The Rev. Calvon T.Jones, Assistant Minister, the Memorial Church of Harvard University. File photo by Jeffrey Blackwell/Memorial Church Communications
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By the Rev. Calvon T. Jones
Assistant Minister
Memorial Church of Harvard University
(The following is a transcript of the service audio)
It is so good to see each and every one of you once again here at the Memorial Church. I am so looking forward to all that God has in store for us this year. Let us pray.
Now let the words of my mouth, the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, oh God. You alone are my rock and my redeemer. Amen.
Amen.
I would like to place a tag upon the selected text that you have heard, for it constitutes the context from which we will attempt to teach and preach. The work of Christmas now begins. The work of Christmas now begins.
Love came a'running. Love came a'running through 42 generations. Love came a'running under the moonlight in that red barn. Love came a'running, running through the voice of a prophet. Prepare ye the way, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Love came a'running, running through the proclamation of that great one, that coming one, that one that restore, that would restore Israel. Love came a'running through the fulfilled prophecies and promises. Love came a'running when divinity wrapped himself in flesh to interrupt the agenda of this world. Love a'running. Love came a'running when Emmanuel entered into time and broke into this fragmented world. Can't you see love running?
Love came running when the son of David divinely interrupted evil forces with hope and peace of restoration. Love came running. In the words of that great poet, Maya Angelou, into this climate of fear and apprehension, Christ enters, streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hope and singing carols of forgiveness high up on the bright air. The world is encouraged to come away from ranker, come the way of friendship. It is the glad season.
Thunder ebbs to silence and lightning sleeps quietly in the corner. Flood waters recede into memory. Snow becomes a yielding cushion to aid us as we make our way to higher ground. Hope is born again in the faces of children. It rides on the shoulders of our age as they walk into sunset. Hope spreads around the earth brightening all things, even hate, which crouches breeding in dark corners. End quote. Love came a'running.
Love came a'running through that carpenter sun. Love came a'running in that manger. Love came and showed up and showed out, giving the world this renewed sense of hope, and today we are in a new year, feeling renewed because love arrived on that day called Christmas.
A couple of weeks ago we celebrated Christmas, celebrated that time when love was born, a day where we are reminded that love came a'running. A day where we celebrated the birth of Christ. We prepared, we waited, we prayed, we fast, and anticipated His arrival. Now we stand on this day on the cusp of greater wondering what's next. If we could be honest, Christmas for some of us has become a walking paradox.
Y'all don't want me to be real today. As soon as the Christmas lights are removed, Christmas is done. As soon as the glow of the Christmas tree has dimmed, even though my wife and I Christmas tree is still up and it may be up until April, Christmas is done. As soon as the Christmas sale sign in the mall has been taken down, Christmas is done. As soon as the presents, Reverend Alanna, have been given and packed up, Christmas is over. As soon as the decorations around our home have been removed, after we have taken down the holly and the mistletoe, Christmas becomes an afterthought.
Can we be real? As soon as the hot chocolate and marshmallows are placed in our cabinet and we no longer watch that favorite classic called Home Alone, Christmas fades away in our minds. Once again, we send Christ away, hoping that once again Christ would show up in a year. Hoping that Christ will come again and restore our broken world, our broken economy, our broken society, and if I must say, our broken church, hoping that Christ will show up again with good news.
Once again, we ignore His love through fleeting pageantry. Once again, we view the Christ event as something of yesterday. Once again, we leave Christmas in last year's memory, not realizing that Christmas begins now.
Dr. Helen asked these questions. "Has new life come? Has newness come into our lives? Has newness come into the world? Have we failed to do more? Have we heard the promise and failed to do more?" Maybe, just maybe, Jesus' birth does not stop in December. Maybe, just maybe, Christmas continues. Maybe His birth is not the end in and of itself. Maybe the work of Christmas now begins. What's next? What is our moral obligation? What is the dream or vision that Christ's birth presents? Maybe, just maybe, Christ's birth calls for a new vision and a perspective for the world now.
Howard Thurman coins a poem called The Work of Christmas Begins Now. He says, "When the song of the angels is steeled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flock, the work of Christmas begins to find the loss, 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." We must be reminded today that the birth of Christ does not stop. The birth of Christ must continue in each and every one of you.
In our gospel today, the Book of Matthew, the writer presents John, the one who has been crying out in the wilderness talking about love is coming. The one who has been crying out in the wilderness saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." This is he who has spoken of this through the prophet Isaiah, a voice of one crying out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. It's important to note here that it has been 30 years since Christ was born.
John is crying out to anyone who would listen, that there is more work that should be done. But I'm sure that many had heard about the birth of the baby through Mary, but that had faded away. That night in Bethlehem had faded away.
How many times do we come to church and we hear the word of God, but as soon as we step out of those doors, the message fades away? John cries out that there is more work for us to do, that the work of Christmas is coming, that the work of Christmas is coming soon. John tells the Pharisees and Sadducees, "I baptize you with the water for repentance, but after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."
My grandmother used to tell me, "Calvon, the Holy Spirit is not just for you." Later in the text, Jesus appears 30 years later. Jesus is now 30 and appears to John the Baptist. He comes from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized by John. The son of God wants to be baptized. Emmanuel, God in the flesh, wants to be baptized. I can hear John the Baptist saying, "You are God's son. You are king. You are powerful. You are the one that I've been prophesying about. If anything, I'm a mess. You need to baptize me. If anything, I'm the one that needs some holiness."
But it is interesting to note here, Elizabeth, many people look at baptism for those who may be new to the faith, for those who are not churched, those who are coming to rededicate their lives to God, for those who join the church or may be starting out as a Christian. But the writer of Matthew, homiletical imagination, does something very interesting here. Jesus is no new convert. Jesus is not new to this Christian thing. Jesus has not gone through the new member class, nor has He gone through confirmation. This is the son of God being baptized by someone else.
Maybe the writer is making a point and a new perspective about baptism. Maybe, just maybe, this tells the reader that baptism is not only a symbol of a person entering into a new spiritual walk with Christ. Maybe baptism represents a moment where the spirit of God invites anyone, everyone, those who are willing to accomplish the vision of God to transform this world. Maybe baptism is not just for you. Maybe baptism is not for you to have a certificate on your wall of how holy I am or how I have come to join this community. Maybe baptism is, can you stand up for justice even when it seems like everybody is against you? This event symbolizes the work of Christmas, the true work of Christmas. Christ's baptism shows us that baptism is more than a ceremony in church. It is a commitment that will change the trajectory of not only your life, but by the lives of everyone around you.
In this moment, the work of Christmas says that we must participate in God's invitation to actually be the good news in a dying and troubling world. It is the moment where we truly do the work of God, where we have the power of God in us to accomplish that which will change the world, where we have the power to love our enemies, to give sight to the blind, to help those who are marginalized, to preach good news to those who are oppressed and imprisoned, to give good news to the sick and the widows, to truly forgive, to truly be a light in a dark world, to eradicate hate in all forms. That is the true work of Christmas.
Baptism is our answer to what is next after the Christmas tree has been removed. Baptism is our answer to what happens when the wise men leave. Baptism is our answer to the 30 years that we have been wondering what Christ has been up to. Baptism is the answer to that what God calls us to. Baptism is the affirmation of the holy one that will ignite the prophetic duty for ministry. It is the renewed presence of God that will enable Christ to not only spread love by words alone but through action. An action that will cause the deaf to hear, an action that will cause the dead to be raised, an action that will cause the blind to see. Baptism is causing an action that will cause the world to hate Jesus.
When you truly do the work of Christmas, everyone will not like you. It is more than a day where we celebrate our entrance into the community of God before our family and friends. Baptism is where the true work of Christ begins. Maybe baptism is our answer to what you are called to do in this new year of our Lord, 2023.
If you could do something, I want you to just look around the room at your neighbor. Don't be bashful. Maybe, just maybe, the people that you are looking to or at, these are the answers to what is troubling our world. Maybe baptism through those people in this room will call for love to enter into our society. Baptism is our answer to be the hands and feet of God's power in the earth. Baptism is where the true work of Christ is baptized, and maybe when we do the true work of Christ, that's what really makes God happy.
I used to think that making God happy was putting on this air that I was sanctimonious or I have been doing this. I've been a usher, I've been a singer, I've been a preacher. I've been doing all these things that should make people like me, but maybe, just maybe, God is saying I want to be happy with those who truly do the work of justice.
You may say, "Preacher, what makes you say that?" It is when Christ is baptized and Christ says, "Now I'm getting ready to do the real work," that that's when the scripture says that the heavens are open and the spirit of God descends like a dove and a voice cries out and says, "This is my son right here." Maybe that's when God will say, "That's my daughter. That's my son right there because they are proclaiming the good news that interrupts Pharaonic powers. Maybe that's my son and my daughter right there because they are proclaiming the good news that goes against any evil force."
As I go to my seat, today we celebrate epiphany, the baptism of our Lord. And as we celebrate this manifestation and powerful moment of revelation, may we be reminded that the true work of Christmas begins today. May we be reminded that every one of you in this room under the sound of my voice has a moral obligation to utilize your baptism with Christ to make the world better. May we be reminded that the spirit of God will use you to fulfill your divine purpose. May the spirit of God speak to your heart.