Sermon Gen. 1:1-5, Acts 19:1-7
At the beginning of the year, we have readings on beginnings, creation and baptism. It is presented as a theological account. It presents a God of order, of planning, of evaluation. It is an account that always pushes toward the web of life. Since we are not given a source of the first light, let us assume that light is the presence of God in the world. In a sense then, creation is sacramental when we see signs of God within the patterns of nature.
When the Genesis account was written, the future seemed without form and void. Around the same time, Isaiah hears that God did not make a chaos. God turns disorder into something sensible, most importantly, creation points toward a pattern for life. Genesis chooses the polarity of light and darkness. Chaos is represented by the darkness. As children, we instinctively grasp a fear of darkness and made a world of fears from it. We know: light overcomes darkness.
Within the immensity of God’s creation, Christians like to argue about a truly trivial point. In what mode should baptism be performed? Our Book of Order solves the issue nicely by saying: any mode of water baptism is proper as long as it is approved by session. Baptism is the sacrament of new beginnings, new creation for Christians. Baptism in the Spirit presents issues of mode and source. We link the Spirit and the act of baptism together through Jesus Christ. We may present a candle to the baptized as a sign that Christ, the light of the world, is present in their life. Baptism takes the chaos of human nature and points it to a direction. It transforms a basic element of creation, to signify new birth, a new community. Baptism is a sign of God’s continuing work with creation. Out of the billions of years of creation, God works with the blip on the screen, the time human beings have been on this planet; God works in a new way for the less than two thousand years . It points us to the Christ who “will fulfill God’s purpose in God’s promised future.” When some of the old troubles persist into the new year, we get resentful. God’s new work in creation and in baptism signals that the past does not have to be a chain. We are always being released into a new future. God tears open the heaven to move heaven and earth together.
Once again, God evaluates us and God sees that it is good. As God said at the baptism of Jesus, this is my beloved, in whom I am well-pleased. Once again, God distinguishes one form of life from another: Christian life or not. Christian baptism is a new year’s, new life resolution that lasts a lifetime. Listen to the baptismal promises again. We remember and strengthen our vows on occasion. God marks us all with the sign of baptism, so we are all marked for service to God and each other. When we feel the need to turn a new leaf, the waters of baptism live. In creation and in baptism, it is God who makes the first move toward us in love. The creation gives us glimpses of God. Jesus Christ helps us to see God more clearly and fully. In this new year, we can try to keep God in better focus than in the past. We can try to keep our eyes open to God’s hand with the attention we pay to the moves of the coaches during the playoff games. We live between two creations, nature and baptism. In 2015 , let’s live in both fully.
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