Morton Presbyterian Church

Jesus' followers of all ages need spiritual parents and grandparents to nurture and support us on the journey of faith. In the service of baptism we promise to do this for one another.

Rain may stop. Springs may fail, and wells and rivers may dry up. But the living water of Jesus flows on and on through our lives into eternity.

Just as God drew Naaman down to the healing waters, God draws us to the waters of baptism. Baptism points to the healing waters of God that flow into and through our lives, washing away guilt, soothing our wounds, comforting our aching hearts, and giving us fresh strength to go on.

No matter what our age, no matter how much we know or understand, no matter how many good things we do, salvation is God's gracious gift to us. God loves us before we are able to love God back. To participate in God's kingdom, we must be as little children in God's arms. This is a major reason why Presbyterians and other Christians baptize infants and small children as well as older children and adults. Baptism is a sign of pure grace.

Baptism signifies dying with Christ and rising to new life with Christ. We die to sin and death. No longer are we slaves to sin and death. Now Christ Jesus is our Lord. If we die with Christ, we shall also live with Christ. We are in and with Christ, held safely in Christ's arms. We can hold tightly to the One who is holding tightly to us.

Easter shakes everything up. When the risen Christ is around, outsiders don't stay outsiders, the sick don't stay sick, and the dead don't stay dead. The earth quakes, and the powers of oppression tremble in fear. But the poor, and those who are hurt or grieving or dying tremble with joy.

Baptism is a visible sign that you belong to Christ and to the body of Christ, where all are welcome, all are united in him, and all are equal in him. This is good news for everyone, but especially for those like the Ethiopian man, a eunuch, who have been told in one way or another, "You don't belong."

Jesus said that it's not enough to love family and friends and others who are easy to love and who love us back. The real test of love is to love even an enemy, which is what God does all the time.

The sign of baptism reassures us that God's forgiveness is real. As water washes away dirt, so God washes away sin. When the joy of salvation eludes us, we can remember our baptism and the loving God who baptized us. What baptism meant for Paul, former archenemy of the church, is a case in point.

The first thing to know about baptism is that it is a gift of God's love. Just as God did when Jesus was baptized, God announces, "You are my child, my beloved. I am pleased with you." We are baptized with Christ, and Christ is baptized with us.

Jesus declares that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. Does that mean we must out-Pharisee the Pharisees? Does that mean we must police every thought as well as every action? Well, no. Jesus is aiming at something deeper.

Who are the truly blessed? According to Jesus it's not the winners of this world, but the poor and poor in spirit, the gentle, those who mourn, who ache for justice, and who get in trouble for their witness. The wisdom and way of the kingdom of heaven truly is upside down. Or as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 1, God's foolishness is greater than human wisdom.

Can the little we are able to do really make a difference? According to Jesus it can. According to Jesus, we are salt and light. A little light can be seen from far away, and a pinch of salt goes a long way.

Not long after Jesus rejected the devil's offer of all the power and wealth of this world's kingdoms, Jesus heard that Herod Antipas had arrested John the Baptist. Jesus chose this dangerous time to begin preaching the arrival of the kingdom of heaven. Instead of marching into the halls of power, Jesus withdrew to a place on the edge of the empire and began preaching there, the erstwhile land of Zebulon and Naphtali. Matthew notes that indeed the light has dawned on those who sat in darkness.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus' first disciples come to Jesus when John the Baptist points Jesus out to them. They turn their eyes to Jesus and start following. Jesus is on his way somewhere in this story, and the disciples have to follow along to see where he is going.

One wondrous thing about the incarnation is that God truly wanted to come to us. In God's eyes this world is worth it, this life is worth it, and each person is worth it. You are worth it. The sermon includes a summary of a short story entitled "The Visited Planet," by J. B Phillips. You can find it through an online search. It also mentions an article in the Portland, Maine Press Herald that you can access here: http://www.pressherald.com/2017/01/01/what-happens-when-youre-the-only-one-who-shows-up-to-church/?utm_content=buffer3db2b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Those who would follow Jesus are called to make the same kind of persevering commitment that Joseph made when he was asked to take responsibility for the Christ Child. Sometimes that means we are literally called to care about and care for other people's children.

About three miles southeast of Bethlehem, King Herod built a fabulous palace in top of a human-made hill. He called it the Herodium after himself. King Jesus was born down below in Bethlehem.

New life blossoms wherever Jesus goes.

It's time for an Advent visit with the prophet John the Baptist. According to him, those who want to meet the king and participate in the kingdom so beautifully anticipated in Isaiah 11 must repent. Dickens' story of Ebenezer Scrooge is a parable of repentance in this sermon.