Over the years, baptism of the Lord Sunday grows more difficult for me. One could try to link the various images of this passage to Christan baptism, and it could be a deepening experience of the meaning of the sacrament.
Thomas Long did a fine sermon on the bruised reed theme. I think of the old phrase would not harm a fly. It seems such a weak image, much like the way Jesus is portrayed as ethereal in some paintings and movies.
On the other hand that same tender person will not be crushed until justice is established. this could lead into a good look at different conceptions of power and differents imnages of weakness v. power.One could do a state of the union style message on justice 2014
James Sinclair in our church reminds me to keep the Spirit in focus. Here we could use the spirit/breath of God for baptism in close focus or more generally on the role of the Spirit as Lord and Giver of life (Moltmann)..
t song also ends (v.9) with a fascinating verse of the former things and the new that would be appropriate this time of year.If you wish to extend the reading, one could do well with the injunctions to both remember and not remember the former things.
The small piece on creation could be good for a theology and science talk or some care with how the passage itself is put together with other creation material (see Brown's 7 Pillars)
\ It's fitting in this time of year that we have more material with the image of light.
Again, one could go a scientific route on light or in its spiritual outgrowth as illumination..What does it mean to be enlightened?
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