12th January 2025 at 10.30am – Baptism of Christ – Eucharist

The Readings

Isaiah 43.1-7

But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.
Because you are precious in my sight,
and honoured, and I love you,
I give people in return for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you;
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up’,
and to the south, ‘Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away
and my daughters from the end of the earth—
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.’

Luke 3.15-17

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’

Luke 3.21-22

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’

Scripture quotations are from: New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

The Sermon
Prepared by The Revd Canon Dr Alan Billings.

My youngest grandchild is called Moses. Because his mother is Jewish.

Like many modern families, my son and his wife are from different ethnic and religious backgrounds.

And this poses a question for them. How do you together bring up your children? What are going to be the values by which you raise them?

What parents recognise – or should - is that having a child is not like having a potted plant. True, both need feeding and watering – though, mercifully, a geranium does not have to be entertained – at five in the morning – on Christmas day.

And a geranium is going to be a geranium however much you talk to it.

Children are a different matter. We need to give some thought about how we talk to them and how we behave towards them and around them, because as we do these things we contribute towards shaping their character, we impart to them the values we think matter.

And that's what our religious traditions give us – values, without which our children will grow up confused and all over the place.

Much of this value imparting is done by example. They see the way we treat or speak about one another. Most of the time we unconsciously set values in front of them and they unconsciously absorb them.

This is not to say that our children won't rebel, won't at some point say thank you very much but now I make my own decisions. Of course they will. Some more than others.

But rebellion is not anarchy. Rebels have a point of view, a standpoint, and that often arises out of the very values by which we raised them, though we may not always recognise that. After all, we don't spend too much of our waking lives examining the fundamental values by which we live: we are too busy living. But they are there nonetheless, shaping our attitudes, determining our choices and decisions.

But from time to time we do remind ourselves of those values and refresh and renew them.

I think that's why so many people came through this church and other churches over the Christmas period – they were touching base again with the Biblical story and so the values enshrined in it – the love between parent and child, the deep desire for peace in the earth and goodwill between people. This is why all those families came here to sing carols.

And I think this is what is going on when Jesus came to be baptised by John in the River Jordan. He is renewing his faith, committing himself anew to its fundamental values.

When you do that it gives you the means by which you can make judgements, including judgements about the very traditions in which you were raised. You sometimes rebel.

This is exactly what Jesus goes on to do as he leaves behind the carpenter's workshop in Nazareth and takes to the road as a preacher and teacher.

The values he learns from his Jewish home cause him to say and do things that shock his fellow Jews. He uses the faith in which he has been raised to be critical where people have not understood its implications, or have become blind to what it means.

To give just one example. Jesus takes the teaching that we should love God and our neighbour. But when he is asked who is my neigbour he breaks with Jewish tradition, which had identified the neighbour as fellow Jews. Jesus says no that won't do and he tells a story to make his point. A story in which the hero is not a Jew, but a Samaritan, whom the Jews have no time for. Its the Samaritan who is the good neighbour, who goes to the help of the injured Jew when everyone else walks by on the other side. Jesus makes the point that we can't limit our love to people like us. Charity may begin at home, but it can't stay there. Love has to cross the boundaries of religion and race and reach out to anyone in need.

In the wilderness, John the Baptist calls to his fellow Jews to come and renew their faith by being baptised. They didn't all come. But some did.

One of the things a parish church like St Mary's does, in a sense just by being here, is to remind people that we don't live by bread alone, important though the needs of the body are. We live by values. And from time to time we need to remember those values and recommit ourselves to them. Many of our neighbours did that at Christmas. We do it in this service, every week.

The Prayers

Jesus calls us out of darkness into his marvellous light.
Washed clean by the waters of baptism,
let us pray that we may live the life to which he has called us.

Lord Jesus, eternal Word,
proclaimed as the Christ by John the forerunner,
hear us as we pray for all who proclaim your word
praying especially for Beth as she takes up her new role
Lord of truth,
hear our prayer.

Lord Jesus, baptizing with the Spirit and with fire,
strengthen us to withstand all the trials of our faith.
Lord of truth,
hear our prayer.

Lord Jesus, bringing forgiveness to all who repent,
teach your Church dependence on your grace.
Lord of truth,
hear our prayer.

Lord Jesus, fulfilment of the promises of old,
give hope to all who suffer or are ignored.
Lord of truth,
hear our prayer.

Lord Jesus, beloved Son of the Father,
anoint us with the gifts of your Holy Spirit.
Lord of truth,
hear our prayer.

Lord Jesus, bringer of hope,
share with all the faithful the riches of eternal life.
Lord of truth,
hear our prayer.

Lord Jesus Christ,
in you the Father makes us and all things new.
Transform the poverty of our nature
by the riches of your grace,
and in the renewal of our lives
make known your heavenly glory.
Amen.

St Marys Walkley

The Church on the Road: inclusive, eucharistic, a safe place to be with God

12th January 2025 at 10.30am – Baptism of Christ – Eucharist