# Sermon for Epiphany Sunday January 09, 2024 - [ Blog ](/news-categories/blog) *By the Rev. Dr. Calvon Jones Assistant Minister The Memorial Church of Harvard University* *(The following is a transcript of the service audio, Jan. 7, 2024)* ![The Rev. Dr. Calvon Jones](/sites/g/files/omnuum7126/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/thememorialchurch/files/121102calvonjones5_wed_0.jpg?itok=0su7Upbr) It is a blessing to see each and every one of you here today, even with the little snow outside. Pray with me. Let the words of my mouth, the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, oh God, my rock and my redeemer. We are also grateful to welcome back the Reverend Alana. It's good to have you back. We're so glad to have you back. We missed you. There's a song that comes to mind. Change me, oh God, make me more like you. Change me, oh God, wash me through and through. Create in me a clean heart so that I may worship you. I need you to change me from the inside out. Change me. Whatever is not like you, change me. God, we need you to change us. God, we need you to change us from the inside out. Change us. A wonderful change has come over me. A wonderful change has come over for me. I would like to leave a thought with you today. The revolutionary power of the Holy Spirit, the revolutionary power of the Holy Spirit. Some people have asked me, Calvin, how do you hold on to the theological claim or tenet or belief of the Holy Spirit? Apple going to Morehouse College, Yale Divinity School, Duke University, and now you are assistant minister at the most prestigious institution in the world, known as Harvard. How do you yet believe in the power of the Holy Spirit? Beloved, some people think that intellect and education is antithetical to the Holy Spirit, but I stopped by this morning to let you know that that is a misconception. In a world that is filled with evil, violence, war, discrimination, poverty, greed, power, and hatred, the Holy Spirit is what we need today. The Holy Spirit is what we need to fill the void of humanity's hearts. The Holy Spirit is what we need, church. It is the revolutionary power of God that infuses believers to do the work of love, justice, and mercy. It is the power that changes our hearts. The Holy Spirit has sometimes been stereotyped to mean any charismatic worship, shouting, dancing, radical praise, shrills, vibrant clapping of hands, the swaying of bodies to the beat of the drums. Sometime, its message of the revolutionary love and change has been appropriated by gatekeepers of the church and warped into self-righteous sermons and theologies of hate. However, I believe nevertheless, that we are called to retrieve the true meaning of the Holy Spirit. In a day when the word Holy Spirit has seemingly been hijacked by those who have made racism and hate their idols, may we renew the spirit that Jesus received when he was baptized. The Holy Spirit reveals to us a theology of love and compassion. It delivers hopes to persons who have been systematically disenfranchised, dehumanized and ostracized. It offers a solution to our partisan spiritual deadlocks. It ignites a fire that motivates us to move from our denominational silos. It stirs a wind that removes the false security of our doctrinal corners. If we open ourselves to this vision this morning, if we open ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit, just maybe there may be change in our world. The Holy Spirit is the power of God that brings new life out of nothing. The Holy Spirit is the power of God that brings light where there is darkness. The Holy Spirit is the power that can be felt in James Weldon Johnson's remarkable poem, called The Creation. And God stepped out on space and he looked around and said, "I'm lonely, so I'll make a world." And far as the eye of God could see darkness covered everything blacker than 100 midnights down in the Cyprus Swamp. But then God smiled as I can see the power of the Holy Spirit. And then light broke and the darkness rolled up on one side and the light stood shining on the other. And God said, "That's good." The Holy Spirit is the creative power of God that creates new beginnings. And if you see all that's going on in our world and nation, and even here at our campus church, we need the Holy Spirit. Recently we celebrated Christmas, and in the words of Maya Angelou, hope came through a carpenter's son. And to the climate of fear and apprehension, Christ entered into time. We prepared, we waited, we prayed and anticipated God's arrival. But now we stand on this day in the beginning of 2024, wondering what is next? What is next for Harvard University? What is next for our world? What is next for Cambridge? What is next for our community? And if we are honest, some of us, we don't know what's next. –– Embed [Harvard Memorial Church](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church "Harvard Memorial Church") · [The Rev. Dr. Calvon Jones - Jan. 7, 2024 | Sunday Sermon](https://soundcloud.com/memorial-church/the-rev-dr-calvon-jones-jan-7-2024-sunday-sermon "The Rev. Dr. Calvon Jones - Jan. 7, 2024 | Sunday Sermon") –– For we celebrated Christ and we was grateful for Christ's arrival, but as soon as the Christmas lights are removed, Christmas is done. As soon as the glow of the Christmas tree has dimmed, Christmas is done. As soon as the Christmas sale sign in the mall has been taken down, Christmas is done. As soon as the decorations around our home have been removed, Christmas is done. And once again, we send Christ away hoping that he will stay, hoping that he will continue to dine in our hearts. Once again, we view Christ, but we ignore His love through fleeting pageantry. But today we see that Christ is baptized. Christ is baptized by John, which lets us know that Christmas is not just about His birth, but the work of Christmas begins by the power of the Holy Spirit. Maybe, just maybe, the work of Christmas continues through the power of the Holy Spirit. But you may ask, but what is the dream of vision that crisis birth presents? Maybe, just maybe, Christ's birth calls for a new vision and perspective for the world. As Howard Thurman says, "The work of Christmas begins when the song of the angels is still, when the star in the sky is gone, when the king and princess are home, when the shepherds are back with their flock, the work of Christmas begins through the Holy Spirit to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among others, to make music in the heart." The birth of Christ was not the end. It was the beginning. Christ comes to the river to be baptized. Just as in Genesis, new creation takes place. The Spirit, the Holy Spirit, tears open the sky and descends like a dove, like a coronation of a king that is found in the salter. God's spirit anoints and descends upon Christ. And it is at this moment that the real work begins. Don't run away from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the power that pushes us to do the work that Christ has called us to. To feed the poor, to preach good news to those who are oppressed, to give recovery of sight to the blind, to help those who are hurting and lost, to bring liberation and freedom to change the lives of those who have been burdened by the forces of evil. John baptizes Christ, and this event symbolizes what is next. The work of Christmas, the power of the Holy Spirit is needed to change our world. For when we encounter the true power of the Holy Spirit, it helps us to love our enemies. It helps us to help those who are marginalized, to truly forgive, to give good news to the sick and the widows, to be a light in a dark world. The Holy Spirit is our answer to what happens when the wise men leave. The Holy Spirit is our answer to the 30 years where we have wondered, where has Christ been? The Holy Spirit is the answer to what God will call Christ to do in the earth. It is the renewed presence of God that will enable Christ to proclaim the good news to the poor. In a world that has wars and rumors of wars, we need the Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit to heal those who are broken and suffering in the Congo, Gaza, Israel, and Sudan. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to bring new creation, to ignite love and peace in our neighborhoods. In the face of fragmentation, hatred, politically driven theologies, racism, and white supremacy and all phobias, we need the spirit to enter into our hearts. Conditions across the world are ripe for spiritual transformation, Memorial Church, as we have seen this year, this past year as a result of the pandemic years ago, and sickness and illness, as we continue to broadcast church to our online viewers and seek to encourage people to physically return to the church, congregations are struggling to remain open and carry out their mission. Church will never be the same. And there is a possibility that God doesn't want the church to return to its old patterns of divided houses of worship on Sunday morning. We need to imagine differently and grasp the vision of a new creation and the power of the Holy Spirit. To be filled with the Holy Spirit is not something to be ashamed of. It's not antithetical to who you are, but it is Christ's invitation for us to participate in justice, to walk with the love of Christ, and to have the Holy Spirit is to be brave enough to knock down the partitions and walls. We are called to retrieve the tradition that emerged when Jesus was baptized, to stand tall, to help those who are in need. I beckon unto you as we enter into 2024, to walk in love and to allow the Holy Spirit to change you. Amen. See also:- [ Sermon ](/archive/sermons) Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#)