MY NEXT SERMON

I AM  PREACHING NEXT ON SUNDAY 8 FEBRUARY 2026 - at ST MARY'S PARISH CHURCH, WEST DEAN, WILTSHIRE - 9.15 a.m.  and ALL SAINTS' CHURCH, FARLEY, WILTSHIRE - 11.00 a.m. - 2ND SUNDAY BEFORE LENT

SERMON 230 - SUNDAY 11 JANUARY 2026 - BAPTISM OF CHRIST/EPIPHANY 1

Sermon at West Dean, St. Mary’s Parish Church, - Baptism of Christ  –  Sunday 11th January 2026

Isaiah 42:1-9; Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17

Today we celebrate the Baptism of Christ by John the Baptist in the River Jordan; but as well as being such a celebration we are still in the Season of Epiphany – that time when we remember the coming of the wise men or “kings” bearing three prophetic gifts to the infant Jesus – gold to represent his kingship, frankincense to represent his holiness or divinity and myrrh, that perfume with which the dead are anointed to represent the great sacrifice he would later make for all.

The two New Testament readings, one from Acts and one from Matthew’s Gospel, remind us that Jesus, the King of Kings, came not just to establish a heavenly kingdom for the Jews but for all humankind. Peter, in his speech to the household of Cornelius, a Roman centurion, a leader of the forces occupying Judea, makes this point that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, came not to remove those occupying forces and re-establish Jewish sovereignty, but as the Son of God, establishing a universal kingdom far more important and enduring.

Christianity as a global phenomenon was being established and a desire for the whole world to realise the importance of following Christ and being united.  This is why the words of Peter, like John in our second reading are so important in understanding this. Peter reminds his listeners, and readers of Acts, that the message of the Gospel, the Good News as it is sometimes described, starts at this point with Jesus’s baptism. It is an outward illustration of God’s power and Jesus’s mission.

Like John the Baptist, I found it difficult, at first, to understand why John should have to baptise Jesus.  In an earlier piece of scripture John had remarked that “one would follow me whose sandals I am not fit to carry” (Matt 3 v11). John was the forward messenger and although people had been baptised as an act of showing repentance, or metanoia, a turning back to God and cleansing themselves of their past sinful life. We do this today in our churches and sometimes in rivers.  Jesus, as the divine Son of God surely had no reason to undertake this ritual and symbolic cleansing – after all he is God.

However, with Jesus would come the Holy Spirit to all who wanted it – “He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and Fire”, had said John earlier – in other words not only will you be changed through the cleansing of your body as a symbol of washing away the old tainted ways, but you will also have something brand new bestowed upon you. 

John therefore challenges Jesus as to why he should be baptised and at the end of this passage we learn the reason in one of the most emotional pieces of scripture –

“They saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him; and a voice from heaven said “This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased”.

This passage of scripture, this description of Jesus’s baptism is an affirmation of the divinity of Jesus, yet born as a human and living amongst humans here on Earth. It is also a positive sign to John that his ministry, as the one who comes before, was a true one and that he has now himself observed the long-awaited Messiah. It is also a reminder to us of God’s great love for us in sending his Son to live, minister and die for us.  That is the same reminder and story which Peter is giving out in his speech in our Second Reading.

None of this, actually, should come as a surprise to anyone, then and now, as it was foretold in the Old Testament. In our first reading from Isaiah we read:

“Thus says the Lord, Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen in whom my soul delights, I have put the Spirit upon him and he will bring forth justice to the nations.”

I get really excited when I read these passages – Isaiah foretelling the coming of Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah; the actual biographical narrative in Matthew’s Gospel and, finally, a reminder and a summary of what went on and why in Luke’s account of Peter’s speech to the Gentiles.

When I practised law, I used to get the same delightful feeling when a case hung together nicely and tightly with no room for ambiguity. We called it the “stick of rock” theory – simply described, the first lick at the beginning should have “Cleethorpes” in it as should the last bit. If somewhere between the two you suddenly come across “Brighton” or “Skegness” for example you do not have something of integrity.

Another lovely piece of connectivity is the description of a dove (the symbol of peace) as the Holy Spirit descending on him. You will recall that after the devastation of the Great Flood, it was a dove which came back to Noah’s Ark with an olive branch in its beak to indicate that the cleansing of the world, by the Great Flood, was now over and a new world can begin; it is also the dove which for generations has been the symbol for peace and the messenger of peace throughout the world; a symbol of new beginnings and of understanding between all peoples.  At this time of such turmoil and uncertainty and, can I dare say it, the prospect of some global conflict at our doorstep, we need to be messengers of peace and love, we need to carry the light of Christ before us and into this ever-darkening world.

With the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus, he was able to share that spirit with all who came to him and sought and followed his ministry and, as we know following his death, resurrection and ascension, at Pentecost the Spirit descended upon all who sought it.  That is precisely where we find ourselves today.  The Wise Men came bearing gifts to the infant Jesus, Jesus himself, through his ministry, death and resurrection has bestowed the greatest gift of all, the Holy Spirit, free and unconditionally to all who seek it.  Actually, there is one condition, and that is that having received it you do not grieve it – that is do not renounce it or denigrate.

I believe the world is, today, hungrier for the Holy Spirit than at any other time.  Sometimes we get so caught up with our own little worlds that we forget that we all live in one greater world; but it is not all that great.  We are all living on a planet, a spaceship which is less than 8,000 miles in diameter in the vastness of a cold and hostile universe, billions and billions of light years across – if it has any boundaries.  It is the only home we have and really one which we can only ever have this side of the grave.  Jesus, we are told by John, came into the world to save the world not to condemn it.

A few years ago I watched the movie “Don’t Look Up” starring Jennifer Lawrence, Mark Rylance and Leo DiCaprio.  It is a little wacky but the essence of it is that in today’s modern age we spend a lot of time looking down at our devices and accepting what social media is saying, or not saying, and not enough time looking up and around us and discovering reality for ourselves. In the case of this film there is a large comet heading straight for Earth which will destroy the planet in six months’ time. The politicians and media people don’t seem to care, worrying more about mid-term elections and the love lives of celebrities.  In fact, social media and politicians start a campaign doubting the existence of the comet despite the scientists’ assurances.  Does that ring any bells? 

In fact since I watched that film in 2021, it seems that its relevance to what we saw going on in 2025 and continuing in 2026 is greater than ever!  People are listening and relying more and more on the “15 – minutes of social media experts”, rather than any true experts in their dedicated fields.  Jesus, we should remind ourselves is the Truth and the Light.

Sometimes, I think that those of us who know the true nature of God’s love and compassion for Humankind are crying in the wilderness just like John, but cry we must otherwise we have no chance of being heard at all if we totally give in or give up.

I am reminded of a notice displayed at Auschwitz I Concentration camp in Poland written by Pastor Martin Niemoller which reads

“First they came for the Communists

 And I did not speak out Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists and I did not speak out Because I was not a Socialist

 Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew

 Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.”

John the Baptist spoke out and encouraged those around him to repent – metanoia; to look at things afresh. To wash away the old and tainted and to step out clean, refreshed and into a new world with Jesus Christ as our king and saviour. As true Christians we should honour the pledges he made on our behalf – to move forward with the aid of the Holy Spirit, never grieving it but upholding it, promoting it and its powers and making disciples of others and having no fear for Jesus is with us, within us and around us.

God bless you all in your continued fellowship and ministry here in West Dean over the next twelve months and may you too have the courage to speak out and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit here within us now.

Amen                                                                                           MFB/230/07012026

(An updated version of Sermon 168 and 211 delivered in 2022 and 2025 respectively).