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01/09/22 – Fire and Rain

FIRE AND RAIN

January 09, 2022
Baptism of Our Lord
Isaiah 43:1-7; Acts 8:14-17; Luke 3:15-22
Rev. Denise Clark-Jones

I’m going to show my age when I tell you this. When I was playing records in my college dorm room, one of my go-to albums was one of James Taylor’s. I wasn’t a big fan of popular music then, or now, but my affinity for James Taylor had as much to do with his accent than his tunes. I appreciated that his music had tunes that were hummable and the instrumentation not loud, but it was his North Carolina accent that was comforting for this college freshman, living away from home for the first time. Even though I went to college in North Carolina, the majority of the students there were not from the state or even the South. James Taylor didn’t just have a North Carolina accent; he had my North Carolina accent from the Piedmont area of the state. He grew up in Chapel Hill, while I spent the first 14 years of my life in Raleigh.

One of Taylor’s biggest hits was “Fire and Rain.” The song is fairly simple, three verses, each followed by a refrain. The first verse refers to a childhood friend who committed suicide. The second verse describes his struggle with depression and drug addiction. The lyrics are:

Won’t you look down upon me, Jesus?
You’ve got to help me make a stand
You’ve just got to see me through another day
My body’s aching and my time is at hand
And I won’t make it any other way

Taylor claims the mention of Jesus was an epithet he used when he was in pain and had nothing to do with Christianity. The third and final verse refers to plans that didn’t work out, which he reflected on during time spent at a rehabilitation facility.

The chorus in Fire and Rain is:

I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain
I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I’d see you again.

Carole King was the pianist that accompanied Taylor on the recording of “Fire and Rain.” Afterward, she composed a response to his query in “Fire and Rain” with the song, “You’ve Got a Friend.” Her song was also three verses with a refrain repeated after each verse. The text to her chorus is:

You just call out my name
And you know, wherever I am
I’ll come runnin’
To see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I’ll be there
You’ve got a friend

Their songs formed a musical conversation born of a relationship. Whenever we experience emotional or spiritual pain, what we seek is a relationship – to know we are loved and supported. That our lives matter. This is the bible’s story. Our lives matter to God who loves and sustains us. As God desires a relationship with us, God desires us to be in a relationship with one another. Jesus. Emmanuel, our God-with-us, revealed God’s love for us and demonstrated what love should look like in human relationships.

In our gospel reading for today, John the Baptizer explained the difference between his baptizing people and Jesus’ baptizing: “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.

Fire and water are common images found in the bible. Fire can be deadly and destructive, but also purifying and refining. In Genesis, the waters are unfathomably deep and chaotic. Sea monsters lurk in the sea. Yet, the people of Israel living in a desert climate also used water as a metaphor for that which is life-giving and saving. In an agrarian society, life depended on the success of the harvest, which could only occur with seasonal rains. Fire and Rain. Earthly elements, which are in the hands of God, the Creator, can bring transformation and renewal.

In our Old Testament reading from Isaiah, God speaks words of hope and comfort to the people of Israel during the Babylonian exile: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” The troubled times will end and there is hope for a new beginning because God loves God’s people.

The emphasis on God as Creator in our passage from Isaiah presents the idea that creation is a loving act and redemption is an act of unparalleled sovereign power. The redemption of Israel is accomplished by the elements and events of God’s created order.” God uses the elements of water and fire to cleanse and purify creation. Jesus is baptized with water. As the voice at Jesus’ baptism promises, here too God promises to be with the people. The redemption of Israel is achieved by the defeat of Babylon at the hands of the Persians. King Cyrus of Persia released the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple and their lives. God proclaims that Israel’s redemption will be accomplished by using worldly elements and actors. God does not take away Israel’s sin but releases her from slavery and the sinful actions of another nation’s power grab. Israel is not restored to worldly greatness; Israel is restored in its freedom to return to their familial and community relationships.

In chapter 43 of Isaiah, God speaks an oracle directly to the people. God promises to “ransom” Israel from her enemies. “Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west, I will gather you; I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not withhold;” (v.5-6) Jesus, forewarned his disciples that he would “give his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 13:45) Luke tells us Jesus uses the same language in describing the kingdom of God: 29Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. Luke 13:29) We use these words in our eucharistic liturgy.

It is important for us to note the universality of God’s promise in Isaiah. In v. 7 God says redemption is for: “everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” Thus, all creation and all people were created by God’s love and likewise, God’s saving acts are for all people. Far be it for us to exclude others from God’s love. In the words of Desmund Tutu, who died this past week: “Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realize our need of one another.” Differences are real and should be recognized, but the bible tells us God’s love transcends differences and so should our love for one another.

In Acts, the author of Luke drives this point home when Peter and John insist that the Samaritans’ baptisms break through the boundaries of societal marginalization. Peter and John insisted the Samaritan’s baptisms in the name of Christ made them sisters and brothers of anyone else who was baptized. In baptism, we recognize God has called us by name to be God’s beloved child. We are brought into a relationship, a community of faith that pledges to support us.

The story of Jesus’ baptism is found in each of the four Gospels. In Luke, the Holy Spirit doesn’t just descend on Jesus “like a dove,” the Holy Spirit descends in the “bodily form” of a dove upon the newly baptized Jesus. Then the voice of God breaks through the silence. That same voice that Genesis 1 tells us spoke and thereby created us and all the world. The voice that assured the exiled Israelites: I have called you by name, you are mine.” This same voice said to Jesus:  “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you, I am well pleased.”

God called out his name. The glory of this moment is also the first step Jesus takes to the cross. Being baptized didn’t save Jesus from human suffering. He would see plenty of “fire and rain,” even from his own people. But he understood that he had a special relationship with God and God would be present with him to the end. His baptism was the start of his ministry of bringing others into a loving relationship with God and one another. Our own baptism is a recognition of what God has done for us: loved us into being, called us God’s own children, and given us a purpose for our lives in God’s kingdom. Apart from God and from one another, we do not know our true selves because, as the author of 1 John tells us: “Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (4:8) Desmund Tutu explained: “We are each made for goodness, love, and compassion. Our lives are transformed as much as the world is when we live with these truths.”

So, what does a baptized life look like? We could ask the same question using the words: “What does the life of someone loved by God who knows they are loved by God look like? How we live, what we do in this life is determined by who we believe we are and to whom we believe we belong. We do live in troubled times, but these are the times when God’s created world and beloved children need goodness, love, and compassion the most. Desmund Tutu’s words of encouragement in living out the promises of our baptism are simple but effective:

“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

 

Amen. May it be so!

 

 

© Rev. Denise Clark-Jones, 2022, All Rights Reserved
Westminster Presbyterian Church | 1420 W. Moss Ave. | Peoria, Illinois 61606
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