Surely the Presence of the LordIs In This Place

January 11, 2015Mark1:4-11

The Baptism of Our Lord

Let us pray… Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, instructed the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

It’s pretty easy to find yourself in an emotional valley this time of year. The days are short and the weather goes from rain, rain, rain, to snow and cold, cold, cold… Then you add to that, the natural let down after the high of Christmas, the start of a New Year, the biggest event in Trinity’s 149 year history, a birthday, and the birth of a new grandson and you’ve got the makings of a pretty sizeable valley. Mountain top

experiences are great, but we can’t stay up there forever. Eventually you have to come back down to earth. That’s exactly where I found myself during the latter part of this week. The Christmas decorations are all down and put away for next year and we’re back to “normal.” The problem is I don’t want normal any more. I know there’s more to do and more to experience, and more of what God is calling me, and us to do. So the old normal just won’t do at least not for me in the new year of 2015!

Have you ever noticed how God seems to have a way of meeting our needs, sometimes even without our ever asking? I mean, I knew I was getting into a sort of a funk after all the excitement wore off from last Sunday, but it really never occurred to me to ask God to get me through it. I guess I have thing about praying for myself, it just seems, well, selfish. Yet there’s God, the Church, and the people who put the Revised Common Lectionary together to the rescue. This story of the Baptism of our Lord Jesus, full of grace and love and hope, right smack dab in the middle of the time when, not just me, but I’m sure many of you are going through your own times of letdown. Today we heard the familiar story of how Jesus came to receive the Baptism of John the Baptist. Immediately afterward the heavens are ripped apart and God’s Holy Spirit descends on Jesus, filling Him with power, and purpose. The dome of the sky is torn asunder and God’s voice thunders out, proclaiming Jesus to be God’s Son, the Beloved. Jesus is the one with whom God is well pleased. Wouldn’t it have been great to witness that mountain top experience? To

actually see with your own eyes the heavens rent asunder and the Holy Spirit coming like a dove; that would surely be a sight to behold!

We don’t have to wait or wish for that kind of epiphany, it’s happening all around us! In my 57 years on this earth I’ve never seen the Holy Spirit pouring out God’s power and love as I have these past 17 months that I’ve been associated with you all here at Trinity. The Holy Spirit certainly has descended upon this place. One of my favorite songs I learned from my Via de Cristo weekend is called Surely the Presence. The words go like this:

Surely the presenceof the Lord is in this place.

I can feel God's mighty powerand God's grace.

I can hear the brush of angel's wings,I see glory on each face.

Surely the presenceof the Lord is in this place

Every time I step through the door here in this place I feel God’s presence. When I’m here with you all, it’s pretty easy to literally feel the brush of angel wings. That’s what you all are, angels. Angels are God’s messengers and if that doesn’t describe this congregation, then I don’t know what else would. I’m getting to know most of you more and more the longer I’m here and I’ve seen some of you in action, outside the walls of this building. Other’s I’ve heard stories about the things you’re doing like teaching and mentoring people who have English as a second language,

bringing the joy of art into the lives of children, sharing the wonders of reading with students, and making toys for children. Add to all these we’re touching many lives through the FISH pantry and Wernle Home. This congregation brings God’s Spirit everywhere you go.

Today we’re going to get yet another chance to see God’s Holy Spirit poured out, right here in our presence. When I Baptize Rhyan in a few minutes she will receive that same gift of the Holy Spirit Jesus received at His own baptism. Rhyan will be given the gifts of the Spirit and be joined to Jesus in His death and His resurrection. She will not only be given the gifts of the Spirit, she also receives a new purpose for her life. The gifts of the Spirit she receives today are like the little embryonic genes that will someday develop into full blown characteristics. When she was born she had all the genes and chromosomes she will ever need to grow into a full grown woman. Similarly, at her rebirth, she receives all the Spiritual Gifts she will ever need to follow the call and invitation of Jesus. These Spiritual Gifts are usually divided into three groups. There are the gifts of revelation, namely wisdom, knowledge and discernment. There are the gifts of power, namely: faith, healing, and working of miracles. There are also the gifts of inspiration: prophecy, diverse tongues and the interpretation of tongues.

We all received some combination of these gifts of the Spirit at our own Baptisms, that’s where the power for your ministry comes from. Along with the Spiritual Gifts we also join with Christ and become a

member of the Body of Christ which is the Church. That’s where the purpose for our lives comes into play. As the Body of Christ we’re all bound up together in the mission Jesus turned over to the Church when He was physically on the earth. We’re to use the gifts given in our Baptism in pursuit of that mission, which is to create new disciples by Baptizing and teaching these new Christ followers all those things Jesus commanded.

Today Rhyan joins us in our mission of seeking, welcoming, and serving all people. What good news that is for the world! We actively seek out those who are lost, sick, or forsaken. We welcome them with warm hospitality, rather than judgment. We serve them by offering them ourselves, our time, and share what we have with them. We serve them by teaching them about Jesus and by helping them to see what God is up to around here. Sometimes it’s hard to see what God’s up to. The only way you can see the Spirit is with the eyes of faith. I’m not quite sure how you get those eyes. I’ve never found the store that sells faith glasses, or faith contacts. Dr Stahl down there in Dayton doesn’t have a Lasix Surgery that can provide 20/20 faith vision. The Bible says faith come from hearing the Gospel. The Gospel is preached in many ways. The obvious way is right here in this pulpit, but there’s lots of other ways as well. For example, the Gospel is preached with every quilt that’s sewn, every school kit and every personal care kit sent to those in need. The Gospel is preached every time we give a gift to Wernle Home and the children there who are mostly lost and forgotten. The Gospel is

preached when you send cards or pray for those who are sick or hurting. How about in the sharing of our wealth through the FriendshipFest event or the gifts to the Gateway families or the many other gifts freely given through the adult Sunday school? Every time you offer a word of encouragement or forgiveness you are preaching the Gospel. It doesn’t take lofty 5 syllable seminary words. Sometimes it’s as easy as saying, “I’m sorry”. Sometimes the Gospel comes in the form of food brought to a homebound person.

Of all the places where I’ve seen the Gospel preached around here over the past 17 months, and there have been too many to name, the most evident is at the Lord’s Table and the Baptismal font. Baptism and Communion are two times when we receive the guaranteed promise of God’s presence among us. I don’t know if we’ll see the heavens torn open or God thundering out loud today, but my faith surely knows the presence of the Lord is in this place.

Getting back to that valley of funk I found myself in the last couple of days, nothing I know of can cure the funk of walking through the valleys after being at the mountain top better being in the presence of the Lord. Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place!

May you know the peace of God’s love poured out to you through the Holy Spirit. May the power of that same Holy Spirit recreate you into the angel you are meant to be. May you hear the brush of angel wings and see God’s glory on each face every time we gather together as the Body of Jesus Christ. Amen.