first sunday after epiphany

“behold my servant, whom i uphold, MY chosen, in whom my soul delights; i have put my spirit upon him…”.

this prophesy of isaiah is generally regarded as referring to the messiah---to jesus whose baptism we remember today.  but it also clearly relates to the sacrament of baptism as we received it and as we renew it today.  

through our baptism we are called to be servants--servants of god and servants to one another.  as jesus told his disciples, “he who would be greatest among you must be servant to all.”  he then went on to become a living example of this for all of us.

now servant hood doesn’t mean groveling before everyone.  to be a servant is to be faithful—it is to be willing to love others over self.  regardless of our station in life, we are at our best when we serve best.  yes, baptism calls us to servant hood.

mrs. floyd crook recalls an experience from childhood that taught her a great truth.  she came home from school crying because she had only a small part in a children’s program and her playmate had gotten a leading role.  her mother dried her tears and then she took off her watch and placed it in her hand.  “what do you see?” she asked her daughter.  “a gold case, a face and two hands,” she replied.  now her mother turned the watch over and opened the back and repeated the question.  “lots of tiny wheels”.  her mother then explained that the watch would be useless without every part—even the ones you can hardly see.  this example helped her throughout her life to see the importance of even the smallest duties that we are asked to perform.

as servants of god, we are upheld by god.  we are given the strength, the power to do those tasks that he gives us, and that we are willing to accept.  we can see it at work in mary, his mother; in st. paul; in mother teresa; and in so many others whose names will never be household words but who have been faithful. 

we see it in those special people whose lives touch ours—perhaps on a regular basis or perhaps only for what seems like a fleeting instant.  we see it in our many parish organizations as well as in the individuals who make up this parish family.  the upholding power of god shows through them.

we are upheld and yes, we are god’s chosen in whom his soul delights.  not chosen because of what we have done but chosen through christ, in spite of what we have done.  as st. paul reminds us, while we were still sinners he died for us that our sins might be forgiven and that we might have life eternal. 

god loved us so much that he gave his only begotten son for us and required of us simply to repent of our errors, accept jesus as our saviour and remain faithful servants.  we are chosen because he first loved us and we have responded by loving him and our neighbor as ourselves.

through baptism, god has put his spirit in us.  through the third person of the holy trinity, jesus is present for us—to guide us and strengthen us when things seem to be falling apart around us—to give us hope—to remind us that we are never alone.  he does not promise that bad things will not happen to us but that he will be there in our pain to get us through it.

god proclaims to all of us and for all of us, “behold my servant, whom i uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; i have put my spirit upon him.”

may god uphold and bless you from this day forth and forever more—may you always reflect the light of christ wherever life may take you.

i find that baptism is beautifully reflected in this poem from, "god is a verb", By marilee zdenek.

you touched me-

        and the world did not change-

        but i began to.

you touched me-

        and the valley didn’t go away-

        but i looked up and saw a mounyain range.

you touched me-

        and since you did, i haven’t been the same.

i’m going all the way with you, lord,

i’m not holding back anymore.

i’m soaring to the summit of your plan

        leaping into life

flying on the high jumps to your hand.