Baptism of the Lord

January 10, 2010

Omaha, NE

Rev. Steven W. Plank

“Precious”

Text:    Isaiah 43:1a – “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”

Scripture Lessons:       Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Isaiah 43:1-7

Proposition:  We are all incredibly dear and “Precious” to our God.  Baptism reminds us that we belong to God and are enveloped in God’s grace and love always.

Prayer for Illumination:  Saving God, source of our calling, your Word is full of power and glory.  Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us so that we may receive your grace and live as your beloved children; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

It is fascinating to me to observe the ways in which the meanings of words change or flow over time.  There are layers of meanings behind some words, and the same basic meaning might stay pretty much the same as the usage of those words changes.  There are other words, though, that have come to mean something entirely different as their use has adapted through the years, sometimes even meaning the exact opposite of what it once did.

Consider Jesus’ words to his disciples about children.  The Gospels of Saints Matthew, Mark, and Luke all contain the same response of Jesus to the apostles when, in the midst of a serious conversation, a bunch of little kids wanted to come up and talk with Jesus.  You probably know what Jesus said:  “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.”  (Matt. 19:14; see also Mark 10:14 and Luke 18:16).  However, if you are old enough, or a student enough of the Bible, you might remember how the old King James Version of the Bible translated it:  “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.”  If you read that verse from that version to people today who weren’t familiar with the old language, what kind of cruel, heartless, uncaring person would they conclude Jesus must be?  We don’t use the word “suffer” in that way at all anymore, do we?

Look at all of the different ways in which we use the word “special” today.  Educators have some different terms in many cases, but there are some children who commonly are referred to as children with “special needs,” and who therefore have programs that are uniquely designed to help them learn and succeed in the classroom.  There is a “television special,” that supposedly brings some exceptional program to the viewing audience.  The ways in which graphic artists and people who use complex computer programs and people who are filmmakers make their on-screen magic happen employ what are called “special effects.”  Elite military personnel who are uniquely trained for specific purposes are in what are called “special forces.”  Albert Einstein began a new revolution in physics in 1905 with his theory of “special relativity,” a fundamental approach to the relationship of space, time, and the speed of light.  And then of course there was that famous use of the word as intoned by Dana Carvey and his Saturday Night Live character, Enid Strict, known more familiarly as the Church Lady:  “Well, isn’t that special?”  Ah, in what different ways we use this simple, seven-letter word!

There are countless other examples of how the meaning of words has changed, some of which are these:

• “Awful” used to mean “full of awe,” but now means “bad.”
• “Bad” used to mean “not good,” but now means “cool.”
• “Cool” used to refer only to temperature, but for a long time has meant “hip.”
• “Hip” used to refer only to a joint in the body, but now means “cool.”
• It’s hard to sing the familiar stanza of that Christmas carol, “don we now our gay apparel,” without thinking of a Mardi Gras or Gay Pride parade.

The word “precious” is one of the ones that has been used in different ways… not so much with a wide variety of disparate meanings, but to refer to different things.  We speak of “precious gems” – gemstones such as diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, opals, and even pearls, even though they are clearly not a “stone” as the others are.  If you watched any of the movies or read any of the books in the Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, you know that the split personality character Smeagol/Gollum always referred to the One Ring as “my Precious.”

The word “precious” as a noun means “beloved,” “dear,” “highly valuable.”  As an adjective it can mean “cherished” or “treasured,” as in “a precious heirloom,” or to think of “precious memories,” or to refer to “children are precious.”  As an adverb it has the sense of “extremely,” as in “there is precious little time left.”

One does not refer to another person as “precious” unless the two share an exceptionally close and loving relationship.  Without that kind of relationship, the word can be seen as ridiculing another person or treating someone in a condescending manner.  However, within the context of such a special relationship, the word is filled with meanings of endearment, specialness, and intimacy.  One is blessed, indeed, in life if one has two or three people who are precious to them in the fullest, deepest, most meaningful sense of that term.

I propose to you that, in God’s sight, each of us – each and every one of us – is precious.  We know it from that old children’s hymn:

Jesus loves the little children,

All the children of the world.

Red and yellow, black and white,

They are precious in his sight.

Jesus loves the little children of the world.

I know… when we think of that song we think of it as expressing sentiments that are “cute” and “quaint.”  But God’s love for us is anything but cute and quaint.  God’s love does not patronize us.  God’s love does not romanticize us, as we tend to romanticize Christmas or times gone by.  God’s love for us is deep.  It is passionate.  It is transformative.  It is redemptive.  It is forever… forever!

There are people who often think that the Old Testament paints a picture of a vengeful, wrathful, angry God, while the New Testament pictures a God who is all-loving, all-forgiving, all kind and gentle.  Well, that’s not a new idea.  In fact, as early as a.d. 144, a Roman Christian by the name of Marcion, promulgated this notion.  And the Church that early in its life, existing not long after the death of all of those first followers of Jesus, recognized Marcion’s ideas as heresy, and they excommunicated him!  I often wonder if people who continue in this notion of a “God of the Old Testament” who is somehow substantively different than a “God of the New Testament” have ever really read the Bible!  Surely they couldn’t persist in such erroneous ideas if they had ever read our Old Testament lesson this morning!

Here is how the ancient prophet, Isaiah, believed God relates to us, how God feels about us, how God longs to envelope us in grace and love, compassion and strength:  “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”  In the midst of a world that gives birth to many reasons to be afraid, God says, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”  In the midst of an economy that is still uncertain, making us concerned for our futures, God still says to us, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”  In the midst of concerns about global warming, which seem far removed from us after these past few weeks, but which is nonetheless scientifically demonstrable, giving us concerns for what kind of planet our children and grandchildren and other descendents will live in, God still says to us, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”  In the midst of feelings within us of insecurity, of somehow being unlovable, of disappointment at not living up to our full potential, of frustration about bad decisions we make and good decisions we don’t make, God still says to us, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”

St. Augustine, way back in the 4^th century, gave the Church a definition of what a sacrament is that still stands today.  He said that “a sacrament is an outward, visible sign of an inward, invisible grace.”  This morning, which, in the Church calendar, is the Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord, we are invited to remember the sacrament of our own baptisms.  We also are invited to participate in the sacrament of Communion.  Here, laid out before us, are the outward, visible signs of water… and bread… and the cup.  They signify for us the inward, invisible grace that we experience by being deeply, unabashedly, profoundly, passionately loved by our God.  Each of us is beloved.  Each of us is embraced by God’s presence.  Each of us is “Precious” in the eyes of God.

So be open once again to experience God’s redemptive love as it is experienced in the Sacrament of Communion.  Be open once again to remember that we are claimed by God and marked for service in the world as we see and hear the water poured into the baptismal font.  We belong to God and are enveloped in God’s grace and love always.  And God still says to us, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”

Thanks be to God!  AMEN!