Loving God, you enter into our darkness and transform it through Jesus - the Light of the world.  Grant us grateful hearts as we gather together today, enabling us to see your goodness and salvation and to experience life in all its fulness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    This past year, it seems that all the world was captivated by 33 Chilean miners who were trapped below the surface for more than 60 days.  After weeks and weeks in the dark, imagine how those miners felt when they once again saw the light of day and were reunited with their families.  Imagine how they would have gone from despair to hope and from resignation to joy.  “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness – on them light has shined” (Isa. 9:2).

    For those who first met Jesus, the transformation that they experienced was not so different from those miners and their journey from darkness to light.  Those who were sick met Jesus and were touched by him and healed.  Those who were leading sinful lives met Jesus, and expressed their sorrow, and received God’s forgiveness and salvation.  Those who were despised and rejected by other people met Jesus and were embraced and accepted and taught about what God is like.  And those who were perfectly contented fishing with their families had their whole lives turned upside down by Jesus and ended up in a whole new line of work: fishing for people!

    On the other hand, those who believed that they knew everything about God and who thought they had it all figured out were challenged by Jesus and often lost debates with him.  Those who were rich and powerful sometimes tried to follow Jesus, but many found that they were far too attached to their own riches to make room for Jesus.  And those who loved to judge others and who loved having the best seats and having others bowing to them – well, these people didn’t get on so well with Jesus, either.

    And so, many people encountered Jesus, and experienced the light dawning in their lives like it had never dawned before – and others chose earthly power and riches over Jesus and remained just as much in the dark as they were before.  However, today’s gospel is about those who saw the light.  Today’s gospel also contains one of the simplest summaries of what Jesus’ message was: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Mt. 4:17).

    How many of you know what it means to repent, or even why you would want to?  When we repent, it basically means that we are turning our lives and our thinking around and heading in the opposite direction.  We are turning away from our self-centred ways and turning toward God’s way instead.  We are turning away from being turned in on ourselves to being oriented toward God and others, able to give and to receive love.  And baptism, which we celebrate today, is part of that turning around.

    However, unless we see that things are not working the way that they are, we probably won’t see any need to repent.  In a broader sense, I would think that most of us can look at the world around us and see that things are pretty messed up.  Biblically speaking, the reason for this is quite simply, sin.  This is what things look like when people live self-centred rather than God-centred lives.

    Yet, can we also see that there are problems for us personally when we live self-centred rather than God-centred lives?  For one thing, all of our relationships suffer when sin holds the power in our lives rather than God.  When we are turned in on ourselves, it is pretty much impossible to be able to give and receive love in any sort of healthy or positive way.  And so, our relationships with other people will be far from fulfilling and certainly not what God intended for us.

    At the same time, any relationship with God is impossible as long as we remain in that self-centred state.  In fact, that’s why Jesus came in the first place – to break the hold that sin has on us, and to open the way for us to have a loving and life-giving relationship with God.  And so, the message that Jesus proclaims calls us and others to repent – to turn our lives around – to turn away from sin and our self-centred ways in order to allow God’s forgiveness and salvation and healing to enter into our lives.

    Today, as you bring Elle and Charlee to be baptized, you are saying that you want this fullness of life for them, too.  They’re not old enough to repent or to turn their lives around, and so, today you are giving them a gift.  You are inviting the Spirit of God to start working in their hearts and in their lives now in order to give them the gift of faith.  In Baptism today, God has claimed them as his own and has given them the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.  It is a gift that they will grow into as they get older, as you and others introduce them to Jesus.

    However, you also need to know that our God never forces anybody to believe or to receive salvation.  Our God values love that is freely given and freely received.  And so, every person has the freedom to walk away and to reject the life that God has in mind for us.  At the same time, though, our God is very much like the waiting father in the story of the prodigal son, waiting with arms outstretched for us to repent - to turn around - and come home.  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Mt. 4:17).  Repent, because heaven rules!

    I mentioned earlier the fishermen from today’s gospel, who encountered Jesus and not only repented, but had their entire lives turned upside down.  Jesus invites them to follow him, and they leave behind their families and their boats and nets and become Jesus’ disciples – or “learners.”  As they do travel around with Jesus and eat with him and learn from him, they see some pretty amazing things!  They see things that leave no doubt in their minds that the power of God is at work through Jesus.  And, they learn from Jesus what God is like, and what it means to be God’s servant, and what it means to live in love for God and for one another.

    Yet, their lives with Jesus are neither safe nor carefree.  They watch in horror and in fear as Jesus is crucified.  They see one another arrested and imprisoned and even put to death for their faith.  They encounter storms and grief and sickness and loss.  Yet, every single one of them would tell you that it was absolutely, without a doubt, worth it, and they would point to the risen Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.

    No matter what trials they faced, they had peace in their hearts.  Sickness, pain, and even death did not scare them, for they knew that Jesus is more powerful than any of these things.  They were content in the knowledge that they belonged to God and had been saved and empowered through Jesus Christ.  And, they knew that whatever trials they experienced – especially after Jesus’ death and resurrection – Jesus was there with them, bearing their pain and giving them new life.

    Certainly it takes time and experience to grow into this kind of faith.  However, this is the gift that is given to us in baptism.  May each one of us who is here today grow into that gift of salvation through Jesus, and may we be able to say with the psalmist, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear?” (Ps. 27:1).  Amen.

Epiphany 3(A)                                Matthew 4:12-23
January 23, 2011                                Isaiah 9:1-4
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church                        Psalm 27:1, 4-9
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2011 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved