YOU CAN BE  A CHILD OF GOD

FATHER JIM FOSDICK

ST. MARY OF THE SNOWS ANGLICAN CHURCH

JAN. 13, 2007

Lord of light - shine upon us. God of love fill our hearts with your wisdom. Holy Spirit, bring yourself closer to us in my words and how we hear them, in our thoughts and how we think them. Use this time - and use us to accomplish your good will. Amen.

The last three weeks have been really something for Susan and me. Before I go any further I want to thank everyone for their prayers and also for the many cards both Christmas and sympathy that we have received. The prayers have truly lifted us up and Susan and her brother Lee and mother Joyce are doing really really well. 

As I was thinking and praying about my message for this morning I was struck by how connected the funeral of my father-in-law and our topic for this morning are. The gospel for the funeral was from John and read in part, Let not your hearts be troubled, believe in God, believe also in Me. When we are baptized we express our belief in God and his son Jesus Christ and in so doing we become children of God and if children then heirs to God’s kingdom. What makes the death of someone we love bearable is the knowledge that as believers they will have eternal life and we will see them again. Our baptismal vows express very clearly this belief and decision to follow Jesus as Lord. If we’re baptized as infants then at some point we have to affirm this decision for ourselves but baptism is an important spiritual transaction. So important that Jesus’ last words to the disciples included the statement Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Baptism was so important that Jesus himself was baptized by John and that’s what I want to spend our time on this morning.

Today is the day in our church calendar when we celebrate the baptism of Jesus. We remember that he made his glory known at his baptism. As he was baptized, the heavens opened up and the Holy Spirit came upon him in the form of a dove, and the Father said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
We see him go down in the water, and then something extraordinary happens when he comes up. God speaks and affirms his sonship. This was a day of change for Jesus – the day that he began his public ministry. It was a day of a new beginning.

We also remember our own baptism today. It’s a time for remembering and affirming what God did in your baptism.
There are a few who might be able to remember when they were baptized. It’s easier if you were baptized as an adult. Many of us were baptized as infants or children and some time if you’d like we can discuss at adult ed the Anglican understanding of infant baptism , but for today let’s just acknowledge that baptism is a sacrament with its outward visible sign of water and inward spiritual grace of forgiveness of sins and incorporation in God’s family.

If we were baptized as infants or children we were not aware of what happened. We were not fully conscious of what was going on. You might have seen pictures – or a video, but you were not conscious of what was going on.
You do know what happened though.
You were baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus was not baptized in that name – but all three were there at his baptism.
The Father was there. He proclaimed Jesus as his son, and claimed him.
Jesus was there at his baptism. He was not there as the son infinite, but as a limited human. This was before the resurrection, where the fullness of who He was was realized. Jesus was there to receive and to be acknowledged by the Father. In the Gospel of Mark, the voice from heaven tells those around that we are to listen to Jesus.
There in his baptism, Jesus also received the power of the Holy Spirit. This was his unique commissioning into his ministry.
So, At Jesus baptism we also see the third person of the Trinity present. We see him as a dove descending. He empowered Jesus for his ministry.
We are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
As was true at Jesus’ baptism, all three were present at your rebirth.
On Birthdays gifts are normally given. On your rebirth day – the day of your baptism – each person of the Trinity gave a gift TO YOU.
First, you were baptized by the Father. What was the gift that He gave you?
It is the same one that was given to Jesus. As Jesus was baptized, the relationship with God the Father is shown. Jesus had a physical mother, and what could be called an adopted father. In his baptism we hear from his True Father.
You were born physically. You had a mother and a father. That also means you were born separated from God. You had no living relationship with God by yourself. We talk about that as original sin – or our fallen nature. We all inherit the sin of Adam. This is the case of every person that was born – except for Jesus.

You were born a creature of God. That is to say you were born physically. Notice I said creature not child of God. Your mere birth did not give you an intimate relationship with God. When you came from a womb, you didn’t have a lot to say about what was happening to you. Birth was a passive act on your part. Your mother and nature acted on you. In some ways, it could be said that you really didn’t want that to happen at that time. You were born passively – it wasn’t something that you were actively trying to make happen.

You have been REborn as well, at your baptism. There you became a child of God. God adopted you and made you his son or daughter. When I baptize someone I first say I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. You’re baptized in God’s name that is by his power and into his name that means into his family. You, an adopted child, are truly his child.

The statement said to Jesus on his baptism becomes yours then as well. The Father says to you, “you are my beloved child, in you I am well-pleased.” You now have a relationship with God the Father. You were born a creature of God – but you are reborn as a child of God. There THE Father becomes “MY Father.” From now on you can say Our Father who art in heaven and be telling the truth. He is your father and He is in heaven. That is His gift on your baptism – ADOPTION. He claims you as His child.

You are baptized by the Son. He is the reason we baptize. He was baptized by John. John was even reluctant to baptize Him. Jesus told his followers to baptize. He is the reason we baptize.
He was at your baptism as well. He also came bearing gifts. What are they?
Two gifts, cleansing and life.
First, cleansing. When you are dirty, you wash yourself. Water washes away physical dirt. It is a cleansing agent.
That is one of the gifts Jesus gives you. In 1 Peter (3:21) we read, “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

On account of Christ, baptism cleanses us. We couldn’t wash ourselves clean inside, he had to. That cleansing is often referred to as being washed in the blood of Jesus. His death is what cleanses you from sin.

The second gift he gives is life. We know that Jesus died. We know that Jesus rose from the dead. Baptism unites us with that. Baptism makes the death and resurrection of Jesus our own. The two are so intimately tied to one another that often in the New Testament, when the death of Jesus is referred to, the resurrection – that is the new life-- is also in mind. In fact, St. Paul said, “We are buried therefore with him by baptism into death, through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”

Jesus’ second gift is life – eternal life. Eternal life starting from the moment of baptism. See what I mean about today being connected to my words for my father-in-law? That Jesus was baptized himself, and that he commands baptism are not the only reasons we are baptized in his name. We baptize so that these gifts become yours – cleansing and eternal life.

The Holy Spirit was present at your baptism as well. He too had gifts to give. One of the gifts is found in his name: “Spirit” –the Hebrew word is roohah. In Greek  “pneuma” from which we get pneumatic and pneumonia. Pneuma is the same word that is used for breath. Some would tell you that you aren’t truly a live person until you catch your first breath, and start crying. You know, when the doctor gets you to gasp for that first breath of air after you are born. That is when you really become a separate person – living. That truly is the point that you become a self-functioning person.

In sealing your baptism with the Holy Spirit, you have been given “Spiritual life-breath.” That is, you are now really alive in Christ. You are breathing the breath of life – spiritually alive.
A second gift he gave was power or abilities. That was your ordination into the priesthood of all believers in Christ.
These gifts or abilities I would call “Spiritual muscles.” As your body has muscles to help you walk, so the Spirit has given you muscles for your spiritual walk.

A few years ago, I ministered to a person who had been in bed – confined to bed because of an auto accident  – for more than six months. When she was told that she could now start walking, she couldn’t. Her muscles had atrophied – that is deteriorated. She had to learn to walk again. Muscles need exercise, or else they weaken, and eventually wither away.

You have spiritual muscles. Muscles like exercise.
It is no secret – we all need exercise. I don’t exercise enough but when I do – it gives me a good feeling. And it gives me more energy. During deer season after a few long stalks through the woods I’m really energized. The same with skiing, At first I’m exhausted but then I build endurance and I just feel more alive.
With long periods of inactivity, I find that I am tired and listless. I feel weaker, I can’t do as much. Now for some of you, your exercise is found in the work that you do – or just going out walking.

You have spiritual muscles, and they also like exercise. The more you exercise them, the better they feel. But like physical exercise, if you haven’t done anything for a while, you might find it difficult – kind of comparable to “leg cramps.” But later will come that energizing feeling. Those are the gifts the spirit gives: breath and muscles or ability.

In short, these are your gifts to claim. You can claim them every day. Just use them by reading the Bible or praying or engaging in your particular ministry.

You were baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
You were given the gifts of:
· Adoption by the Father.

· New life and cleansing by the Son.
· Breath and spiritual muscles by the Holy Spirit.

Live confidently knowing God is your Father. Your future with Him is assured.

Live your life like Jesus is your brother. A big brother like Him gives you a lot to live up to.

Share your faith with others knowing the Holy Spirit empowers you and gives you the exact words you need. There is nothing you can’t accomplish with the help of the Holy Spirit.