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SERMONS:
Pastor Peg posts her two most recent sermons on this page. If you are interested in reading more of her sermons you can go to pastorpeg.wordpress.com. Our first sermon series of the year is Walking with Jesus. Enjoy.
Unfortunately something has happened to the text of my January 5 sermon which doesn't allow me to copy it to this page. please go to pastorpeg.wordpress.com if you would like to read that one.
Living in Our Baptism
January 12, 2025 2nd Sunday of Epiphany Baptism of the Lord
Isaiah 43:1-7 Luke 3:15-17;21-22
Both baptism and communion have very deep roots in the human religious experience. Feasting together as a part of a divine celebration has been going on through all of recorded history, and probably way before recorded history. Community feasts take place during ceremonies all over the world in so many religions. The Jewish Shabbat, which our own communion service is based on, is a ceremony within a family or community meal. Think of what happens when we eat together over at a friend's house or when we go out with someone for a cup of coffee and a muffin. We share stories of our experiences and become closer together.
When we have communion in church, we’re having a meal together and we’re sharing the story of what Jesus did for us during his life. How he released us from slavery to sin and death and gave to us a new way to relate to God.
Baptism has also been happening for a long time. The idea of using water to purify yourself has been used in nearly every culture. There are temples all over the world that have special bathing pools to purify your body before you enter a temple. One ancient temple found in Turkey had a pool of water that people had to cross to get to the inner sanctum. I don't know what people in the ancient world thought was being purified, whether it was cleansing the physical body, or if it was symbolic act of cleansing your mind and heart before you presented yourself to the divine, but it was prevalent and important. The Jewish religion had the mikvah bath, where both men and women purified themselves before important rituals or sacrifices so you could come to God clean and as your best person.
So, when John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness calling for people to come and be baptized, the idea wasn’t something new. What was new about this cleansing and purification, was that he was proclaiming that the Messiah was going to be coming soon and that people had to start to get ready for him.
For the people in who came to see John, baptism was a way to get them reconnected with God. Physically, they washed themselves clean, and mentally and emotionally they were washing away those sinful things that they did in the past that they were ashamed of and the parts of themselves that they didn’t like. Anytime they’d been mean to someone: anytime they’d thought badly about someone; any time they’d lied, or stolen, or cheated. We all carry around inside us the knowledge of what we did and the fact that we want to clean ourselves and wash away all that nasty stuff from us.
But John is taking baptism one step further. His baptism was a repentance baptism, not just a washing away of the daily sins. Since he was proclaiming that the Messiah is going to come and we had to get ready for him, his baptism was a washing away of your old life and sins, and a commitment to live a new life after the baptism, not go back to the old way of being you had been before. To repent you had to walk away from the old path of sin and selfishness and choose to live with a loving heart with God.
Then, when Jesus came and was baptized, he opened another path for us: The opening up of our hearts, minds and souls to receive the Holy Spirit as our guide. And to receive the Grace of God in our lives.
But what good is baptism to us on a daily basis? Well, if you know that you are open to the Holy Spirit and God’s forgiving grace, and you’ve done something wrong, then you know that you don’t have to carry around that grief and shame forever. Baptism also opens up a way for us to be forgiven.
If you do something wrong, you don’t have to kick yourself continuously. You don’t have to say: Oh, I’m such a terrible person, and I can never be a good person again. Instead, you can say to yourself: I’ve been opened up to God’s grace; his generous renewing actions of compassion every day, and I have the assurance of God’s forgiveness and the ability to restore things to being right again. I also have the ability to forgive myself and others for mistakes that are made.
One of the most generous, renewing actions of compassion that can be given is forgiveness. Forgiveness is generous. We don’t have to forgive, but we can choose to give it freely. Forgiveness renews our faith in the world and in ourselves; life becomes something that is good. Forgiveness is also compassionate, because God is saying that he understands us and what we’re going through. And when we forgive we also say to ourselves or others that we understand the situation that led to the guilt and shame.
When we are forgiven, we are no longer living inside the shame and guilt, instead we now live in hope. When you forgive yourself, you’re saying to yourself: Look you’re not a bad person. You don’t have to be stuck in this place. You can figure out a way to make what you did wrong right. You can make things better because you have the power to give generously to renew or remake situations and to be compassionate while you do that.
And when you forgive someone for doing something wrong, you’re also saying that they aren’t a bad person. You don’t have to be stuck living with anger and hatred. I’m not saying that just because you ask someone for forgiveness or give forgiveness that everything is going to be all right again. There is a process that has to happen of finding a solution to whatever went wrong and working to make it right. But if you know that you’re forgiven by God, that allows you to start taking those steps because you’re not trapped in your guilt, shame, anger, or hate.
Today we remember our baptism because the world can sometimes be so overwhelming, and we are living in physical bodies and physical surroundings, and we can easily lose track of the fact that inside this physical body is a divine soul that is connected to God. That is why we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, to remind ourselves that there is a conduit open for us to God’s grace.
You can find God’s grace anywhere. John Wesley said that we live in a sea of grace, and if we look around, we can find generous renewing actions of compassion everywhere we look, and we can give generous renewing actions at any time, like when you smile at people or give them a compliment. On Monday, I went to Walton for a doctor’s appointment. It was snowing when I drove back and I didn’t really feel like fighting the weather and speeding up route 10. I stopped at the Price Chopper in Delhi, and as I was going into the store, a woman stopped me and said: I want to thank you. (I had never met this worman before!) All the way back from Walton you were driving behind me and you never pushed me to go faster. You never got on my tail. You never flashed your lights. It makes me so nervous when people do that to me. You just let me drive comfortably in the snow. I didn’t know I was being kind, but my driving for her was an act of Grace, and her thanking me was also and act of grace.
But remembering that we live within God’s grace so that we have access to the choice to forgive and be kind can sometimes be hard to do. Like playing piano, or playing a sport, or learning how to knit, you have to practice it to get better at it.
So, I recommend that this week you write down three instances that have annoyed you, or that you’re mad about and practice trying to forgive yourself, or someone else, or just the situation. And try to take it to the next step and see how you can offer yourself, someone, or something a generous, renewing action of compassion that will help to make things right again.
When you do this, you’ll be living in your baptism. You’ll be remembering your baptism and you’ll be connecting each and every time with God and the Holy Spirit. And if you’re having problems, finding forgiveness, or generosity, renewal or compassion, just ask Jesus to help you. If you do remember that you are connected to God, and that his grace surrounds you, then I think you’ll find that those connections will be more frequent. And I think you’ll find that there is a little more of the peace like a dove in your life.
After the Baby is Born
December 29, 2025 Sunday after Christmas
Titus 2:11–14 Luke 2:21-32
I always feel like there's a bit of a letdown after Christmas. There's a big build up to Christmas to the excitement of the holiday and then it seems that a lot of people kind of collapse the day or two after.
I’m one of them. Christmas Day was a lot of fun for me. My Christmas Eve services went really well. My mother came up to visit. We watched football games; cooked and ate a simple dinner of ham with fixings; I made a not-too-complicated fruitcake with custard for dessert; and we opened presents. I know that my schedule was not that hectic because I don't have a large family with children or grandchildren. Still, I was tired on December 26th; all I wanted to do was sit around and catch up on news from my hometown.
I think Mary and Joseph had similar feelings leading up to and during the birth of Jesus. From Nazareth to Bethlehem it’s about 90 miles, a journey of probably about 7 to 10 days. The road conditions weren't easy, they walked or rode the donkey, plus the accommodations probably weren't all that comfortable on the way. But they were living with the anticipation of Jesus’ birth. And then they get to Bethlehem, and it's overcrowded and there is no room anywhere for them to stay. That must have raised their anxiety levels a lot. But a nice innkeeper, seeing that Mary was pregnant and about to give birth, gave them a space in his stable.
I’m sure that both Mary and Joseph, were exhausted by the time they made themselves at home in the stable. And then the baby comes. Mary and Joseph must have felt worried. Giving birth is a scary experience, especially the first time. And Mary didn't even have her support group; no mother, or grandmother, or aunts were there to help her. Some legends do mention a midwife, and there was probably one in Bethlehem who could have helped her, but she didn't know that woman, which is a stress on top of what she's already going through. And giving birth is also exhausting. You really feel like you've run a marathon when you’re finished.
So there Mary and Joseph are, tired from travel and the birth process, but I'm sure very joyful at the same time. Because when a baby is born it’s a wonderful experience when you hold that little-bitty life in your hands. I'm always amazed at how perfect little babies are. They have perfect little fingernails, perfect little hands, perfect little toes, and their tiny ears are so cute. To hold a baby is to see the perfection of a human being and the infinite potential that we all have within us. And while they're exhausted, and joyful, and admiring this beautiful little life that’s been given to them; a whole bunch of shepherds come and tell them that they have seen a great miracle of angels in the sky and have been given a message that this little baby is going to bring peace on earth to humanity.
I think of the emotions of exhaustion, frustration, fear, and wondrous awe that Mary and Joseph are going through. I can imagine that the next day, once things quieted down and it was just them taking care of this baby, that there must have been a moment of: Let’s just sit here and do nothing for a while.
Mary and Joseph have been assured by angels that the baby will grow up to be the savior of the world. But Jesus is still a newborn that they have to take care of. They've experienced the high and the exhilaration of Jesus’ birth. And what the angels told them has been confirmed by the shepherds who came to see them with the story of angels. But now they’re back to daily life, or almost daily life.
Usually, we read this passage about Jesus being circumcised and blessed in the temple between Christmas and Epiphany. This is the very sacred ceremony of Brit Malah (today we use the more common term Bris) which must take place on the eighth day after a baby boy is born. During that time Mary is supposed to rest and stay inside with the baby, but remember they aren’t in their regular house, with their regular support system, so they probably had to improvise.
Joseph has to go about seeing to more permanent lodgings. He has to take care of the business of registering himself his wife and his child for the census. Mary doesn’t have her family to help so she has to feed the baby, besides taking care of the typical cooking and cleaning that she was responsible for. We know that Joseph and Mary stayed in Bethlehem for a while after the Bris, so Joseph probably found work as carpenter.
Mary had to be the mother of Jesus, Joseph had to be his father and take care of his family. They had to live day-to-day, doing the ordinary work that everyone does. Since Mary and Joseph were living in Bethlehem, which is about 6 miles from Jerusalem, they could bring the baby to the Temple for the Bris ceremony. On the same day, Mary would also have had her purification ceremony first, so that she could enter the Temple with Jesus and Joseph.
Mary and Joseph had to raise and nurture Jesus, who grew up as a child who lived a normal life. Like all of us, his family had moments of excitement and wonderful events: Birthdays, weddings, High Holy days, accomplishments at work, the completion of projects. They also had very frustrating or sad events, like we do. The car breaking, down a water pipe bursting, an unexpected illness, or a family member or friend being lost to us through accident or illness.
When these events interrupt regular life, during that time it's chaotic, sometimes confusing, sometimes joyous, sometimes sorrowful. But we deal with it, move on, and we have a regular day.
But during all the regular and crazy times we live with God’s Grace, the Generous, Renewing Actions of His Compassion that he gives to us Every day.
The birth of Jesus was a generous, renewing action of compassion. And there is a lot of grace that happens in this story. First of all, both Mary and Joseph were guided and supported by angels. The Bible doesn’t tell us what the days of travel were like, but I think that they were helped along the way by some nice people. They got safely to Bethlehem, and even though it was crowded an innkeeper was generous and compassionate and gave them a safe, warm place to stay. But I can imagine that they might have felt confused that God would have his son born in a stable and not in a regular house. But then their spirits must have been renewed by the shepherds who came to tell them about their experience and that their child would be the savior.
And think of how the experience must have been for the shepherds. Shepherds weren’t terribly high on the social scale. They were often the hired hands of the family that owned the sheep and goats. Yet the angels came and told them that the Messiah had been born. That was a generous renewing act that I’m sure gave them hope and stayed with them for the rest of their lives. And when Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the Temple, he’s blessed by Simeon, who further confirms that their baby will someday be the Messiah. But God is also giving Simeon grace because he is allowed to see the Messiah before he dies.
Grace is made up of little and big acts of kindness and generosity. The big ones are obvious, but the little ones we have to stop and look for them or they’ll pass us by. Grace is the neighbor who brings over some soup when you’re sick. The person who gives your car a jump-start. The friend who calls you up to see if you’re doing OK. Someone who donates cat and dog food to the local shelter. The person who picks up your child from school because you got stuck in a meeting. Every act of kindness is an act of Grace. And receiving grace is just as important as giving grace. When you receive a kindness from someone you are allowing them to give kindness, which is itself an act of kindness.
After an extraordinary event in our lives, we get back to daily living. Maybe life won’t be the exact same afterwards, but we’re still living our daily routine. The challenge for us is to live in the gracious gifts that God gives us; the chances for us to do kindness and to receive kindness. When we look for and live with generous, renewing actions of compassion we are living for and working with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. And that is a life lived with God’s glory.