"Beloved of God"
A Sermon of
The Rev. Dr. David A. Killian, Rector
All Saints Parish
Brookline, Massachusetts
The First Sunday after the Epiphany
Feast of the Baptism of our Lord
January 8, 2006
Text: Mark 1:7-11
I
Today we celebrate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. The Gospel passage describes Jesus "coming up out of the water" -- which means that he first went down under the water. The Greek word "baptizo" means to be plunged under. Even though most of us were not baptized by immersion, we want to hold on to the meaning of "baptizo" -- being plunged under -- which signifies deep change and transformation, a dying to an old identity and rising to a new identity as the Beloved of God.
After his baptism, Jesus "saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.'" Jesus' baptism is an "epiphany" or manifestation of his identity -- the Beloved of God. No matter what would happen to Jesus in the future, he would always know that he was God's beloved.
II
Today we will baptize Cy Benjamin into our Christian community and proclaim that he is beloved of God. Of course, this is not the beginning of his being loved by God. Cy Benjamin has always been loved by God, but this is our public proclamation, a "shouting from the housetops" as it were, that Cy Benjamin is the beloved of God.
Cy Benjamin's parents in countless ways already have communicated to him that he is God's beloved. They communicate that he is God's beloved by saying "Yes" and "No". They say "Yes" when they provide nourishing food, dress him in warm clothes, teach him how to walk and talk, teach him how to share his toys and how to socialize with other children. They also communicate to Cy Benjamin that he is God's beloved by saying "No": No, you can't eat all of the chocolates in that box; no, you cannot cross the street until the light changes; no, you can't stay up past midnight watching television; no, you can't play that commuter game. Parents are the great teachers and communicators of values to children. They help the child they bring up "to grow into the full stature of Christ" as God's beloved.
We, the Christian community, also share this responsibility. In a few moments, I will ask the congregation, "Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support Cy Benjamin in his life in Christ?" And you will answer, "We will." All of us have a duty to create a loving community in which this child and all children can grow in strength and wisdom, for none of us can accomplish anything without the support, love, and encouragement of others.
Grandparents have a great role in helping children feel beloved. As I child I loved to visit my grandfather on his farm in northwestern Wisconsin. I was like a shadow following him around as he did his chores of picking the eggs, feeding the pigs, or milking cows. On mornings we drove into town together to attend Mass at the church he helped build. After Mass we would stop for an ice cream soda. When he was 92 years old living in a nursing home, I came by to visit. On one of our visits, he told me, "I always loved you and I enjoyed the times we spent together." His words to me were like the words Jesus heard at his baptism: You are my beloved. My grandfather gave me an sense that I was loved and lovable.
III
A couple of weeks ago, my wife Barbara and I viewed the Ansel Adams exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts. Ansel Adams, perhaps the most famous photographer in our country in the last century, got his start taking pictures at age 14 when his father gave him a Kodak box "brownie" camera on a trip to Yosemite National Park. Ansel was also a gifted musician who could have made a career as a concert pianist. However, the pull of photography was stronger than the pull of music and he remarked that "the instrument of my destiny would be the camera and not the piano."
But Ansel Adams would not have achieved his destiny if he had not received the support of others. His father gave him his first camera. Along the way he had mentors who refined his technique. Other photographers with him formed a group that shared ideas and equipment and worked cooperatively to develop their craft. Throughout his career he was part of a community of photographers, environmentalists, clients, and benefactors that helped him achieve his goals.
So it is with us and our life in Christ. We need the support and encouragement of a Christian community to give us strength to life our baptismal covenant and to give us an awareness that we are the beloved of God.
In the instructions concerning Holy Baptism in the Book of Common Prayer we read "The bond which God establishes in Baptism is indissoluble" (page 298). This means that it lasts forever. Once baptized, we never need to be baptized again. We have an eternal relationship with God. No matter where we go, no matter what we do, even if we should wander like the Prodigal Son away from the household of faith, God does not abandon us, but continues to call us Beloved Son, Beloved Daughter.
There's a story of a family that spotted the great Pablo Picasso on a beach in southern France. They dispatched their little boy with a sheet of paper and begged the artist for a small, autographed drawing. Picasso thought for a moment, then tore up the paper. Taking some color crayons he drew a design on the boy's chest and back and then signed his "work." Picasso then sent the youngster on his way. "I wonder," the artist said with a mischievous smile, "if they'll ever wash the boy again.
Holy Baptism is more than a ritual, a milestone, a "naming" ceremony. Like the youngster who finds himself "marked" by Picasso's art, we are "marked" in baptism as "God's own forever." We become part of God's holy people who rise from the waters of baptism and, with the Spirit upon us, travel Christ's road of justice and mercy to the fulfillment of the Resurrection. In Baptism we become part of the Body of Christ and embrace Christ's way of life: to live for others rather than for ourselves, to be ministers of God's justice and peace, to bring forth the light of Christ, to be God's beloved in the world. Amen.