Rev. Tom Sorenson, Pastor
February 14, 2010

Scripture:

Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight O God, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.

Have you noticed that I’m kind of playing a trick on you in this service this morning? It’s not technically liturgically proper, but I’m smushing together two different liturgical days that don’t usually go together—the Baptism of Christ and Christ’s Transfiguration. Today is Transfiguration Sunday in the liturgical calendar, so that part of this morning’s service is OK. It’s the Baptism of Christ part that is odd. Baptism of Christ comes in January, and I was away on that Sunday this year; so I missed doing something on that Sunday that I find quite meaningful and that I’ve been doing here for the past few years. I missed doing the renewal of baptismal vows ceremony where I spray water on all of you. I like spraying water on all of you, both because it’s fun and because I think the symbolism of it is so powerful. So I decided to do it today as part of our preparation for our congregational annual meeting this afternoon after worship. It is good, I think, as we gather to do the work of the church, to remind ourselves that we are baptized in the name of the Triune God, whose work we seek to do.

And somewhat to my surprise it turns out that the Gospel readings for those two Sundays that I’m smushing together, Transfiguration and Baptism of Christ, have something significant in common. Did you notice it when we heard those stories just now? In both stories a voice from heaven, that we clearly are to understand to be the voice of God, says something about Jesus. It actually says quite similar things about Jesus in the two stories. In Mark’s account of Jesus’ baptism the voice says “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” In Luke’s account of the Transfiguration the voice says: “This is my Son, the Chosen, listen to him.” In the baptism story God tells Jesus that he is God’s beloved, an affirmation to Jesus that he is indeed called by God to the ministry he is about to begin. In the Transfiguration story God tells us, through the three disciples who are with Jesus, that because Jesus is the one whom God has chosen we are to listen to him.

This morning we will renew our baptismal vows, those of us who have been baptized. Any of you who have not been baptized are invited to participate too and to consider the sprinkling with water a symbol of God’s blessing for you. In renewing out baptismal vows we reaffirm our commitment to Jesus as indeed God’s Son, God’s Beloved, God’s Chosen one. And today in particular, as we also hear the story of the Transfiguration, we do that as we remember that God calls us not only to believe in Jesus as God’s beloved Son but also—and more importantly—to listen to him.

“Listen” here of course has multiple meanings. Superficially it means hear him, hear his words, be aware of what he is saying. That’s really important because today so much of Christianity thinks that what God wants us to do is believe in Jesus, but that’s only a beginning of the Christian life properly understood. Jesus had a lot to say, according to the Gospels; and we’re supposed to hear what he had to say.

But listening doesn’t mean merely hearing. You parents out there: When you say, or said, to your child “listen to me” did you mean only hear me? Didn’t you also mean something like “obey me”? Didn’t you mean hear my words and then act on them? Do what I’m telling you to do? Stop doing what I’m telling you not to do? That’s what I meant when I told my kids to listen to me when they were young—which isn’t to say that they did much, but that’s what I meant.

That’s what I think we’re supposed to understand by the voice of God in the Transfiguration story telling us to listen to Jesus. Not just hear but follow. Not just hear but obey. Not just hear but be faithful to him and to the message that he brings us from God. The Christian life isn’t just about believing. It is about following, following Jesus and his Gospel of peace and justice for all people. That’s why the voice of God in the Transfiguration story doesn’t say believe in him, it says listen to him.

That’s an important message any time in the Christian life, but this morning I think it is especially appropriate for us as we go into our congregational annual meeting this afternoon. It’s not that we’re facing any very difficult decisions. the way some congregations are. It’s not that we have deep divisions to heal the way some congregations do. We are blessed in our life together in not being in those places right now. Yet I think the message “listen to him” is still important for us. We find ourselves, I think, in a rather quiet, perhaps even fallow time in the life of this church. We have accomplished much. Perhaps this is a time for us just to take it easy, feel good about ourselves, and consolidate the gains we have made. Times like that are sometimes appropriate in the life of a congregation.

But I don’t think we get to do that until after we’ve done some really serious listening to Jesus. I don’t think we get to do that by default. We don’t get to do that without listening hard for the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, to try to discern where God is calling us at this time in our life together.

So as we gather this afternoon, and as our new boards and officers begin their work, let us listen hard. Let us listen in prayer, in silence, in conversation together. Let us listen to our inner stirrings, and let us listen to one another, for we are the body of Christ. Let us listen for what we hear. Let us then listen by following, following indeed the one we claim to follow, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.