Hespeler, 11 December, 2016 © Scott McAndless
Isaiah 7:1-4, 10-16, Matthew 1:18-25
Sunday, December 11, 2016 was a very special day at St. Andrew’s Hespeler. We celebrated a baptism (that had, as you will see, an interesting back-story) and had our children present to us their version of the Christmas story. This all came together in an unusual message that offered a unique perspective on ancient Biblical passages. As this message was integrated throughout the service, I present more of the service, particularly the Baptism, than I usually would.
Note that the names of the parents and child have been change to preserve their privacy on the internet.
Reflections on Isaiah 7:1-4, 10-16
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But that was a long time ago in a very different world. How are we supposed to understand what it was like for them to be frightened of kings and armies that we have never even heard of? Well, think of it this way: what if the presidents of Russia and the United States made an alliance together and decided to invade Canada in order to gain control of our water supply? How would you feel? Are the leaves of your forest shaking in the wind? That what what King Ahaz and his people were feeling.
Leader: People of God, Robert and Susan have some very good news for us.
People: What’s the good news?
Parents: We have a son!
L: Praise the Lord! There is new life among us. Let all God’s people say, “Amen.”
P: Amen!
L: What is his name?
Parents: He is called Ryan ______ ______.
L: And why do you bring him here?
Parents: That he may take his place among God’s people.
People: Do you know that he needs to pass through the waters of baptism?
Parent: Yes we do, may we proceed?
L: May they?
People: Yes! We rejoice with you in the gift of your child, Ryan, and we promise to provide you with a circle of belonging in which he will have a place. As friends, we will offer a home to worship God and learn the Sacred Story.
Hymn #138 While Shepherds watched
Affirmations:
L: Please join me as we welcome this new life among us using the words printed in the bulletin.
P: Little child, welcome to this world, this amazing and scary world. Welcome to light and dark, hot and cold, good and evil. Welcome to love and hate, truth and lies, good times and bad. Welcome to the long human pilgrimage from birth to death. Anything can happen here; everything is possible. Some things must be chosen; others left behind. Welcome to the real world and this circle of friends. Here we turn to God for help in making the choices that lead to life.
L: Ryan, for you Jesus Christ came into the world; for you he passed through the waters of baptism; for you he broke bread with sinners and outcasts; for you he endured the agony of the cross; for you he triumphed over death. You, little child, know nothing of this. How will you ever know? Who will ever tell you?
Parents: We will!
L: Ryan, this is too big a job for your parents alone. Who is going to help them?
People: We will!
Witnesses: And so will we!
L: Ryan, who will protect and nourish you until that day when you turn to God and say yes to God’s life of compassion, justice and peace?
Parents: We will!
L: Who is going to help them?
P: We will!
Witnesses: And so will we!
Prayer of Approach
God, sometimes we look around at the world where you have placed us and we are dismayed. We see leaders and events that make us shake like the leaves of the forest shake before the wind. We worry for the future. Thank you that you understand our fears and that you meet us with the assurance that you are with us – that you even sent your Son, Jesus Christ, into the world that we might know you in him.
Thank you for the gift of this child, Ryan, who teaches that truth to us again: God is with us. May we all experience the renewing power of that truth here today. Amen.
L: The peace of the Lord be with you always.
P: And also with you.
Act of Baptism:
Minister: Ryan, the God who created you has made this promise; Don’t be afraid; I have rescued you. I have called you by name; now you belong to me. When you cross deep rivers, I will be with you; the waters will not overwhelm you… I am your God, the One who saves you. (Isaiah 43:1,2)
Ryan ______ ______, I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, Mother of all.
Ryan, know that you are now in the care of all who surround you. Know that you belong to God and to this household.
As I cup my hand around your head little one, may God hold you and keep you.
As I rock you in my arms little one, may Christ shield you and encompass you.
As I bend to kiss your cheek little one, may the Spirit bless you and encourage you.
Welcome:
L: Friends, this is Ryan, a son of God!
P: Welcome, Ryan!
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But you know what? That wasn’t just a prophecy for that particular time and place. This was a Word from the Lord and the Word of the Lord has this way of remaining alive and active long after it is first spoken. That was why centuries later a man named Matthew would pull out the ancient words of the Prophet Isaiah – words spoken to King Ahaz when he and all his people were shaking like leaves in the wind – and speak them to people in this own time who were shaking like leaves in the wind.
Video Presentation of Matthew 1:18-25
At the end of the service, Robert, Susan and Ryan return to the front and take Ryan to the manger.
Final reflections on Ryan
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am going to tell you the amazing story of how Ryan came to be here today. Seven months ago, Robert and Susan were living in a city in Alberta that you may have heard of: a place called Fort McMurray. They had gone there after school here because there was lots of work there and the pay was good. Many others from across Canada had done the same as Alberta had one of the few booming economies in the country.
But, seven months ago, things were maybe not so bright. The petro-powers of the world (especially Saudi Arabia) had made an alliance together against Alberta. The price of oil had dropped like a stone taking much of Alberta’s economy with it. The future of Fort McMurray was not looking so bright as it once had. And that was before seven months ago when a massive, nearly unprecidented fire came sweeping through the city.
We can’t blame one fire on global climate change, of course. Climate doesn’t create individual events, but it is true that that fire is part of an overall trend towards bigger and more destructive fires around the world. A dangerous sign for the future!
And I believe that God has sent us an answer: The young woman conceived and bore a son and called him Ryan. And, no, Susan didn’t conceive Ryan at that very moment when Fort McMurray looked like hell on earth. Ryan had actually been conceived about four months earlier. But does that matter? No, because the message is still the same. The world may change but this child, like the one born in Isaiah’s time and even like Jesus, is a sign to us from God – a sign that means that God is with us.
And so it is Ryan who will lead us out into the world today. As you follow this child into the world, May God make safe for you each step; may Christ make open to you each pass; may the Spirit make clear to you each road; And may you travel hand in hand with your God.