Episcopal Church of the
Incarnation
The First Sunday after the Epiphany (B)
Genesis
1.1-5 Psalm 29
Acts 19.1-7 Mark 1.4-11
May the Lord be in my mind, on my lips, and in my heart, that
I may rightly and truly proclaim His holy Word. Amen.
Outline of a
Sermon Delivered Extemporaneously
1) How many of you here today
received the Holy Spirit when you were baptized?
a) This is not a trick
question. The answer is that all
who have been baptized with water in the Name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit, have received the Holy Spirit.
i) We have each received the
Spirit who gives life (John 6. 63), the Spirit who leads us into truth (John
16.13), the Spirit who endows us with every spiritual gift (1 Cor. 12).
(1) The question is not,
therefore, whether we have received the Spirit, but how we respond.
2) Mark tells us that at Jesus’
baptism the Spirit descended “like a dove” upon Jesus, to be followed by a
voice from heaven which proclaimed, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am
well pleased” (Mark 1.11).
a) At this very first
appearance of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel, God reveals Himself as Father, Son and
Holy Spirit.
i) Jesus did not have to
receive the Spirit. The Spirit was in
Him already, just as He was already in the Spirit.
(1) Just as Jesus, the Word
described by John as being “In the beginning ... [and through whom] all things
were ... made” (John 1.1-3) was with the Spirit which is described at the very
beginning of the Bible as “moving over the face of the waters” (Gen. 1.2) in
creation.
ii) Jesus did not have to
receive the Spirit, but we did. Absent
the Spirit we would have no real life in us, no life everlasting.
3) The question becomes again,
therefore, having received the Spirit how are we to respond? How is this new life in us manifested?
a) And manifestation is
the theme of this season of Epiphany.
i) The very word epiphany
means “manifestation, showing”.
(1) So, how does each us in whom
the Spirit dwells manifest to the world this life-giving blessing and power?
4) We do so in how we are
changed.
a) In each sacrament something
real happens; we are not dealing with mere symbolism.
i) In the Holy Eucharist the
bread and wine become Jesus’ Body and Blood,
He is really present with us in the eucharist.
ii) And in Baptism our souls are
changed. The power of God effects a change in the being and character of each soul, calling
each soul Godward; imprinting each soul with life-giving power, able to receive
the gifts of the Spirit and the gift of salvation.
b) Our souls are changed, and
because “nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1.37), this means that
whatever we have done, whatever we have been, God can lead us into new life,
into new light and truth.
5) A lot of folks don’t get
that; the reality that change is possible, that new life is offered.
a) They may not know God at
all, but more likely they know something about Him.
i) They’re like the folks
described in the lesson from Acts, who were baptized into repentance but not
into new life.
(1) Who sought God, turned to
Him, but who had not yet experienced the new life of God dwelling in them.
b) There are a lot of folks who
realize that there is more to life than self.
i) They may describe this
“more” as a “higher power”, as some principle of life, and seek to serve this
principle, but then it’s very easy to confuse a “higher power” with the
projection of self.
(1) And so “new life” becomes no
more than a self-improvement program.
ii) They may even describe this
higher power as God, but absent the Spirit they spend their lives searching for
“evidence” rather than living in experience.
6) But what about those in whom
the Spirit does dwell? How is this
experience of God manifested?
a) Stated more personally, how
are you called to be an epiphany of the Lord?
b) You will manifest the Lord
in how people will see that you are changed by Him.
i) You will manifest the Lord
in how you reflect His love, how you are seen to love Him in gathering for
worship.
ii) You will manifest the Lord
in all the ways you have agreed and promised to be changed by Him, how in the
words of the Baptismal Covenant (BCP 304) you:
(1) Continue in the apostles’
teaching and fellowship, and in the prayers.
(2) Persevere in resisting evil,
and whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord.
(3) Proclaim by word and example
the Good News of God in Christ.
(4) Seek and serve Christ in all
persons, loving your neighbor as yourself.
(5) Strive for justice and peace
among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.
iii) You will do all these
things, manifesting God’s power in your life, because in the life which He
gives you you are changed.
7) So, let’s get
practical. God has equipped you in
baptism to do His work. God has given
you His Spirit. What are you going to
do?
a) The first thing to recognize
is that you have been equipped to work with God.
i) Your soul has been changed
to allow you to coöperate in God’s work in this world, both within you and
without you.
(1) So, coöperate. Focus on seeking to do God’s will by getting
your own will out of the way.
b) How can I do this? I can do this in little things, in practical
steps that allow me to form habits of holiness.
i) Habits like prayer, which
means no more and no less than setting time aside for God.
(1) Time at meals to offer
thanks.
(2) Time in the morning to seek
guidance, and time at night to reflect on how God is calling me serve and what
He is calling me to be.
ii) Habits like offering
worship; making Sunday worship more than just another priority.
iii) Habits like listening: reflecting on God’s holy word in regular
encounters with Scripture.
iv) Habits like service, which
means that I take the gifts God has given me and offer them in service to those
who need help.
c) All little, practical steps,
but steps taken continuously to take the new me which has been created by the
gift of the Holy Spirit and “polish” this new me.
i) To work with God to complete
what He intends for me in this life.
ii) To work with God to do His
work in this world, to manifest His greatness.
d) Work with God. Work with Him so that people will see how God
has changed and changes you.
i) When you do this you will be
one little epiphany among many.
(1) One epiphany which invites
all others into new life.
In
the Name of the Father, and of the Son,
and
of the Holy Spirit. Amen.