Today I wrote an article about two Saints who did not act very saintly before their conversions.  St Olga was a mass murderer and destroyed an entire town in revenge for her husband's murder.  Olga's grandson, St Vladimir, had his brother murdered and put his sister-in-law in his harem. 
http://larry-putt.suite101.com/murderous-saints-st-olga-and-st-vladimr-a399782

Happy Reading!

My sermon, given at Trinity Episcopal Church, 12/4/2011

O Lord Open My Lips, and My Mouth Will Declare Your Praise (Psalm 51:15)

Today in our Gospel and Old Testament readings we heard the prophecy of Isaiah; A voice of one calling in the desert prepare the way for the Lord, make straight in the wilderness a highway for God.

Four hundred years before John, the prophet Malachi (4) said, “See, I will send the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.  He will turn the hearts of the Fathers to their children and the hearts of their children to their fathers.”  Many thought this to mean that John the Baptist was Elijah.   Malachi (3) also said, “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare a way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in; behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts.

John the Baptist was born six months before Jesus.   The Gospel of Luke says that John was the son of Zachariah, a priest in the temple of Jerusalem, and Elizabeth, who had been barren.  The angel, Gabriel announced to Zachariah that Elizabeth would bear him a son.

Like the early childhood of Jesus, next to nothing is known of John’s youth.  The first we really hear of John is that he is out in the desert preaching baptism of water for the forgiveness of sins.  The Apostles Andrew and John were followers of John, giving evidence that those two were actively seeking a closer relationship with God.

John preached that the one who would baptize, not with water, but with the Holy Spirit would follow him.   The day that Jesus appeared in the desert to and asked John to baptize him John demurred and said, it is I who should be baptized by you.”   None-the-less John performed the Baptism of Jesus and at that moment, God spoke from above, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus.  Thus began the ministry of Jesus.

Although John denied being Elijah when questioned by the religious authorities, Jesus later proclaimed that John was indeed Elijah.

John continued to preach, although two of his disciples, John and Andrew, left to follow Jesus.  John also continued to annoy King Herod and the King grew tired of John’s criticism of his morality and of his growing political influence.  In the end Herod’s lack of morality cost John the Baptist his head.  There just never seems to be a good ending when one is a Jewish Prophet. 

In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells Nicodemus that to enter the Kingdom of Heaven one must be reborn with a birth of water and Spirit.  Before his ascension, Jesus tells his followers, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.”

Holy Baptism incorporates us into the mystical body of Christ. The effect of Baptism is threefold:

1.       It remits all sin, original and actual.

2.      It bestows sanctifying grace, and gives our souls the heavenly virtues of Faith, hope, and charity.

3.      It makes the recipient a member of Christ, the Child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.

By making our baptismal vows we agree to three basic principles:

1.      We renounce Satan and all his evil works.

2.      We affirm our belief in God.

3.      We agree to serve him.

Jesus realizes that by our very nature, we are weak creatures.  We cannot hope to persevere against evil by ourselves.  During the baptismal ceremony, when we make our vows, we say, “I will with God’s help.”

That I think is the major difference between John’s baptism and the Baptism of Jesus.  John’s baptism was one of repentance of sin and asking for forgiveness.  The baptism of Jesus is more powerful, for with his sacrifice, our sins are forgiven and he sent the Holy Spirit to be our comforter.

This morning I came across a writing by Henri Nouwen that is pertinent to this sermon.  Henri said,” The knowledge that Jesus came to dress our mortal bodies with immortality must help us develop an inner desire to be born to a new eternal life with him and encourage us to find ways to prepare for it.

It is important to nurture constantly the life of the Spirit of Jesus - which is the eternal life - that is already in us. Baptism gave us this life, the Eucharist maintains it, and our many spiritual practices - such as prayer, meditation, spiritual reading, and spiritual guidance - can help us to deepen and solidify it. The sacramental life and life with the Word of God gradually make us ready to let go of our mortal bodies and receive the mantle of immortality. Thus death is not the enemy who puts an end to everything but the friend who takes us by the hand and leads us into the Kingdom of eternal love.”

God loves us, he sent his only son to save us, and all he asks in return is that we obey his commandments:

Love God with all your heart, and mind, and soul, and strength.

Love one another as he loves us.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,
Amen.