How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 

With these words, Jesus speaks of the endless love God has for his people.
The imagery of wings comes straight from the psalms and the prophets.
Nothing new is being said about God.
What is different is the context it is being said in and to.
What is different is the person who is saying it,
and what he is about to do to show how much God means it.


It is important to understand what Jesus is saying here.
It is likely he is quoting a lament, one which was likely uttered by God.
It sounds ancient, like a long lost refrain of lament,
one that has been repeated and repeated over centuries.
It aches with yearning, it hangs like a heavy cloud with sorrow.
When Jesus says it, the past times it references become tangible,
all the sorrow felt by God is present.
It has broken through into the now.
Now that it is present, now Jesus must act.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! 

God sends his prophets to turn his people back to him.
When the people err, God does not punish,
but gently sends someone to tell them how to get back with God

We read in the Second book of Chronicles that the people had become unfaithful, following the ways of other nations. But:

The LORD, the God of their ancestors, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place; but they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words,
and scoffing at his prophets, 

And the Book of Nehemiah:

Nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their backs and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies. 

But even with such responses, such rejection of his ways, God does not give up.

Jesus follows his lament of what has been,
with a lament of what God,
what He has longed to do,
what he wishes he could.
What he will do, and do that very thing in Jerusalem

How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 

This is a remarkable image. Jesus uses feminine imagery to describe the love and unrelenting forgiveness of God.

as a hen gathers her brood under her wings

The Prophet Isaiah expressed God in feminine terms.

For the LORD has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his suffering ones.
Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. (49:13-16)

Both Jesus and Isaiah use feminine imagery when describing the overwhelming compassion of God for his people.

Imagery of God as a bird, with wings protecting is quite common in the Old Testament:

Throughout the psalms we hear this:

Let me abide in your tent forever, find refuge under the shelter of your wings. (61:4)

And the prophet Isaiah:

Like birds hovering overhead, so the LORD of hosts will protect Jerusalem; he will protect and deliver it, he will spare and rescue it. (31:5)

And in Deuteronomy:

As an eagle stirs up its nest, and hovers over its young; as it spreads its wings, takes them up, and bears them aloft on its pinions (32:11-12)

Jesus uses these two images: that of the feminine, and that of a bird,
and he combines them into one of motherly love and protection.
The image of the wings stretching to gather rather shielding works when we think what will happen to Jesus when he finally goes to Jerusalem.

How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 

But the wings will become arms.
They will be stretched to gather,
but they will be stretched and nailed onto a cross.
It is in this that he will gather his people.
It is in this that God will show his endless love.
Not in protection by wings, but in the outstretched arms of Jesus upon the cross. Not soaring high above, but lifted up from the earth,
drawing all men to himself, gathering all people to God.

It is in Jesus arms stretched in the ultimate sacrifice that God will show how a hen gathers her brood. It is in Jesus arms wide open upon the cross that God will show his unrelenting love for his people.

If you are the Son of God...

Over this Epiphanytide, we have heard about who Jesus is, how his true nature was revealed to the world, from his Baptism by John, through to his revealing of his divinity in the Transfiguration.

The point of today’s  gospel is another revealing, but more about how than who.

We also meet another character, the devil.
He too reveals himself as he really is.
Not as evil personified, but more a tempter, a giver of options.

The way the two interact over these three scenes reveals much about Jesus Messiahship, and the devil’s methods and role in the divine economy.
The conversation between these two also reveals much to us about both their roles in our lives.

Jesus has just been baptised by John, and now led by the Spirit, goes out into the wilderness. We have to assume that this time is one of great contemplation and meditation for Jesus. He has been in deep communion with the Father. He has been learning of his mission.

He is tempted by the devil.
In the three temptations, he offers Jesus choices.
All of the choices actually seem ok, if not downright reasonable.
But the way Jesus deals with them shows what his communion with the father in the wilderness had taught him about his mission.

The devil said to him,
"If you are the Son of God,
command this stone to become a loaf of bread." 

If you are the Son of God.

 If.

 The devil is trying to just break in the tiniest amount of doubt. It is all he needs. He can’t work with 100% certainty here, but he only needs 0.1% to wriggle his way into consciousness. His starting point is self doubt.

command this stone to become a loaf of bread

Now this is not unreasonable. Jesus has been starving for 40 days. He would be very hungry.
And we know that Jesus will multiply loaves of bread to feed 5000 later on.
 If Jesus were to do this, people would gather around him, he would have an instant following.

"It is written,
'One does not live by bread alone.'" 

It is not the time for eating.
 Jesus time in the wilderness is to hear the will of the Father.
When Jesus does provide food as a miracle, it is not for himself, but for others.
It is done in compassion for those others who are hungry, not for his own cause.

The temptation to “do” a miracle is rejected.
 It would have been an easy way to gain followers, but Jesus’ time in communion with the Father has shown him that love is the way of the mission.

Then the devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world.
He says he can give all of these to Jesus, he has the authority to do so, but only if Jesus will worship him.

What the devil is offering Jesus is the Kingdom of David, but as the whole world.
This is what the Messiah was supposed to achieve.
Scripture had told the Israelites this is what would occur.

The devil is crafty.
He is offering Jesus exactly what everyone expected of him.
This was surely his mission, and here it was, his for the taking.

But Jesus has heard otherwise.
What he has heard is that this is not the will of the Father, but the will of the people.

The temptation here can be seen as “the old way.”
That was the will of God, but since the incarnation, things have changed.
What was expected will now happen in a different way.

Then the devil takes Jesus to Jerusalem, to the top of the Temple.
He quotes scripture to Jesus about how God will protect him if were to throw himself from the top.


'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

If he is truly the Messiah, there is no way he will fall to the ground.
God will save him.
The temple would be filled with people, all would witness this divine miracle, and Jesus would have an easy time of securing a devoted following.
Glory and recognition.

But Jesus knows his mission will end differently.
His time in Jerusalem is not one of glory and recognition.
In his passion, he will experience rejection, shame, and humiliation.
This is the way of the Messiah.

These temptations show us how Jesus will go about his mission, about what the Messiah will be.

But they also show us how the devil works. They show us how temptation works in our lives.
The temptations Jesus faces aren’t evil in themselves.
But they are easy way out options. They are quick fix.

All of them would get the job done. All of them would reveal Jesus as the Messiah of expectation. They would all give him an instant following. But, they all do it in a way that is not right.

This is how the devil works. He tempts with an option that will get the desired result, but ultimately will go against what we are trying to achieve.

Most temptation works in this way. It is the easy way. it is the way that lets something get passed as “good enough.”  Once done, it is easier to do again. And so on.

This is how the devil and temptation work most often.
By offering an easy way, a way of cutting corners.

The way to avoid such a temptation is the same way Jesus did. By listening to God’s will in our lives, we can hear the temptations for what they are.

And if we are strong, prayerful, and filled with the spirit, we can almost be grateful for them.
Because it is often by seeing the wrong way that the right way becomes clear.

Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown

Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown.

Jesus at this stage of his ministry, these first steps of the coming kingdom, is all about the overwhelming love of God for his people.

We love, because He first loved us. 

Nothing can separate us from the love of God, not even death.

But the issue that Jesus is making goes beyond the love of God.

The point Jesus is making is not just about God’s love, but also, who is able to receive it.

It is all about who is out and who is in.
Who is in the presence of God, and who isn’t.

Who does God love?

"Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. 

It all starts so well with Jesus first preaching at the synagogue.
The people are amazed at his gracious words.
What they are hearing is a side of God that they have not heard before.

The passage from Isaiah that Jesus preaches on is speaking to them for the first time.
God is going to free the oppressed, release the captives, restore sight to the blind.
Jesus is speaking to them about their oppression, their captivity, their blindness.

Jesus proclaims that it is he who can do this, he is the fulfilment of this scripture.
The gracious words they hear are for them.

Or are they?

The first thing they do is try and claim Jesus for themselves.
He is a Nazarene, Joseph’s son.
They believe that his gifts should be used for them as he is their own.

Jesus picks up on this very quickly:

'Doctor, cure yourself!' 

This is like “Charity begins at home”

'Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.'" 

It is a strange moment in his ministry.

A still moment between adoration and revulsion.

This moment is decisive in the ministry of Jesus.
It is decisive in history of Israel’s understanding of their God.
It is decisive in our understanding of God now.

Jesus has the folks onside.
They are thinking it is their time.
Their God is finally going to fix all their wrongs in their lives.

But Jesus again turns things on their head.

He turns on the people.

They are about to find out how gracious God really is.

"Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown

Jesus starts his speech with an outright contradiction of what he has been asked.

They may be happy with what he has said, and what he has said he will fulfil,
but he prophesies that he will be rejected.
It  shows the divine genius at work:

He prophesies to his own people that he will not be accepted as a prophet by his own people.

But then he drills down.
He goes deep into the history of his people, deep in to scripture.
He recalls the story of Elijah being sent to widow in Zarephath.
A woman who was a gentile, non Jewish.

He recalls the story of Elisha who cleanses the leper, Naaman, the Syrian.
A leper who is a gentile.

It is hard for us to see how this could lead the people in the synagogue into a murderous mob.
From being  amazed at his gracious words to being filled with rage.

The irony is that the words he is speaking about God at this point are even more gracious than the ones he preached on from Isaiah.
The God he speaks of now loves ALL people. Not just those of the covenant.
The people want to claim God as they own, yet Jesus is telling them that is not the way it will work at all. He will be rejected by his own, and that it is those who are outside the covenant that will be in the presence of God.

Those who are on the outside due to ethnicity are on the inside as much as those who are already in.

The people are outraged about how gracious God really is.
They are outraged at his extravagant love.

Are we sometimes like this?
Does God’s never ending love for all people trouble us?

Is it easier to have a God that only loves those who are Anglicans?
Is it easier for us to have a God who only loves those who go to Church every week?
Is it easier for us to have a God who only loves Christians?
Is it easier for us to have a God who loves only those who love him back?

Jesus expresses Gods love as reaching beyond previously held beliefs about where it went.

How do we feel about God’s ever gracious love going further than we think it goes?

Are we comfortable with God’s love going to those we think may not deserve it?
Are we comfortable with the fact that it is our duty as followers of Jesus that we are the ones to show this love to those we may feel don’t deserve it?
What would it mean for us as the body of Christ to really share God’s love everywhere we went?

When Jesus told the people in the synagogue about how far reaching God’s love really was, they wanted to kill him.

Jesus showed how far he was to take this love by offering himself freely to the cross, to lay his life down for those he loved. That is how far and gracious God’s love is.

Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing

Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Jesus chooses a passage from Isaiah, and then sits down. At this point, it would be expected he would preach. But Jesus does more than this.

 We get a little insight into how worship in the synagogue in Jesus’ time. The time would have begun with the Shema from Deuteronomy, like we did today. A proscribed reading from the Torah would have followed.

Now we reach the action of today. A rabbi, or teacher would stand, and read from one of the prophets, a passage of their own choosing. Then they would sit down and preach on this passage.

This is what Jesus did.

He chose a passage and preached on it.

Well, preached on the passage is a bit of a stretch.

His sermon was a single sentence:

"Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

By Jesus saying this, he is saying that Isaiah wrote this passage about him. Jesus is the fulfilment of this passage. So, the sermon is really himself. The person who sits before them, Jesus of Nazareth is the sermon.


So, what is it in this passage of Isaiah that led Jesus to choose it as his first teaching?

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.

The proof that the spirit is upon him is in the message he has to proclaim, and who he is to proclaim it to: the poor.

He is to proclaim release to those who are captive.
He is to recover the sight of the blind.
He is to free the oppressed.

This is what he will do. His sermon, the single sentence, is a manifesto of what his mission will be, but it is more than that.

It is today that this is fulfilled. The presence of God incarnate, Jesus Christ means this is happening.

This can only happen by the God’s doing, and it can only happen by God dwelling with us.

We only have to follow the rest of Luke’s Gospel to see how Jesus went about fulfilling these divine fixes.

People were held captive by a religious system that demanded some were kept from God’s presence. They were captive to a fear of God that they couldn’t fulfill, they were captive in a system that kept them down and out, with no help of release. They were oppressed along racial, class and gender lines.

People were blind in the way they understood how God worked his way in the cosmos. Jesus healed those who were blind due to his frustration of a system that would not see God how he was. The blind were on the outside. But those who were the blindest were the ones controlling the inside.

By Jesus saying

"Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

He was removing the whole concept of who was out and who was in. His presence among ALL people meant they were in God’s presence: the oppressed and the oppressor.

The presence of Christ among all people means the idea of in or out was completely redundant.

In our time, it is the same. The Church, the body of Christ continues this work. It is our job to be sure that we are not keeping the system of in or out alive. It is our job the recover the sight of the blind, to proclaim the good news of Christ to those who cannot see it. It is our job to release those who are captive.

Who are the captive? Who are the oppressed? Who are the blind?

The captive is a woman in line at the shop being bombarded with messages about diets, makeup and tips to improve her sex life.

The oppressed is a man who feels he has to earn so much money to buy things he doesn’t need, just so he can be part of society.

The blind are those who have been rejected by the church due to their status, ethnicity or sexuality and can now longer see God as being there.

These are the things that the gospel speaks to today.

If we who have heard Jesus say

"Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

believe that this is true, we should proclaim it to all, in word and deed. Look for where oppression is in our town. Look for those who are captive. Look for the blind.

As the body of Christ, it is us who now need to say

"Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

It is the church’s duty to proclaim the moment when Jesus, the son of God, announced the coming Kingdom, and to not only proclaim it, but to actively facilitate it’s coming to being.

"Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Scripture was fulfilled on that day, and not just that day, but nearly 2000 years later, Jesus asks us to keep his word.

Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him

Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

When my sister and brother in law were planning their wedding a few years back, they were given a selection of readings to choose from, one of which was this passage we have just heard. As I was the churchy one in the family, my opinion was asked. I strongly suggested using this passage.

“Why?” I was asked.

“Well, it is about a wedding. I really like it.” Not the most convincing argument.

“But what about what Jesus says to Mary?”

Woman, what concern is that to you and to me?

“I can’t have that at my wedding! It is just rude!”

So, the choice ended up being the reading from 1^st Corinthians. And in all honesty, Paul’s words about love have much more to do with a wedding than this passage today. You see, this passage has very little to do with marriage at all. The wedding is place where something far more significant is happening. As John states:

Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him

So, what actually happened?

Jesus and his followers, which probably add up to seven at this point arrive at a wedding, and the wine has run out.  Jesus changes the water into wine.

It could be that he was having a great time and wanted the party to continue, but that would hardly be a reason for his disciples to believe in him.

Jesus uses this crisis in the celebration to show those with eyes to see who he really is, to reveal his divinity.

Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons

There are six jars which will be used at the end of the celebration for purification rites. The water would be used to wash the bride and bridegroom and all the guests. But Jesus uses these jars and water and changes them to wine.

By using these jars Jesus is showing that these rites are no longer necessary. By the presence of the incarnate Lord, the old way of being and doing will change.  The water of purification was a way of keeping people in and out of God’s presence. But with God being present in the person of Christ there is no issue of who is in or out. The water of the Old Testament is turned into wine.

It is significant that Jesus uses something from the old way to reveal his Glory. He doesn’t remove the water, he changes it.

As he says in Matthews Gospel:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.

Mat 5:17-18

Jesus shows that the old way was not complete. His changing the water to wine is fulfilling the old for it to become the new.

And it is no ordinary wine

           

But you have kept the good wine until now

The steward says. Wine could not be this good before the incarnation. Jesus fulfils the old, and his presence on earth means that even something like wine fulfils its abilities.

We will see this again at the multiplication of the loaves. The stories are very similar. Both arise out of a crisis involving the sustenance of a crowd that has gathered. In the story of the loaves, Jesus uses a small amount of bread that is provided and multiplies it to feed the many that are there. Here with the wedding, he uses the water for purification and changes it to wine for the guests.  With the bread, the comparison is made with the old way:

Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

John 6:31-33

In both stories the sign that is shown is that Jesus is the Son of God, and not only that, but that what he does fulfils the old. In both stories the comparison is made with the old system and how things are now different.

But what are we to make of Jesus “woman” comment:

"Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come."

It is not a rebuff really. Mary appears only one other time in John’s Gospel, at the foot of the cross. Here again Jesus will call her “woman”

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son."

John 19:26

But the difference here as opposed to the wedding, is that his hour has come.

Jesus changing of the water into wine heralds the shedding of his blood on the cross.

And at the last supper, Jesus will speak of the union of suffering and glory that he will experience in his death and resurrection. This is shown in the changing of water and the wine. The old way of thinking what the messiah will be has been changed to a new understanding.

Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

John 2:1-11

Tinseltown in the Rain

The Blue Nile "Tinseltown in the Rain" (1984)

"A Walk Across the Rooftops" was released in New Zealand in 1984. I remember the ad in Rip It Up (a then free and fantastic monthly music magazine). It was a quarter page black and white with a picture of the cover, and a few choice lines from reviews found in NME and the like. The video for 'Stay' was shown on 'Radio with Pictures' (a late Sunday night alternative music show). My older brother Jeremy eventually bought the album; a sale price cassette from Radar Records in Cashel St in Christchurch. 

Jeremy played the album a lot. I would hear it from his room drifting into the bathroom and kitchen. 'Tinseltown in the Rain' was more upbeat and strident. I loved the bassline.

To my 12 year old understanding, this album was classy. It seemed so adult and tasteful. The kind of music that might be played at a posh dinner party, where there might be candles. But even then, I think I got the melancholy aspect. There would be a slightly tragic element to the dinner party, like three couples, and one single, recently separated.

I started working at Echo Records in New Regent St with Chris, who was to become my best friend. We had a shared admiration for David Sylvian. It wasn't long until we both worked out we both liked this album too. We would listen to it on late shopping Friday nights. 

By 1989, I was working full time at the same shop. At the end of the year, the first news came through that The Blue Nile were releasing a new album. 'Hats' arrived, and we all went mad for the Blue Nile again. Every morning, I would open the shop and put on 'Hats.' I absolutely loved it. It was lush where 'Rooftops' was sparse. It was hopeful where 'Rooftops' was lost. "A Walk Across the Rooftops' got lost somehow. It would take a few years and a bit more life experience, but I found it again.

During one significantly depressing romance, this song became a lifeline of sorts. 

Do I love you ? Yes I love you 

But it's easy come, and it's easy go 

All this talking is only bravado yeah 

It was bravado. It wasn't love at all. It wasn't easy come or easy go. It was horrible. The song kept my spirits up, when the whole thing was soul destroying, and I knew it. I left The Blue Nile alone for a few years once again, innocent victims of a bad time.


I reacquainted myself with The Blue Nile when I moved in with my wife-to-be Sarah. Now "Tinseltown' sounded like the most wonderful thing in the world:

Do I love you ? Yes I love you 

Will we always be happy go lucky ?

We were starting out in our relationship, and these words spoke of the innocence and hope we had, yet still managed to express that in a way that was not naieve We weren't lovestruck teenagers, we were in our late 20's, and had both had relationships go pearshaped. 'Tinseltown' spoke of new love in a way that was mature and experienced, but also in a way that expressed the complete newness of joining two lives together, hoping it will last.

Years later, we had moved to Australia. I had sold my LP collection before we left, which included my Blue Nile records. (I always thought they sounded better on vinyl.) I found a copy of 'A Walk Across the Rooftops' on CD at JB-HiFi. I hadn't heard the album in years, and was excited to hear it again. It was like visiting an old friend. It was comforting, but it made me homesick. It reminded me of  my brother Jeremy's little room at the back of our house, it reminded me of New Regent St, it reminded me of getting drunk with Chris, it reminded me of many friends who shared this album: Astrid, Jeremy Taylor, Catherine. Over the years we had all listened to this album, carrying on how great it was. The album was a touchstone for many friendships.

In 2012, I returned to Christchurch fr my 40th birthdaywith Sarah and our 9 year old daughter Ivy.Christchurch was not what it used to be. The earthquake of 2011(which I wrote about here) had changed everything about the town. The Blue Nile was in the air. The biography Nileism had just been released, and Paul Buchanan's solo album 'Mid Air' was also just out.


I visited Chris, and of course we listened to 'Rooftops.' It was a deeply moving experience. We have been mates for over twenty years, and this album has been there the whole time. But 'Tinseltown' took on a whole new meaning. The song was now about the city. It hit me how much I missed my home, and the pain that it would never be the way it was before I left.

Is there a place in this city 

A place to always feel this way

 The places that used to feel like that no longer existed. The place where I met Sarah was gone. It was painful knowing I would also be leaving. I would be leaving my family and friends. The song took on greater significance than it had previously had. It was no longer about personal relationships, it was about a network of people and their home.

Tinseltown in the rain 

Oh men and women 

Here we are, caught up in this big rhythm 

It sounds a bit corny, but the big rhythm expressed the edginess of the town that was suffering constant aftershocks. Everyones life rhythms were so different to what I was used to. Travel, shopping, renting, and environment was all at such a different rhythm. And it rained a whole heap when we were there. It was cold, and the city was broken.

Tall buildings reach up in vain 

Tinseltown is in the rain 

Tall buildings were destroyed and empty. They were redundant and terrifying. The one tall building whose reach was never in vain was the Cathedral. It's spire destroyed, it no longer reached at all. 

Returning back to Australia, I could not listen to 'Tinseltown.'The idea of it upset me too much. I thought of my friends and family and their rumbled lives. It was too painful to revisit. I missed my home and the song carried so  many memories, and now was a concrete reminder of the pain Christchurch was experiencing.

One day in the car, the music was on random. I had not taken 'Rooftops'off my music player. 'Tinseltown' came on. The opening bass note made my heart sink a little bit. I wasn't ready to revisit those emotions. 

One day this love will all blow over 

Time for leaving the parade

I let the song play. I was back in 80's Richmond, Echo Records, 90's High St, 00's North Avon Rd. I was back in July 2012 sitting with Chris in his room having a cup of tea. I was back on the edges of cathedral Square, trying to see the Cathedral. 

The strings started playing in double time as Paul Buchanan repeated "Tinseltown is in the Rain," I was a bit croaky as I sung along with him. It was raining. I wished I was back home, but that wasn't the overriding feeling. It was more thankful. I was grateful that there was a song that I could go to if I wanted to 'be' with my brother, my friends, my home. I was thankful that the song had been with me over all those years and was part of my life during so many significant events. 

I kept playing the song over the next few weeks. One time when Sarah, Ivy and I were all in the car, Ivy asked "What is Tinseltown?" I was so happy. My 9 year old daughter was now part of the story.

Thank you The Blue Nile for writing such a wonderful song. 

Homily for the Baptism of our Lord

Baptism is the beginning.

Baptism is the beginning of Jesus ministry. 

After this, he will go into the desert and be tempted by the devil.  

He will then go the synagogue and say “today scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing”.  

He will exorcise a man who is possessed. 

He will then go on to call the first followers. 

He will then begin to preach about the kingdom of God, and heal the sick. 

But it all starts at the baptism.

The crowds have gone to hear John the Baptist preach his fiery sermons about God’s coming

"I baptize you with water;
but one who is more powerful than I is coming;
I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fork is in his hand,
to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary;
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

The crowd who had been wondering whether John was the Messiah now know that he is not. 

They now know that someone else is coming. The baptism they receive from John is only one of repentance and preparation.  

The baptism they will receive from the Messiah will be altogether different.

They are all baptised, but now must be wondering who this Messiah will be.

It is after they have all been baptised, that Jesus presents himself to John.

The crowd must be watching who this man is. He is baptised just the same as they were.

Jesus goes and prays.  The heaven is opened. And here the Holy Spirit descends upon him in the form of a dove. 

Do the people see this? 

Does John see this? 

Or does only Jesus? 

Then a voice from the cloud

"You are my Son, the Beloved;
with you I am well pleased."

Do the people hear this? 

Or is it only Jesus?

Jesus is baptised, he prays, and he is filled with the spirit. His father announces that it is now time.

It begins.

Our lives as Christians begin at the same point. 

Whether we were bought to church as infants by our parents, or somehow muddled our way through a bit and came to the faith later, our Christian lives begin at our baptism.

It is in baptism that the journey begins.

And it is a challenging journey. 

It is one that challenges the person who is baptised, or in most cases, the parents of the child who is being baptised.

Parents bring their children for baptism for many reasons. 

It may be because grandparents want it to happen; it may be because it is a cheaper alternative to a naming ceremony. 

Or it may be deeper. It may be that there is something going on that is greater than all these. The thing here is that that what is really going on is between God and those about to be baptised.

But baptism is challenging for us a church. 

In baptism we are confronted by many things. 

When we baptise we are in contact with people that have had very little to do with the church, if any involvement at all. 

We are confronted by the fact that there are large sections of our society who we have no contact with. 

We are confronted that they seem to understand very little of what we talk about, what we do, or even what we stand for.

All this is very uncomfortable. 

It is painful, because we can see that the way we have been doing things has lost one or even two generations.

Yet, many people still want their child to be baptised.  

And it is to Jesus’ baptism that we can reflect on to help us make sense of all of it.

We can remember that Jesus asked to be baptised by John. 

We can remember that it was a public happening, it didn’t happen in isolation. 

We can remember that it was the beginning of the whole Jesus movement.

But we can also recall our own baptism. 

We were either bought here by our parents, or we made the decision as adults to be baptised. 

And to be baptised means to be part of the church.

And it is more than just membership. St Paul tells us that in baptism:

it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.

Gal 2:20

In our baptism we are joined to Christ, we become members of the body of Christ. 

Our baptism into him takes us to his own baptism. 

And the words he hears from the Father:

With you I am well pleased

echo down to us and to all who are baptised into Christ.