As Christ is baptized into the waters of the Jordan, all is made new, the waters are sanctified just as those who follow Christ into baptism, ‘put Him on’ (in the language of St. Paul and the Church) and are themselves made anew, as Christ proclaims to us in truth.
And because this is the New Year, many people make New Year resolutions: I’ll go on a diet, get more exercise, quit smoking, etc.—all good things, but what about our spiritual resolutions? Where do we want God to take us this year spiritually? What goals have we set for ourselves, our family, our church?
It can be tempting to buy into the thinking that this year will be the same as all other years; that since many of my past resolutions have failed, why try a new one? “I’m this way or that way, I have these passions, I’ll never change.” All such thinking is pride; it denies the reality of the witness of changed lives we see in the lives of countless sinners turned Saints before us. To deny the possibility of growth and healing from passions and sin-sickness, is to deny the reality of Christ God Himself—the reality we proclaim in the Incarnation and at the Theophany.
Brothers and sisters, time never stands still: this year will bring much change with it—changes in my life, changes in your life. I know in my own life, my family’s life, we will have a new baby boy soon. What joy! New life will be with us and with it another brother baptized into Christ.
But also, my Mother is dying. And so, as I gain a life, I’m losing her with whom I was so close all my life. She is going on, we pray, to a new life with Christ in His Kingdom. My Uncle, just two weeks ago, woke my aunt up to tell her he was having a stroke. Minutes later, his body lay in a hospital bed, paralyzed, and a few hours later, he had reposed. Life is precious. Life on this earth is uncertain. Life with Christ is as certain as it is eternal.
How are we preparing ourselves in Christ to make the most of this season that God’s granted us to live? What are you asking God for that you need to more effectively live out your baptism?
St. Paul’s words to us today are very sobering, “But you, be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of the evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” Folks, it’s time that you see yourself as a missionary, as one who is truly “born anew.” How many times do we give ourselves excuses for why we aren’t living a life reflective of the Kingdom of God, of one who’s walking this life with Christ while we still draw breath?
Let’s stop giving ourselves excuses and remember what it is we’re fighting for: our participation in the Kingdom, life with Christ, who is the only Life there is.
For this reason, St. Paul says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” In fact, twice today in two different readings, St. Paul admonishes us with analogies to running a race. In our Epistle for this Sunday he reminds us again of this ‘race of faith,’ saying, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.” (I Cor. 9:24).
Do we see the Kingdom of God and the possibility of growth in life with Him, of deification, as a prize we’re willing to put all our efforts into attaining, or do we simply take it for granted?
In today’s Gospel, we’re reminded of those in St. John the Baptist’s day who trusted in their status as sons of Abraham. “Every tree,” he says, “which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So the people asked him, saying, ‘What shall we do then?” The answer comes from him as it does from St. Paul: “Be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” We have all been given by virtue of our baptism into Christ a holy calling, a ministry: Christ calls us “the light of the world,” the “salt of the earth.” St. Paul likens us to Christ’s “ambassadors.” The word is clear: if we are in Christ, we are to live as those in Christ and impact the world around us with His truth.
Resolve that this year be different, better than all the rest. Resolve this year, that you will run the race of faith to win the imperishable crown, that you will take several steps forward in faith, leaving behind the things that trip you up, practices and the ‘same ‘ol’ tired arguments, excuses, habits, whatever, that hold you back from pressing forward in your growth in Christ in His Kingdom. Avail yourself more fully of the Church and its resources (services, the Holy Scriptures, the Lives of the Saints, the books of the Church), commit yourself to growth, give of yourself as a witness of the truth of Christ in an age and a culture of disbelief and you will truly be that evangelist which you and I are called to be because through your humble, honest struggle and discipline, Christ will shine His light, love, and truth through you.
Know this: That those who don’t believe, will see the difference in you and me. Those who see our witness, may grow in being more receptive, or, they may react more vehemently, because by your witness, you are—either way—challenging their status quo and that’s uncomfortable. Take heart, as Christ says, “these things I have spoken to you that in Me you may have peace; in the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
It is not yet too late for any of us. We have the opportunity to prayerfully commit each day, each moment to Christ—and that is a victory, that is evidence of Christ and His Kingdom at work in me and you—every time we repent, every time we pray, every time we witness to His truth.
I pray for you a most blessed new year, filled with Christ God’s grace, light, and life, that you may bear the fruit of the Kingdom in your life and, that through your life, others too may come to be born anew of water and the spirit.
Fr. Robert Miclean
Holy Archangels Orthodox Church
Sunday, 5 January 2014
Sunday before Theophany
Epistle: I Cor. 9:19-27; II Timothy 4:5-8,
Gospel: Luke 3:1-18; Mark 1:1-8
