Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany - 01/29/17 Sermon - “He captivated the crowd" "The power of Jesus' presence" Series [Part 3 of 3]

Sunday 01/29/17 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title:           “He captivated the crowd”

            (“The power of Jesus’ presence” Series – Part 3 of 3)

Old Testament Scripture: Micah 6:1-8

                                            

New Testament Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 5:1-12

          Welcome again my friends, my brothers and sisters, on this the Forth Sunday after the Epiphany. Four Sundays after the Wise Men or Magi came to see the Christ Child. They came to see God in the flesh, and they brought him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They came one way, and they left forever changed.

          We will remain in this season after the Epiphany of the Lord, which is also ordinary time, or common time, through then end of February. On the last Sunday of February, on February 26^th, we will have Transfiguration Sunday, and then the season of Holy Lent will begin on Ash Wednesday, which is Wednesday March First.

          With this said, two weeks ago I began a sermon series on what it must have been like to see, to interact with, and to even be able to touch Jesus. You see for nearly two-thousand years, Christians like us, have been followers of Jesus, have been disciples of Jesus Christ. Many of us know a lot about Jesus, as Jesus has been revealed to us in the scriptures. We have also learned about Jesus at church, from family members, and etc. Yet the majority of Christians have never meet Jesus face to face. In fact, we are not fully certain what Jesus even looked like.

          To this end, in the gospel of John, Jesus Christ says in 20:29, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (Jn. 20:29, NRSV).

          My sisters and brothers, I have never seen Jesus Christ in the flesh. I didn’t see him at the Jordan River when he was getting baptized, and I didn’t see him when he called forth Peter and Andrew, and James and John to come follow him. I wasn’t there to see the expressions on the faces of those whom he healed, those whom he loved, and those whom he taught and spoke with. Part of me though wants to know what it would have been like to be in the physical presence of Jesus Christ, the savior of the world. I have felt Jesus’ presence spiritually, in my heart, and in my soul, but what would it be like to see him physically, face to face?

          This three week sermon series that I have been doing on what it must have been like to meet and see Jesus, ends today. I could probably preach on this topic every Sunday though, as I can imagine that seeing Jesus must have been unbelievable.

As a Christian, I believe in Jesus, I believe in who he was, what he did, and that he is risen. I also believe that Jesus is alive and well, and that he is in my heart. I believe that Jesus hears me, but I have never met him in the flesh. I wonder, I just wonder, what that would have been like.

          I remember growing up in my early childhood North of Chicago, and then rest of my childhood in Orange County, NY, being a lonely Chicago Bulls basketball fan. Sure more and more Chicago Bulls fans surfaced, as the Bulls won a lot of championships. I remember as young child, and as a teenager idolizing Michael Jordan. In fact, my friends even wanted to get his Nike Shoes, the Air Jordan’s. I have memorized his player number. Does anyone here know Michael Jordan’s player number? He is literally a living legend.

          In my bedroom in Orange County I had one of those basketball hoops that you hang on the closet door, with the soft orange ball. I also had a basketball hoop in the driveway. Sometimes when I was playing basketball in my bedroom or in the driveway, I would pretend that I was Michael Jordan. I would talk out loud and say things like, “Jordan receives a pass from Pippen, and slams it down! Yeah!”

          I remember watching the Chicago Bulls win various championships, and I remember watching Michael Jordan kiss those big golden victory trophies. I also remember when Michael Jordan would stick out his big long tongue in the air. I have never met Michael Jordan face to face, yet I believed in him as an athlete.

          One time when I went to visit my father North of Chicago, I met a man that was at one of the championships games, where the Chicago Bulls won the championship. He saw Michael Jordan, I think he might have even have shook his hand when he was there.

          Michael Jordan, while an exceptional athlete, is just a human, like you and I. What would it have been like to meet Jesus though? Jesus Christ, not a human, but fully God and fully human. Jesus the savior, much more than a legendary basketball player. Remember Jesus Christ said in 20:29, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (Jn. 20:29, NRSV).

          In the prophet Micah reading for this morning, it very much talks about the mission of serving God, serving Jesus. The prophet Micah says in 6:8, “and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Mic. 6:8, NRSV). If you don’t have faith though, well then you might not be concerned about with God asks of you in this scripture.

          In the Apostle Paul’s first epistle or letter to the Corinthians from this morning, the Apostle Paul talks about the significance of faith. He says, “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18, NRSV). For if we don’t believe and if we don’t have faith, then according the Apostle Paul it is “foolishness” (1 Cor. 1:18a, NRSV).

          One could argue then, that if you don’t believe in Jesus that seeing him face to face in the flesh would be no big deal. Yet I think that the presence of Jesus was so overpowering that it had a profound effect on everyone. I believe that the presence of Jesus had an effect on the disciples, on crowds, even yes on the Pharisees. Some of the Pharisees were torn and conflicted at points about Jesus, as what Jesus said and did, along with his presence, was powerful.

          Today in the gospel of Matthew reading, Jesus preaches a sermon. Now Jesus had gone into the Synagogue in Nazareth, read from the prophet Isaiah and then proclaimed that he was the Messiah. Yet the “Sermon on the Mount”, which is what we have this morning, is a powerful sermon. Some also call this the “Beatitudes”. In giving this sermon, I believe that Jesus captivated the crowd. I believe that Jesus captivated crowd so much, that those who saw and heard Jesus, then went to tell others about it, who had never saw and heard Jesus. I bet that some of these people who saw and heard Jesus, convinced some of those who never had seen Jesus, about who he was.

Once again, Jesus Christ says in the gospel of John 20:29, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (Jn. 20:29, NRSV).

          So why is the sermon that Jesus gives in our gospel of Matthew reading called the “Sermon on the Mount”? Well this gospel reading begins by saying, “When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him” (Mt. 5:1, NRSV). So Jesus was literally on a mountain, or an elevated position when he gave this sermon.

          It is at this point that Jesus began to teach and preach to his disciples and those gathered. I believe that in doing so he captivated the crowd, as they saw Jesus, they heard him, and maybe even touched him.

          This “Sermon on the Mount”, which is longer than a similar “Sermon on the Plain” in the gospel of Luke, was likely given by Jesus in the Galilee area. In fact, when I was Israel a few years ago, I went to the location that the Roman Catholic Church believes Jesus gave this sermon.

          So there Jesus is on this mount, likely in Galilee, preaching, teaching, and no doubt captivating the crowd. So what does Jesus actually say in the “Sermon on the Mount?” Well he makes a series of “Blessed are” statements, or some call them the “Beatitudes,” which can translate to mean blessing.

          Jesus then says this, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteous, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 5:3-10, NRSV).

          Jesus then concludes with saying, “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely in my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way the persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Mt. 5:11, NRSV).

          Powerful words, powerful statements that Jesus makes with this “Sermon on the Mount,” the “Beatitudes,” or the “blessings”.

How many of you by the way, love the “Sermon on the Mount,” or the “Beatitudes”? I know I do. I wonder though what it was like to be there. To hear him? My guess is that the crowd was captivated, and so would we have been to.

          As far as the substance of the “Sermon on the Mount,” or the “Beatitudes,” Jesus is telling us that the weak, that the vulnerable, that those who suffer, and those who love and do what is right, that God blesses those people. Jesus is indirectly saying that if someone preys on the weak, harms the weak, or take advantage of others, that God does not bless such things. Jesus is also saying that the people of God are merciful, pure in heart, are peacemakers, and that they strive for righteousness.

          I can imagine though, what it must have been like to be on that mount in Galilee hearing the savior of the world give one of the most famous sermons ever given.

          Remember my friends, my brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ said in 20:29, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (Jn. 20:29, NRSV).

          None of us have ever seen Jesus Christ in the flesh, imagine if we did though? What would it be like? What would we say to Jesus Christ, the savior of the world?

I believe that one day we will all see Jesus. Until that day though, we believe that he is risen, that is alive in us, and that he is coming back again in glory. May we seek the life giving face of Jesus Christ today and always. Amen.

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Second Sunday after the Epiphany/Human Relations Day - 01/15/17 Sermon - “What would you say if you saw Jesus?" "The power of Jesus' presence" Series [Part 1 of 3]

Sunday 01/15/17 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title: “What would you say if you saw Jesus?”

            (“The power of Jesus’ presence” Series – Part 1 of 3)

Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 49:1-7

                                            

New Testament Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Gospel Lesson: John 1:29-42

          My friends, my sisters and brothers, welcome again on this the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, and this our Human Relations Day Sunday. On this Sunday we are in the season after the Epiphany of the Lord, after the Wise Men or Magi came to Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We will remain in this season after the Epiphany, through Transfiguration Sunday, which is Sunday February 26^th. Then on Wednesday March 1^st, the season of Holy Lent will begin on Ash Wednesday.

          While we are in this season after the Epiphany, we also have a special giving Sunday in the life of church today, called Human Relations Day. Once again this a special church offering that will be taken in addition to the normal offering today. According to www.umcgiving.org, the Human Relations Day offering, “benefits neighborhood ministries through Community Developers, community advocacy through United Methodist Voluntary Services and work with at-risk teen through the Youth Offender Rehabilitation program” (http://www.umcgiving.org/question-articles/human-relations-day-faq). If you are interested in donating to this special giving Sunday, please make your checks out to the UNYUMC and put Human Relations Day on the memo line. If you are giving cash, feel free to just mark the funds on an envelope for Human Relations Day, and we will get those fund to the conference office in Syracuse.

          With this said, in this New Year, I am starting a three week preaching series called “The power of Jesus’ presence”.

          As I preparing for this sermon, I thought of patient that I offered spiritual care to when I was a chaplain intern up at SUNY Upstate University Hospital. This patient was from the Southeastern European country of Macedonia. At SUNY Upstate University Hospital, chaplains, and all staff, wear these little walkie-talkie like devices around there necks. These devices can communicate with anyone in the hospital, and can do a variety of other things, as well. One of the features of these devices, is that you can call a language translator to help you to speak to folks who can’t speak English. In this case, a Macedonian to English translator.

          Now I can’t remember why this women from Macedonia was in Syracuse, or in the hospital for that matter, but I do remember that she was scared to be in the hospital. You see, she didn’t really speak good English.

In visiting with her, I asked her where she was from. She told me that she was from Macedonia, as the translator and I spoke back and forth through my little neck walkie-talkie. As the conversation continued, this woman began to discuss, among other things, her faith, as she was a Roman Catholic Christian.

          She then asked me if I admired any Roman Catholic leaders both past and or present. Among the names that I gave her, was the former Arch-Bishop of El Salvador Oscar Romero, and Mother Teresa. When I said the name Mother Teresa, who is now Saint Mother Teresa in the Roman Catholic Church, this woman lit right up.

It was almost as if this woman forgot that she was scared. Almost at once, she looked calm, pleased, and relaxed. She then began weeping, as she told me through the translator, the story of how Saint Mother Teresa came to her village in Macedonia one day. On this day, this woman met Saint Mother Theresa. This woman then said that she was able to shake Mother Theresa’s hand, and that she was blessed by her. This woman wept incredibly as she told me this story. She told me that she was in the presence of a holy woman, and that it changed her and her faith forever. Before I left this visit, I then prayed with this women. When I left, the fear that I had seen on this woman’s face when I entered that hospital room, turned into calm, joy, peace, and love.

          As I said, as I was preparing this sermon, I thought about this woman was changed by an encounter with the now Saint Mother Theresa. In pondering this, I then wondered what it would be like to physically stand in the presence of Jesus Christ himself. By this I mean, what was it like to see, talk to, touch, and listen to Jesus? Some people in Hollywood might say that Jesus had “stage presence,” but I think that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, had a presence to him like no other. I believe that he could enter a room or an area, and that the people around him would notice him immediately. I don’t mean that Jesus was the life of the party, but I believe he must have possessed some amazing and holy qualities, that drew people to himself. The full of embodiment of God’s love and truth standing right in front of you. What would that be like I wonder?

          Well friends, brothers and sisters, let us imagine this for ourselves, for a few moments. In a moment I am going to ask you to shut your eyes, as I discuss some of the gospel of John reading for this morning.

So if you could shut your eyes, and then just listen to what I am saying. Imagine that on this day that you are near the Jordan River in Israel/Palestine, likely sitting on the banks of the river. Imagine that it is a hot and sunny day today. Imagine that John the Baptist is in the Jordan River, or near the Jordan River at this point. With John are his disciples, which includes you, and the Apostle Peter’s brother Andrew. Imagine you are sitting on or near there bank of the Jordan River, and perhaps John the Baptist is talking, or like I said, perhaps he baptizing someone at this point. Imagine that this is a beautiful and peaceful day.

          Just then, Jesus begins to walk down the path towards the river. Jesus Christ, the bread of life, the prince of peace, the light of the world, walking towards the Jordan River. As Jesus walks towards the river, his cousin John the Baptist yells out, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me’ (Jn. 1:29-30, NRSV).

          John the Baptist then says, “I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel (Jn. 1:31, NRSV). John the Baptist then speaks of the baptism of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit descending like a dove on him, and how Jesus will baptize us with the Holy Spirit (Jn. 1:32-34, NRSV).

          As you are keeping your eyes closed, hear the gentle flow of the Jordan River, enjoy the warm sunny day, as you are sitting on the banks of the river. As you listen to John speak of this Jesus, Jesus continues walking towards you.

As your eyes are closed, what is this like for you? What does Jesus look like as he approaches? What emotions inside of you are evoked as he gets closer, and closer, and closer? Does he have a nice smile? Does he seems to have holy light and love all around him? What does he look like?

          As Jesus still approaches you, and then finally gets to where you are, what is like to be in the presence of the living God? How do you feel? Do you cry? Do you laugh?

          Please open your eyes. Does anyone here feel calmer, more joyous, or more at peace right now? Being in the presence of Jesus, following him, living like him, this is our lifelong goal as Christians.

          As I was imagining this scene in John’s gospel for myself, I thought of the song by the Christian band MercyMe called, “I can only imagine”. In this song the lyrics say, “I can only imagine what it will be like when I walk by your side. I can only imagine what my eyes will see when your face is before me. I can only imagine, surrounded by your glory, what will my heart feel, will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still, will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall, will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all I can only imagine” (https://www.google.com/#q=mercyme+i+can+only+imagine+lyrics&safe=active).

          My friends, my sisters and brothers on this day, Jesus Christ, the savior of the world comes to John the Baptist and his disciples, and as the song says, “I can only imagine” what it must have been like to stand in Jesus’ presence.

          When John the Baptist announces that Jesus is coming, he calls him “the Lamb of God” (Jn. 1:29b, NRSV). In the ancient Jewish faith, on that first Passover in Egypt, and in other instances, God called the Israelites to sacrifice a pure, white, and spotless lamb, for the atonement of their sins. During that first Passover in Egypt when the Jews were preparing to exit slavery under the Pharaoh, God told the people to sacrifice a pure, white, and spotless lamb. They were to then take some of the blood of this lamb, and put it on their door posts and lintels, so that the angel of death would Passover their homes. This is why the Jewish holiday is called Passover.

          This morning, John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, is claiming that Jesus is the new Passover lamb. In this case though, when Jesus dies on a cross, his blood will not cover the doors ways and lintels of our front doors, but will cover the door ways and lintels of our hearts and our souls. Jesus is the pure, white, and spotless Lamb of God who comes to love, heal, and forgive, and to die for all of us. Jesus is the “Lamb of God who takes the sin of the world!” (Jn. 1:29, NRSV).

          Given all of this, what must it have been like to stand in the presence of Jesus Christ? How do we become more like this Jesus whom we follow? I don’t know exactly what I would say or do if Jesus were to come in here in right now. I might just fall to me knees right here. “I can only imagine”.

          The story of the gospel for this morning ends with Jesus the day after this encounter, being called again by John the Baptist, “the Lamb of God!” (Jn. 1:36b, NRSV).

          As soon as John says this, two of John’s disciples immediately go and follow Jesus (Jn. 1:37, NRSV). Then these two disciples asked Jesus where he was staying, and Jesus said, “Come and see” (Jn. 1:38-39, NRSV).

          These two disciples then stayed with Jesus that day, and at about 4:00 pm, one of these men, Andrew, went and told his brother Peter, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed)” (Jn. 1:39b-41, NRSV).

          Jesus then meets Simon Peter and says, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (Jn. 1:42, NRSV). “Cephas” is an Aramaic name, as Jesus spoke Aramaic, which means “a rock,” or “Peter” in Greek.

          I wonder what this day was like for those first disciples of Jesus? I wonder what it was like when Peter first saw Jesus? What would it be like if we were to look at Jesus face to face?

          My friends, my sisters and brothers, in having now served as the pastor of four United Methodist Churches, I have the pleasure of meeting and ministering to many people. Some of the people that I have encountered have unfortunately told me though, that they have been hurt in the past by the church. Some of these people, as a result, no longer even go to church. Yet in the many ministry settings that I have had the pleasure to serve in, I have never, and I mean never, talked with someone who has found fault with Jesus.

          As Christians, it is our job then, to make the church look like Jesus, the one who came to love, heal, and forgive. May we seek his face today, and may we both individually and as the church seek to be more like him. In doing so people won’t talk about how the church hurt them, but rather they will talk about how this church, and us, are like Jesus. As a result, the will come to Jesus, and the church will grow in number, love, and strength. May we seek his presence today and always! Amen.

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Baptism of the Lord Sunday - 01/08/17 Sermon - “You're hired!"

Sunday 01/08/17 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title: “You’re hired!”

Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 42:1-9

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Acts 10:34-43

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 3:13-17

          My sisters and brothers, my friends, welcome again on this our Baptism of the Lord Sunday. This is the Sunday in the life of the church that we celebrate Jesus getting baptized in the Jordan River, by his cousin John the Baptist.

          I find it funny that the church has for many years celebrated the Epiphany, or the coming of the Wise Men or Magi, last Sunday, and that this Sunday Jesus is a full grown man of about thirty years old, getting baptized in Jordan River. That is pretty big expanse of time in Jesus’ life, between two Sundays!

          The big problem here, is once Joseph flees to Egypt with Mary and young Jesus, and once they return to Nazareth when Jesus is a young child, we are not given much information about Jesus’ early life. We do have the story though, of young Jesus being at the Temple in Jerusalem at the age of Twelve (Lk. 2:41-52, NRSV). This is the story where Joseph and Mary are headed back home to Nazareth after celebrating the Passover in Jerusalem. When they then noticed that Jesus wasn’t with the group, and then went back to Jerusalem to get Jesus (Lk. 2:41-52, NRSV).

          Other than this story of young Jesus at the temple, at the age of twelve, which is only in the gospel of Luke by the way, once Joseph, Mary, and Jesus return to Nazareth after fleeing to and from Egypt, all we have written of Jesus is this story of him being twelve at the temple during the Jewish Passover.

In this way, one of the reasons that many Christian Churches go from Epiphany Sunday last Sunday, in which the Wise Men or Magi visited, to the Baptism of Lord this Sunday, is that we have little information of Christ’s early life. Once again, we know that Jesus’ family returned to Nazareth when he was young, and we know that he was in the temple in Jerusalem at age twelve during the Passover. This story and the birth story of Christ, is all the information we have on young Jesus.

          This might make us ask the question, what was Jesus’ early childhood like? Unfortunately, this is not the topic of my sermon today, but I just wanted to provide some historical context of why we go from Epiphany Sunday every year, right to the Baptism of the Lord Sunday, the very next Sunday.

          With this said, I want to tell you a story about Melissa and myself. So there we were, twenty-two years old, newlyweds, I was a school teacher, and Melissa was at the time a substitute school teacher. In that first full year of teaching, we had a small apartment. We scrimped and saved, we didn’t go to dinner much, and etc., so that we might save up enough money to put a down payment on a house.

          Well after my first full year of teaching, we did this in the summer of 2005. The house we bought wasn’t anything fancy, and as it turned out, we spent days fixing it up with my parents. We put in many new windows, a new hot water heater, my step-dad and I build a new front porch, we put a metal roof on the back porch roof, we had a metal roof put on the front porch roof, we put in a wood stove, and etc., and etc. You see Melissa and I hoped that if we worked hard, and if we carefully saved, that one day we would be able to get a mortgage, to buy a house.

          Then it just seemed to happen! We were sitting in a lawyer’s office in Moravia on a hot day in August, 2005, we wrote the biggest that he had ever written, with what seemed like a fortune to us at the time. Then we began unpacking in our new house in Moravia. Many folks from the Methodist church in Moravia came over to help, and some even brought us gifts. It was a great day, a day that we had been dreaming about.

          As we lay there in bed that first night though, it was so quiet. Then suddenly this little bit of fear seemed to creep through us very young twenty-three year old newlyweds. I looked at Melissa and said, “Oh no, can we really afford this house! Maybe we made a mistake!”

          Well I quickly calmed down, and ten years later we sold that house in November, 2015, to as it turns out, to someone that we knew from the church. During our many years in that house, we did so many fixer-upper projects, had youth pastors over for dinner, had prayer meetings, and etc. It wasn’t a miraculous house, but we had waited and worked hard to have it. We worked for it, we longed for it, and then we had a moment of what they call “buyer’s remorse,” when we said, “Oh no, what have we done,” when we got it.

          In ancient Jewish culture, many sects of Judaism would identify promising young boys who had the right gifts and graces to become “Rabbis”. The word “Rabbi” means “teacher” in Hebrew, and Jesus is often referred to as “Rabbi” in the gospels by his disciples and others. A Jewish Rabbi is our equivalency to a Christian Pastor.

          So in ancient Jewish culture, these young men or boys that were hand-picked to be Rabbis by the current Rabbis, spent years of training and preparing to be a Rabbi. Like waiting to buy a house, or wanting to achieve something, they spent years and years preparing. Generally, at about the age of thirty though, these “Rabbis in training” would then officially become a Rabbi. I guess this would be similar to getting ordained in a Christian Church. Now why did I tell you all of this?

          I tell you all of this, because Jesus was baptized around thirty-years of age, and he was called “Rabbi” by his followers and many others. Due to this, when Jesus gets baptized in the Jordan River today, it is not only symbolic in Judaism, but it also symbolic of Jesus being the savior. Jesus’ baptism means that he is now “ready” to fulfill his mission.

          So for thirty-years, Jesus was preparing himself for this mission that he was called to. Further, after his baptism today, Jesus then goes into wilderness for forty-days and forty-nights. Some scholars say that this time in the wilderness was Jesus’ final testing ground to measure his fitness as the Messiah. To resist evil for forty-days. Then after this, Jesus will in my own story’s context, “close on the house.”

          In reading the gospel lesson for this morning from the gospel of Matthew, as I said, I thought about when Melissa and I bought our first house. I then thought about our “buyer’s remorse” that we had, right after we had finally gotten what we wanted. After Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River by his cousin John the Baptist, Jesus would go on to have times of great triumph and great suffering, just like we all do. The idea that God would come to earth and take on flesh, and be willing to endure what we do is a powerful idea.

          On this day though, with Jesus getting baptized, he officially begins his public ministry, that will only last three years. A ministry which will end on cross on Calvary.

As I was looking over the gospel lesson for this morning, I wondered to myself if Jesus had that “oh no” moment, like Melissa and I did when we bought our first house? I wondered if after Jesus got baptized and then walked out of the Jordan River, if he had a second where the full realization of what his mission on earth was, just hit him?

          In this way, when Jesus’ cousin John the Baptist baptized him, it is almost like that when Jesus came out of the water, John the Baptist said, “You’re hired!” “You’re hired” to love, heal, and forgive, to teach us to love each other more, and to die for us. Well I don’t about you, but that’s a much bigger transaction than buying a house in Moravia. I wonder though, I wonder if Jesus had a moment like Melissa and I did, after he was baptized.

          Many of us hear in the church today have hopes and dreams. Perhaps some of us have a “dream home,” as the term goes. Perhaps we dream of buying a plot of land, building a house just so, having a tire swing in the front yard, and etc. How would we feel though, after it actually happened? How would we feel if it actually came true?

          Maybe some us when were younger joined the military, went to college, or got job training, so that one day we could get that “dream job,” and so one day we would hear those prized words, “you’re hired!” Yet how many of us then had a moment of angst after getting that job. Maybe we said, “Jeez, now I need to do all the amazing things that I just promised to do in my interview”.

          The significance of this Sunday, the Baptism of the Lord in the life of the church, is that on this day, Jesus goes forth publically. He will go into the wilderness for forty-days and forty-nights to resist temptation from evil, and then he will go forth and call his twelve disciples. It is a watershed day, because Jesus goes from growing into becoming the Messiah, to assuming his role as Messiah.

          Maybe for some of us we can remember our high school graduation, or college graduations, or military basic training graduations. There is often much excitement and celebration. Sometimes though, we have a moment of “what do we do now” after the fact.

          Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the savior of the world, God in the flesh, gets baptized on this day, so that he may assume his position of leadership, and fulfill his mission on earth as the Messiah.

          In looking at the text of the gospel of Matthew for this morning, it says, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.” (Mt. 3:13-15, NRSV). The baptism story of Jesus is listed in Mark, Matthew, and Luke’s gospel, as well as our reading from the Book of Acts from this morning.

          The gospel then ends by saying, “And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well please” (Mt. 3:16-17, NRSV).

          As I said, I wonder if after Jesus got out the Jordan River, after his baptism, before going into the wilderness for forty-days did he have a “oh no” moment? Did he have a “You’re hired” moment.

          Today is a big day for Jesus, as he goes from being born as the Messiah, to now actually doing the full work of being the Messiah. He will now go forth, love, heal, and forgive, and will change us, and thereby change the world.

          Perhaps we in our own lives have had moments where we have hit great benchmarks, but then have had a moment of trepidation afterwards.

          We my sisters and brothers are in a new year, with fresh opportunities for growth, personally, spiritually, and within the church. God has given us all hopes and dreams, and I pray that in 2017 we might get ever closer to them. Be prepared if God does help you to achieve some of your hopes and dreams in 2017, you may just may have a “oh no,” or “You’re hired” moment. In Christ's name I bring you this message. Amen.