"Living as People of Connection" | Christy Stang, Seminarian | January 10, 2021

First Sunday after Epiphany, Year B

Genesis 1:1-5 | Acts 19:1-7 | Mark 1:4-11 | Psalm 29

May I speak in the name of the Creator, the Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

When there are baptisms at the parish in which I grew up in Minnesota, the rector invites all of the children to gather around the baptismal font in the middle of our sanctuary to watch. Everyone turns to the font, drawing closer to get a better view. The children run from all corners of the sanctuary to secure their front row seats. Perhaps one or two of the children might stick their fingers eagerly into the font, curious to see what might be so special about this particular water. You can see the wonder and curiosity in the children’s eyes as they watch the baptism, captivated by the sound of the water running over the baby’s head and the glimmer of the baptismal candles given to the parents. You can hear the gentle laughter of the adults when the newly baptized baby likely begins to cry in surprise or perhaps indignation at being doused with water. And in the room is a sense of harmony. Because in witnessing that moment of baptism, the people in the sanctuary know that they are connected. They can feel the Spirit of God not only in the room, but in the people around them. That image of a faith community gathered around the baptismal font, celebrating and being in awe of this sacrament of baptism is what comes to mind for me when I think of being baptized into the Holy Spirit. Wonder. Hope. Community. Connection.

In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist announces that Jesus “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” John compares himself to Jesus by saying creatively that he is “not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals,” emphasizing the power ingrained in Jesus’ role and capability of baptizing with the Holy Spirit. Jesus baptizes us not with merely water, but with the Holy Spirit, the love and guidance of God inspiring humanity on earth. The Spirit itself makes an appearance after Jesus’ baptism, taking the form of a dove to relay God’s love and approval. In this way, the Holy Spirit mediates communication and connection in relationship with Jesus, as the Holy Spirit does with humanity.

To understand what it means to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, let us take a moment to remind ourselves of who the Holy Spirit is. The word for spirit in ancient Koine Greek is pneuma, which can mean spirit, breath, wind, or inspiration. The conferral of this divine breath on humanity is foreshadowed in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament, with God expressing in Ezekiel 36:27 that, “I will put my Spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances,” while in Joel 2:28 God explains that, “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.” This act of gifting humanity with God’s spirit empowers us to fully live into our identities as children of God and to reflect God’s glory as we allow the Spirit to guide us. The power of the Holy Spirit is emphasized in the New Testament as well as the Hebrew Bible, since Paul writes in Romans 5:5 that “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Baptism with the Holy Spirit is an expression of God’s grace and abundance. God is love, and therefore being baptized with the Holy Spirit means being bathed in God’s very essence.

Who are we, then, if we are baptized with the Holy Spirit, this paragon of connection? When we are baptized, we are invited into divine relationship. Jesus is far more powerful than John, and yet Jesus is baptized by John. That is not to say that our role as humans is to baptize God, but it speaks to the reciprocal nature of relationship with God. That while God is always giving to us, we are invited to give back to God. This is not to say that God cannot survive without our willingness to give back, but that God is a God of relationship and love. Being baptized in the Holy Spirit means that we are entering into relationship with God and with God’s children. God asks us to recognize and use our gifts to reflect God’s glory as we connect to the divine and to the world around us.

Baptism consists not only of commitment to God, but commitment to a faith tradition and a faith community. Connection with other people is part of this sacrament. Part of being in relationship with God through being baptized with the Holy Spirit means being in relationship with others in spiritual community. Baptism in the Holy Spirit is baptism into spiritual community. We are not expected to experience baptism and life after it alone, since the liturgy of baptism includes the prayers of the community to support the baptized in their spiritual life. As Episcopalians, we often renew our baptismal vows, and our connection to this particular sacrament is strengthened every time we choose God. It is easy to think of baptism as a single moment. A rite of passage to check off the list of religious obligations. Baptism is not a transient sacrament, however, and God invites us to live into the truth of baptism every day. Living into our baptism happens not only when we come to church, but in every moment of our lives, since the Holy Spirit guides and follows us everywhere. Living into spiritual community with other people and with God is a process, not a single moment, and we are invited deeper into that connection every day.

Spiritual community is not without its struggles, however, and neither is the community of our nation. Once again this past week, we have seen rifts in the connectedness of our country with rioters mobbing the capitol. Distrust pervades our country as fear and anxiety for the future of America and of the world remains collectively in our hearts. Uncertainty and instability make it difficult to feel grounded during this period of history, when each week brings new “unprecedented news.” The world does not always seem like a safe place for our souls. But God is a safe place, and connection to God is always an invitation into spiritual safety. In God, we are baptized and invited into deeper love and meaning in our lives. I believe God seeks after every person in the world no matter what their beliefs are, but baptism testifies to our choice to be spiritually connected. Baptism in the Holy Spirit means we choose to allow connection and love through Jesus our Christ to guide our lives, empowering us to pray, to act, and to love in a disconnected and unstable world. In our baptismal vows, we pledge to “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being,” not alone, but “with God’s help.” Restoring connection in our world may seem overwhelming, but nothing overwhelms God. We are baptized in the Holy Spirit, and thus we have the overwhelming power of God and God’s love on our side. As Christians, we are a people who stand for connection in a disconnected world. The world around us may threaten to change who we are and who we strive to be, but know that our God is a God of connection in this disconnected world. And our God calls and empowers us to be agents of connection.

Since in our baptismal vows we pledge to continue in our prayers, I would like to close with these words from the “Prayers and Thanksgivings” section of our Book of Common Prayer. Let us pray.

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart, that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP 823)

May we live in the joy of connection and empowerment to act, knowing that in Christ, we are baptized with the Holy Spirit.