Living into the Spirit

John the Baptist said,  "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.” Then, “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.’"

In our baptism into the household of God we have all received God’s gift of the Holy Spirit.  What does this mean for you in your life and witness to the good news of Jesus?  Does the word “spirit” convey something special, or is it just a word that has little or no meaning?

The word, “spirit comes from the Hebrew word ruach and the Latin word spiritus meaning “breath.”  A person who is breathing is alive.  So the word spirit is about breath and life. When we refer to the Trinity -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- we affirm that God is Spirit.  God has breathed into creation giving breath and life

Luke's message in the gospel is that when Jesus was baptized with all the people he was joined to the new community in which baptism was stressed as entrance into the life of the Spirit. The heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him.  Luke understood baptism and anointing with the Spirit as God's presence in Jesus for his mission and ministry of justice and healing.  All of us who are baptized with water and the Spirit are called to this ministry of justice and peace.  We are to work for the healing of those who are wounded, oppressed, broken, or diseased.

You may have seen the stories in the press last week about the vigil at the State House held by Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty.  It is a vigil held each year to remind our legislators to govern with wisdom and compassion as they develop policies and enact legislation to alleviate the conditions that perpetuate poverty.

Our season of Epiphany and this new year is an opportune time to address the problems affecting our society and our communities.  We all know the issues of homelessness, hunger, lack of adequate education, over-crowded prisons, unemployment, the need for child care, more affordable health care, and retirement security.  What we often fail to understand is how these issues are systemically related.  We try to isolate them and treat each one individually without looking at the whole picture.  What is needed, however, is a major shift in our national priorities.  All of these issues are inter-related, and the policy we adopt for any single social issue has implications for the others.

As Christians and members of the Church we are committed to the Spirit of God calling for peace, justice, and respect for the dignity of all people. What this means is that our civic and government leaders should enact policies that promote a more just society.  And, what this means for us as individuals and a church community is that the acts of compassion and kindness that we do for others makes a difference. 

As we heard in the gospel, “When Jesus had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him.”   Jesus was anointed and empowered to do good and to heal the sick and all who were oppressed. 

As we are baptized and when we baptize others into the household of faith, we do two things:  The first thing we do is to name the person being presented for baptism.  A name gives a person his or her unique identity. The second thing we do is to mark the person being baptized as an authentic child of God.  She or he is sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own forever. They and all of us are then to be nurtured by the Christian community to live into the Spirit of God.

All baptized members of the church are ministers for peace, justice, compassion and healing. Our baptism unites us with Jesus in his ministry.  By it we accept responsibility for the reconciling work that unites all people to one another and to God.  It is through our baptism that we are filled with the Spirit of God.

The Letter to the Hebrews has a good way of stating what this means in our lives as a Christian community: "Let mutual love continue.  Do not neglect to show hospitality for strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it...[and] do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God."  It is by living into the Spirit of God that the light of Christ will shine upon all the people of God.  Amen.