January 13, 2013
by Rev. Emma Chattin
Lighting the Chalice ~ Reading
Ralph Waldo Emmerson once said:
“Nobody can bring you peace but yourself.”
In that spirit, may the spark of life that gives peace within you
become a flame to illuminate your mind, warm your soul,
and guide your feet
to places of peace.
First Reading
Matthew 25: 31-40
~ from The Inclusive Bible
At the appointed time the Promised One will come in glory, escorted by all the angels of heaven, and will sit upon the royal throne, with all of the nations assembled below. Then the Promised One will separate them, one from another, as a shepherd divides sheep from goats. The sheep will be placed on the right hand, the goats on the left.
The Ruler will say to those on the right, ‘Come you, blessed of God! Inherit the dominion prepared for you from the creation of the world! For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me; naked and you clothed me. I was ill and you comforted me; in prison and you came to visit me. Then these will ask, ‘When did we see you hungry and feed you, or see you thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you as a stranger and invite you in, or clothe you in you nakedness? When did we see you ill or in prison and come to visit you? The Sovereign will answer them, ‘The truth is, every time you did this for the least of these, who are members of my family, you did it for me.’
Second Reading
~ from Thich N’hat Hanh
Let us be at peace with our bodies and our minds.
Let us return to ourselves
and become wholly ourselves.
Let us be aware of the source of being,
common to all of us
and to all living things.
Evoking the presence of the Great Compassion,
let us fill our hearts with our own compassion
– towards ourselves and towards all living beings.
Let us pray that we ourselves
cease to be the cause of suffering to each other.
With humility,
with awareness of the existence of life,
and of the sufferings that are going on around us,
let us practice the establishment of peace
in our hearts and on earth.
I think it’s important to note that many Christian churches this morning
will be recognizing the Baptism of Jesus in some manner.
It’s one of the Big Five in the ministry of Jesus.
When I was little, I envisioned the Baptism of the baby Jesus, because infant Baptism was what I was more accustomed to seeing, but my dad was quick to point out that this was the Baptism of the full grown Jesus. Some 30 years old.
And of course… (counting off the years)…
I said aging 30 years in just a few weeks… wow… that IS a miracle!
Time for my father to do a face palm and explain to me
that we were now re-joining the life of Jesus,
some 30 years later, already in progress.
The baptism of Jesus is considered to be the start of his public ministry.
It takes place in the countryside, in living water– water that’s moving —
in the Jordan River, by a person we call John the Baptist. [Read more…]