Sermon, "Beacons of Light", by Pastor Ruth L. Foss, January 13, 2008, Sanbornville, United Methodist Church, Wakefield, NH

Baptism of the Lord Sunday
Matthew 3:13-17/Isaiah 42:6-9

Good Morning…today is the Baptism of the Lord Sunday. What a glorious day it is. It was the day…that…marked the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It was the day that…marked the beginning of OUR salvation story. What a great day it is indeed!

How many of you remember your baptism? Well…I was baptized twice in my life. Once…when I was an infant so I don’t remember it…but…the second one I remember it well. It was when I was around 37…I was baptized by immersion at the church I belonged to at the time. I remember coming up out of the waters and knowing I was a changed person. I knew that…my life was no longer my own…I knew that I was adopted into a royal priesthood with Christ as my guide. It was an overwhelmingly joyous time in my life and was the beginning of a new life with Christ as the head of it.

Baptism… What is baptism? What happens when we are baptized…do we have to do it every time we sin or is it a “one shot deal”…how can we be truly free…after baptism…what’s next? How should our lives be different? These are questions that many people ask…my prayer is that we will be able to have a better understanding of our baptism, the freedom that is offered us and all the joy that surrounds that time in our lives by taking a look at baptism and what takes place during our baptism as well as how are lives should be after baptism.

Well…in Colossians 2 vs. 11-12…it speaks of baptism as spiritual circumcision and being raised with Christ. The verses state: “11In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.” It introduces us to sharing in Christ’s suffering and death because we are “buried with Him.” “We are raised with Him through faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead.” We believe that…through God’s power…we too are raised from our death but our death is the sin that we cause and live in. We believe we are forgiven of our sins by this same power of God.

Now in verses 13-14…it goes on to say that “13When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.” Now before baptism…these Colossian Christians were dead…alienated from God…they mired in sin…but now they are “alive” because God forgave their sins. God canceled the “legal note of debt” and Christ took the note on Himself. This is also the way that we are before our baptism…we are also alienated…dead…miring in the mud of sin. And we too are made alive in Christ. WE are set FREE!
Baptism…this is a five-part process:

1. Dying to sin…Baptism represents…an outward sign…of what has taken place inside. We are born sinful because of Adam and Eve’s sin in the garden (I am going to have to have a talk with Eve when I am called home…what was she thinking?). Even an infant that is baptized dies to sin, as I have stated we are all born sinful because of the first sin. We are all descendants of Adam and Eve and are under the same curse.

2. Newness of life…we put away our old life and start living a new life found in Christ Jesus. All things are new. There is no record of our past transgressions. We get a “do over.” But then again…our God is a God of second, third, fourth chance and so on. Look at God’s history with Israel in the Old Testament if you ever doubted that. 2 Cor. 5:17-18a tells us that “if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ (THANK YOU JESUS!)” At baptism we are liberated…freed…from sin! This is God’s action to fulfill the divine promise of salvation. We rise to begin a new life in Christ.

3. Union with Christ…We become Co-heirs with Jesus. As I have sated…we are adopted into the “Royal Family”. We are completely forgiven and we are like the Prodigal Son returning home with our Father seeing us from far off and running to us with his arms wide open welcoming us home!

4. Receiving the Holy Spirit…In 2 Cor. 1-21-22…Paul writes “But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, by putting His seal on us and giving us his spirit in our hearts as a first installment.” God gives us the first installment of the many blessings God wants to bestow upon us at our baptism. We are given the teacher of all knowledge…our guide through life. We are given a spirit of Freedom not of fear.

5. Incorporation into Christ’s Church…we are not just talking about Sanbornville…or any other church we may belong to. Incorporation into Christ’s Church is being incorporated into the church of all believers with Christ being the head. We are part of a “World Wide” church with all of us being brothers and sisters in Christ.

These alone are wonderful gifts…blessings…that are bestowed upon us but there is so much more that God gives us. WE are restored again to God. God puts away His indignation and anger…God shows us steadfast love in “while we still were sinners…Christ died for us.” WE are given God’s salvation and are reconciled to Him. We are Free to receive God’s stead fast love, righteousness and peace…God will give us what is good and our land will yield increase.

What amazing freedom we receive at our baptism! WE are free from the Chains of sin…we are free from the condemnation of sin…we are free from the death that sin causes us (not just physical but Spiritual death). WE are free to serve one another. We are free to love one another as Christ loved…and still loves…us. We are free to share our stories to help others find freedom for themselves. We are free to reach out to those around us…with Christ’s love. The love that nailed His outstretched arms to the cross which are the same outstretched arms that are wide open to accept us …where we are…into the family of God. We are free to believe in the Dream that God has for our lives. We are healed of our brokenness inside by our Lord Jesus Christ and are freed and not held down by it any longer. We are free to be ourselves. We are free to follow our call in life…the call that God will equip us for. True freedom does not mean without bars…true freedom is the indwelling of Christ! If the Son sets you free…you are free through and through.

Soo…what are we to do with our new freedom? Are we to share it with others…shining the light of Jesus? Matthew 5:14-15 tells us that “14 You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” We are to be Christ’s light in the world…not to hide the light we have been given but to…pass it on to those who sit in the darkness of sin. Roman’s 13:12 also tells us that 12”The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” And yet again in 1Peter 2:9 that “12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” We are to put on the armor of light…that is Christ Jesus.

The Message Bible…puts a different spin on being a light to the world. In Isaiah 42 vs. 6-9…it talks about being lights as follows: “I have set you among my people to bind them to me, and provided you as a lighthouse to the nations, To make a start at bringing people into the open, into light: opening blind eyes, releasing prisoners from dungeons, emptying the dark prisons.”…A lighthouse…to the nations…what a concept…to be a lighthouse instead of just a light. Just imagine. A light does give brightness to see to those close by…but…a lighthouse’s light…its’ beacon…goes so much further. Did you know that the average lighthouse’s beacon goes out for 21 miles? It only goes that far because at that point…the roundness of the earth comes into play and because of its’ curve the beacon…the light…then goes off into outer space. (Now that light is brighter than any light the Energizer Bunny can make!) This reminds me of a poem by my favorite poet…it is called “Lighthouses”:

Not just a light for the nations,
not just being a light
the Light shining in the world,
in the darkness.
Lighthouses, beacons,
keeping all safe,
away from the shoals,
the rocks, the hidden dangers
dangers hidden in the fog,
the clutter of daily life.
Leading those out on the seas
safely to shore
to a sheltered harbor
home in the arms of our Lord

Lighthouses…I really like that image of being a lighthouse. But…what exactly does a lighthouse do...I mean…what does it really mean to be a lighthouse? Well…
- A lighthouse warns ships and boats about rocks and reefs underneath the sea.
- A lighthouse uses a flashing light directed out towards the sea as a signal.
- Each lighthouse uses a different flashing pattern or speed of flashes.

So…let’s take each of these definitions and see how they relate to our lives as Christians doing the work of God here on earth…let’s see how well they fit in with our Great Commission we have been given by our Risen Lord Jesus Christ.

OK…a lighthouse warns ships and boats about dangers ahead. We are to be that beacon…that help in the dark…for those of the world who live in darkness of sin in the world. We are to help other traverse the stormy seas of life and bring them into the calm of the shore. A lighthouse uses a light that is directed out towards the sea as a signal. We are to reach out to those around us to shine Light in their lives so that they may see the road home…to lead them safely back to the Harbor Masters safe cove of peace and stability. Each lighthouse has its’ own distinct pattern of light. We are to do whatever it is that we need to do to complete our mission in the world. We may have to change the way that we do things…change our pattern…from time to time but we need to reach out to those around us…where they are…as Christ reached out to us where we were before we came to His saving grace.

Lighthouse…beacon of light…this is what we should be to the world around us. We are to share the light that we have been given…the light of our Lord Jesus Christ. Together…all of us that are part of Christ’s Church…can be that light in this dark world. But…it takes more than one Lighthouse…more than one beacon…to light the world. We must stand together…all of us…as one united church of Christ. Brother and sister…shining our light into the darkness…guiding those who are lost into the glorious light of our Lord Jesus Christ. We may do things a little differently…but…we all have the same light within us.

I would like to end my sermon with another poem by my favorite poet…it is called Missionaries of the Light:

Not merely lights to the nation,
stationary, in the temple,
not merely examples of righteousness,
of piety, or rightness with God
in worship, in clean living
Emissaries of the Lord,
who died and rose for us,
who admonished us
to go out into the world,
being the light to the nations
out there in the darkness
actively bringing the light
to the last, the lost, the least,
the prisons, the homeless,
those seeking his grace
Go into the world
missionaries of the light
of the light of the world
the hope for all mankind
rising out of the darkness

May our light shine ever bright in the darkness as we search out those who are in need of the light within us.
Amen.