January 12th,
2014 “Experiencing the Sacraments”
Rev. Heather Jepsen
Matthew 3:13-17 with
Psalm 29
You know me, I don’t ever like to get
stuck in a rut, in life or in worship. I
like to do new things, shake it up a bit, make you a little uncomfortable. There’s no sleeping in my pews. So today we are going to mix it up a
bit. Today we are going to experience the
sacraments during the sermon rather than afterwards as separate events.
The opportunity for a worship service
like this today has come about because of the liturgical year. Today is “Baptism of the Lord” Sunday, a day
when we always remember and honor the Baptism of Jesus in the river
Jordan. It is a special Sunday to have
Baptisms in the church, and to honor and remember our own Baptisms which we
will do today. Today is also the second
Sunday of the month, the day this church has set aside to celebrate the
sacrament of communion. So, we are going
to do both.
Personally I love the sacraments
because they are so different from everything else we do here at church. As Presbyterians, we spend a lot of time
talking about God. The majority of our
service is talking about God. We pray,
we sing, we read Scripture, I babble on; it’s all basically experiencing God in
words. And we like to use really big
words like Christology, Exegesis, Theophany, Parousia, Incarnation,
Eschatology, and Perichoresis. That’s
great, if your brain works like that and if big words help you understand
God. But that’s not so great, if you
don’t know what those words mean and frankly you don’t care because that sounds
really boring. Heck, even if you can
pass the test of defining all those big words, talking about God that way is
pretty impersonal.
Presbyterians have a lot of great
ideas about who God is, but sometimes, words alone are not the best way to get
there. That’s why I love the
Sacraments. In the Sacraments we can put
words aside and experience God in other ways.
Sure the sacraments have meaning, and value, and even specific words
that go with them. But they are also
sensory experiences involving sight, touch, taste, and smell. Suddenly God is more than an idea in your
brain; God is a piece of bread in your hand or a drop of water splashed on your
face. In the Sacraments God becomes
something you can touch and know.
We’ll start today with Baptism. In our reading from Matthew, Jesus comes to
the river Jordan to be baptized there by John the Baptist. The gospel of Matthew is written late enough
for the writer to feel the need to address the issue of authority. If Jesus is greater than John, shouldn’t he
be the one doing the dunking? Matthew’s
John asks “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” and Jesus
replies “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all
righteousness.” Both agree to the
activity, Jesus is baptized, and then the heavens open, God declares his love
for the Son, and the Holy Spirit lands on the Christ, preparing and blessing
him for his ministry.
Baptism is a really cool thing we do,
and there are a lot of great words we can say about it. In Baptism we are reborn; we die to our old
lives and begin new lives in Jesus Christ.
In Baptism we are washed; our old dirt of sin and guilt is removed and
we are made fresh in the Lord. In
Baptism we are sealed; God places a mark upon us and we officially join the
covenant family of faith. In Baptism we
experience God’s power; the waters of Baptism are the waters of chaos, tamed
and controlled by our God. So too, God
has the power to tame the chaos we experience in our world and lives. Baptism is awesome!
Baptism is also very powerful, and
that’s why Presbyterians only do it one time.
Presbyterians believe that any and every Baptism is a Baptism by
God. If you were ever Baptized in a
Christian Church with the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit than that Baptism
stands for all time and we won’t redo it.
That’s cool, one Baptism is all you need. But it’s also not cool, because you only get
to do it once. Sometimes folks feel like
they have missed out, especially if they were baptized as children.
So today, right now, we are going to
remember our baptisms. And I’m going to
splash you with water, so you can feel it.
Open your hymnals to page 21 and joining me in reaffirming the covenants
we made at Baptism. If you haven’t been Baptized
you can join us as well, consider this a practice run.
- - - - -
I can’t think of a better way to
start the New Year! Now, to become the
people of faith we have been called to be, sealed in the waters of Baptism, let
us turn to God for nourishment for the journey.
Just like with Baptism, in communion
or the Lord’s Supper, there is a lot more going on than just bread and
juice. Never at a loss for words,
Presbyterians have a lot to say about what we are doing together here at the
table. When the church gathers at the
table, we are renewed and empowered by the memory of Christ’s life, death, and
resurrection. Similar to baptism, we are
sealed in God’s covenant community as we partake of the self-offering of
Christ. In taking the elements of bread
and juice, we share in the body and blood of Jesus, remembering and honoring
his sacrificial death. When we come
together, we bind ourselves with Christ and with each other as the community of
believers. And not only that, but we
join with the greater church, all believers in every time and place. Communion is also about looking ahead, as we
anticipate celebrating with the Christ and all believers in heaven. Like Baptism, the Lord’s Supper is Awesome!
Plus, it’s not just words. It’s an experience of God that we can touch
and feel and that we can smell and taste.
And it’s an experience of God as we come forward, humbling ourselves,
sharing the elements, and finding God in each other and in this gathered
community. So let’s do it. We will follow the service which begins on
page 8 in your hymnal and get ready, because we are going to do it “old school”
style and sing!
- - - - -
Both of our scripture readings for
today talk about the power of God. In
the Psalm, we hear a call to worship a great and marvelous God who has glory
and strength. A God whose very voice has
power over the chaos of creation, a God who sits enthroned over all.
In the reading from Matthew, we hear
of a God made flesh, a man who was like us.
Even though he was of God, still he consented to be Baptized, to join
fully with us on our journey from darkness to light, from sin to grace, from
doubt to faith.
It is my prayer and hope, that today’s
experience of the sacraments, has been an experience of this great and
wonderful God for you. May we leave this
place today, people renewed in Baptism, people nourished in Communion, God’s
people ready to love and serve our Lord in this world. Thanks be to God for these awesome experiential
gifts! Amen.
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