Sermon, 1 Epiphany, Isaiah 43:1-7

This past Tuesday night was the annual 12th Night Party at St. Paul's. We had a potluck dinner with all kinds of good food, saw the wise men at the house where they greeted Jesus and Mary, heard the telling of Matthew's version of the birth story, exchanged gifts and ate cake. All in all, everyone had a good time.

It's too bad, though, that Epiphany isn't a movable feast. Just as Christmas is always celebrated on December 25, the Epiphany is always celebrated on January 6. So unless you attend a 12th Night Party, or a service on Epiphany, or the 6th falls on a Sunday, you miss the story. You miss the story because on the Church calendar the first Sunday after the Epiphany, today, we celebrate the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. So for those who missed it Tuesday night, let's recap.

Mary was engaged to Joseph, but she became pregnant before they were married. Being engaged was as good as being married so, in essence, she was guilty of adultery and liable to be stoned. Joseph didn't really want to stone his fiance, so he decided to quietly move her out. But an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Don't do that, for the child is holy." Joseph went ahead and married her and she gave birth to Jesus.

In the meantime, wise men from the east saw the sign of his birth in the night sky. According to their calculations, this was a major event and they packed up and followed his rising star to Jerusalem where they began looking for the child. King Herod got wind of the foreigners and what they were looking for and decided that this was a threat to his rule. So he called the wise men to his office, found out when the star appeared, and sent them on their way to continue their search with instructions to let him know where to find the child so that he could follow.

The wise men found the child, gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh and got ready to go back to Herod. But they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod so they left town via the back roads.

After the wise men had left, an angel once again appeared to Joseph in a dream. This time, however, the message was more urgent: "Get up, pack only what you can carry and get out -- NOW!! Leave as fast as you can and flee to Egypt and stay there until it's safe because Herod is going to kill the child." So in the dead of night Joseph rousted his family, threw some clothes in a backpack, stuffed his pockets with what money he had laying around the house, grabbed what little food he could carry, and left town as fast as he could looking back every once in awhile to see if anyone had spotted them.

It wasn't long before Herod realized he had been tricked by the wise men. He would do almost anything to keep himself in power and, with this new threat slipping through his fingers, decides to kill every child in the vicinity who was born during the time frame mentioned by the visitors. And on the day we commemorate the Holy Innocents, babies were slaughtered. On that day, mother's screamed. On that day, father's wept. On that day, the blood ran deep. On that day, Jesus lived while others died.

Eventually Joseph is called back to Israel from Egypt. But he's not comfortable returning to his home town when he hears that Herod's son is sitting on the throne, so the three of them enter the Witness Protection Program and settle in Nazareth to escape notice.

And that is Matthew's version of the birth story. It is dark. It is frenetic. It is an on-the-edge-of-your-seat thrill ride with bad guys, narrow escapes and innocent victims. And it is the story of God with us. When we are faced with the crisis of an unwed pregnancy, God is with us. In times of great duress when the world is against us, God is with us. In the nonsensical, pointless death of innocent victims, God is with us. In the wanderings and confusing times of our lives, God is with us.

And notice the name of the child in the prophecy that Matthew references: Emmanuel, God is with us. This is no coincidence.

The events of the Matthean narrative are not events that we normally experience. But we do have our own daily issues and our own trials and tribulations. People around us have problems. Family and friends die, sometimes unnecessarily. We can feel like we are over our heads and on the verge of drowning. But through it all, God is with us.

Isaiah addresses this very thing. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; the rivers shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, the flame shall not consume you. Do not fear, for I am with you -- Emmanuel.

God does not promise us that everything will be easy and beautiful when we decide to follow him. But then again, no marriage, friendship, partnership -- no relationship -- is without its own trials and tribulations and rough spots mixed in with all the good times. God doesn't promise us that everything will be peaches and cream every day, but God does promise us that he will be faithful every day. God is with us in our sorrows. God is with us in our fears. God is with us in our joys. Emmanuel -- God is with us.

Matthew's version of the birth story, if interpreted as written, is not only frightening and deadly; but it is hopeful in that through everything God is with us. God was with Mary and Joseph during the darkest times of their relationship. God was with them during the joyous celebration of the visitation of the magi. We are no different than them, because God is with us.

Isaiah reminds us that waters shall not overwhelm us nor flames consume us, for God is with us. And isn't that the Good News of the Gospel -- that God is with us.

Today is the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. Today we heard the gospel account of Jesus being baptized. Today we remember our own baptism and renew our own baptismal covenant. Today we remember when the waters washed over us, yet they did not overwhelm us. Today we remember our baptism in the fire of the Holy Spirit when the flames engulfed us but did not consume us.

And today . . . Today, God is with us.