shined.” (Isaiah 9)Amen.

Sermon on Matthew 11:2-15

Pastor Jennifer Garcia

Who is this Jesus guy, anyway?

Is this the Messiah or should they wait for someone else?

How can they tell?

John the Baptist sends one of his followers to find out. John can’t go himself, because he’s been imprisoned. A lot has happened since last week’s reading where John was baptizing people in the wilderness and declaring that the Reign of God had come near.

Now, he’s not sure if it’s Jesus he was waiting for and preaching about or someone else. So, he sends someone to ask for him.

When John’s disciple finds him, Jesus doesn’t come out and say, “Yes, I’m the Messiah” or show him his heavenly ID card. Instead, he lets his actions speak for themselves—he sends back an account of what’s happening around him:

“the blind receive their sight,

the lame walk,

those with a skin disease are cleansed,

the deaf hear,

the dead are raised,

and the poor have good news brought to them.”

It’s like Jesus is saying, “You want to know if I’m the one you’ve been waiting for? Look around—is this what the Reign of God will look like? If you’re looking for hope, peace, joy, and love, then yes, this is what you’ve been waiting for.”

Then, Jesus turns to the crowd who is listening to all of this, and he starts talking about John the Baptist.

He asks the crowd why they used to go see John to be baptized.

The Christian understanding of baptism is different from what people went to John for. Jesus’ audience understood baptism as a cleansing, something that could be done periodically for one’s spiritual wellness. It wasn’t something that happened once for all time the way we understand it.

So, Jesus asks them why they came. Was it to see “a reed shaken by the wind” or “someone dressed in soft robes”?

If Jesus were talking to us today, he might have said something like:

“Did you come to see some popular guru who talks of peace and love but is swayed by every passing fad?

Or did you come to see a celebrity influencer in all their Gucci glory but who’s actually just a disciple of wealth and status?

Or a politician who’s busy smiling for the camera and telling people what they want to hear without any intention of following through?

No, you came to see a prophet—someone who speaks hard truths and sees the world for what it really is.”

Jesus is reminding them that they came to see John because they wanted someone not to make them feel better about themselves. And they didn’t want a ruler who would dictate their lives.

They wanted to be cleansed and to hear truth.

Just like John the Baptist and his disciple, Jesus’ audience isn’t really sure how Jesus fits into all of this.

Jesus uses their hopes for John to illustrate that John was not the ending point in their search. John was pointing to Jesus the whole time. He is the Elijah figure, the (more than) prophet who points to how God is working in the world. And at that very moment, God was working in Jesus to bring healing and hope to the most vulnerable.

How could they tell? The same way Jesus tells John’s disciple:

“Go and tell John what you hear and see:

the blind receive their sight,

the lame walk,

those with a skin disease are cleansed,

the deaf hear,

the dead are raised,

and the poor have good news brought to them.”

Now, these signs are complicated. There are plenty of people with disabilities who would say that they don’t need “healing”—and indeed, if this is you, you are whole and good just as you are. Perhaps “good news” would be that the world becomes accessible, inclusive, and equitable in a way the world isn’t right now.

One way or another, Jesus is pointing to the way the world is being transformed around him. He’s pointing to the fruits of the Reign of God. Jesus’ tangible signs are a far more powerful witness than empty words. Jesus is adjusting their expectations of what to expect in the upside-down Reign of God. Yes, John was pointing to Jesus, but Jesus is pointing to the Reign of God.

The crowds weren’t going to the wilderness to see John the Baptist because they were hoping for someone with power and prestige, so why would they expect those things from the Messiah?

They weren’t going to John the Baptist for easy answers, so why were they expecting them from Jesus?

They didn’t really understand the nature of the Reign of God, so Jesus was trying to show them what it was like.

It’s hard to grasp what the Reign of God will look like. That’s one of the many reasons why we need Jesus—to show us, just as he pointed to what was going on around him to show John’s follower, that Jesus is, indeed, who we’re waiting for.

One of the ways we see what the Reign of God is like is through baptism.

Baptism is one of our sacraments—a way we see God’s work in the world through tangible things—in this case, water.

God knows we’re physical creatures who need physical signs of what’s going on spiritually. The coolness of water, the feel of its light wetness, the sound of droplets—all of this helps us feel God working in our lives.

Baptism is a glimpse into the Reign of God. In baptism all are equal and precious. There is no hierarchy, no merit or accomplishment that makes one worthy of baptism. It is a gift from God.

God freely bestows it on us, because God loves us. God makes us part of God’s family, knits us together with all of our siblings and ancestors in faith.

Being part of the Reign of God means being connected to others, being part of something bigger than oneself, and living in a way that treasures every person as the glorious image of God they are.

Baptism is a way we can see that happening.

When someone is baptized, like little Zoe was at The Table a few weeks ago, they are wrapped in community like a blanket. They are clothed in the vision of the upside-down Reign of God. They are simultaneously held in God’s love and sent out in hope to spread that love wherever they go.

Baptism is a gift, a promise, and a fulfillment. It is God’s gift to us, it is a promise that the Reign of God will be complete one day, and it is a glimpse into the fulfillment of that promise everyday.

So, next time you shower or wash your hands, remember that you belong to the Reign of God—it is God’s gift to you. And take a moment to think about how God is working in the world around you. What good news are you seeing and participating in? What is the Reign of God that you’re waiting for like? How do you see glimpses of it today?

I invite you to make the sign of the cross on your forehead and say to yourself, “God’s gifts are all around me.”

Hold onto that gift, that promise, today and every day.