A sermon
preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 10 January 2016, the first Sunday
after Epiphany, by
the Rev. Phyllis Wong. The scripture readings that day were Isaiah
43:1-7; Acts 8:14-17; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22.
Opening prayer
Living
God, may you speak to us and call our name again this day. Open our heart to
receive your grace and claim our identity as your beloved children. May your
Word renew our life and our faith by the power of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’
name. Amen.
Introduction – the importance of name
Our
children recently asked Tong and I a question: why did we give our daughter an
English name, Amber, but not for our son Pak Ho, who had the opportunity to
choose his own English name, Daniel, when he went to study in England at the
age of thirteen. They also asked for our reasons for choosing their Chinese
names.
Pak Wei
and Pak Ho are the Chinese names of our daughter and son respectively. As they
have inherited Tong’s family name, I wish to have my family name be part of
their first names - Pak. The character
Pak contains my surname Wong as a radical. For their second name we chose Wei
and Ho respectively. The character Wei refers to the space in the sky and the
character Ho refers to the sea that is wide and open. We wish them to grow up and
become a person who is open-minded, embrace all things, prepared to accept
differences and be inclusive. Their names reveal their relationship with
parents and our expectations as their parents.
I found
that in many cultures, the naming of a child convey significant meaning and
relationship of this person to their parents and their ancestors.
Our name
reflects who we are. Our name reflects also our identity. I remembered there
was time when our son Pak Ho was unhappy in his secondary school. The reason
was that in school he was always referred by his classmates and teachers as his
sister’s brother. His own name was not fully recognized. He did not have his
own identity. He was referred to as Amber’s brother all the time. Only until he
left Hong Kong and entered into a new school in England, then he started to
have his own identity. He has also created a new English name for himself –
Daniel. With this new and independent identity, he became more confident and
self-affirming.
Therefore,
name and identity are inter-linked and are important to us human beings. Our name reflects who we are and where we
belong. Our name defines our identity.
It perhaps
explains why in baptism, there is a tradition to give the baptized a Christian name.
Gospel Message
The gospel
account taken from Luke 3:15–17, 21–22 mentions
John’s understanding about baptism and highlights Jesus’ baptism.
According
to the Jewish tradition, baptism has been a ritual of cleansing and
purification as well as the repentance of sins. Repentance has been emphasized
by John in his baptism for the people. He uses the winnowing of wheat as an example
to depict the heart of grain being separated from chaff.
Jesus who
has committed no sin does not need to repent or any kind of purification as
such.
Jesus’
baptism enfolds to us a new perspective on the relationship with God through
name and identity. Jesus’s name was given by his parents Mary and Joseph,
meaning Immanuel - ‘God with us’. In his
baptism, Jesus’ identity as God’s son is revealed.
The gospel
account records that : “When Jesus had been baptized and was praying, the
heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a
dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son [child], the Beloved, with
you I am well pleased’”. (3:21-22)
In his
baptism, Jesus is given a new identity as God’s son/child. Jesus who is called
by the Heavenly God as beloved son has defined who he is and what his life will
be. After his baptism, he begins his public ministry to fulfill God’s will. His
total obedience to God eventually leads him to die on the cross.
What does Jesus’ new identity as God’s son mean
to us?
Jesus
baptism reminds us that in our baptism God calls us by name and we are His beloved
children. At the baptism sacrament, the minister poured water over the baptized
and said, ‘I baptize you in the name
of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’.
‘I baptize
you in the name of the Father, and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’.
The
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, is God of relations. This God of relations
is One God who is Mother of us all.
This
proclamation has lasting significance because we are baptized in the name of God who is eternal, ever
lasting and live in us with deep loving relationship.
The
identity of being God’s beloved children, son and daughter is what we need to
claim. This claim of being God’s beloved children sometimes however, is
difficult for some people. There are people who could not fully accept their own
names and their own identity in the first place?
My Chinese
name is Mei Fung, meaning beautiful phoenix. It is a pretty name. Isn’t it? But
I tell you I did not like it at all for over 40 years. Reason? One: when I was
child, a classmate in school always teased me with my name and associated it
with prostitution. Second, my name Mei Fung is very common. Many girls have
this name so I don’t find it unique. I started to change when Amber our
daughter said to me one day – Mei Fung is a good name. I asked her why. She
said, if it is not good, why so many people used it. Because it is good and
beautiful therefore parents picked it for their daughters. I admired her
wisdom. She has also changed my
perception of my name. I started to like my name after this conversation.
I know
there are friends like me. They don’t like their names. The reasons of course
could be various. I know a friend who does not like her name because her name was
given with her parent’s expectation of
having a son after her. The name to her means she was not wanted.
The
baptism of Jesus reminds us gently to go back to God and to claim this precious
gift – our identity and our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Let us
claim our name by receiving the love of God and affirm that we are God’s
beloved children whom he favors.
Therefore,
our new identity as children of God that is affirmed in our baptism will never
be taken away. If anyone thinks they are nobody, unloved and unaccepted by their
family and by society because of their age, race, gender, broken marriage,
illness, refugee status, low pay job, sexual orientation and gender identity,
remember sisters and brothers, God takes them as precious children whom he
deeply loves. We are who we are. We are intrinsically good. In our baptism,
through Jesus Christ, God confirms our being, our nature and our relationship
with him.
Jesus’ mission and ours in the baptism?
Jesus
affirms his identity as God’s beloved son in his baptism. With this new
identity and empowered by the power of the Holy Spirit, he lived his life in full
without fear of death. He bravely entered into a life full of suffering and
pain. His death on the cross and his resurrection demonstrated his power to
stand against darkness and evils on earth.
Jesus in
his last appearance on earth, he called his disciples by sending them to “go,
make disciples of all nations, baptize them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19)
Jesus
offers us baptism as the way to enter into communion
with God. He gives the disciples a pointer to live our lives as God’s beloved children.
The word
“beloved” originates from be + loven, or to love. As God’s children, we are not
only named as God’s dearly loved, we are also called to embody love, to
demonstrate love to others.
Yet, we
are not perfect: we make mistakes, and all of us behave unChristlike at times.
Our baptisms are a reminder that we can start over again. Baptism is a symbol
of God’s generous grace: we are given the opportunity to learn from our
mistakes and begin anew.
The water,
the sign of purification has cleansed our sins and made us new. The Holy Spirit that dwells upon us at the baptism has empowered us to
change, to do justice and to love kindness.
This is
the day in our church calendar when we celebrate Jesus’ baptism. It is the day
we are encouraged to remember the role baptism has played in our own life. It
is a day we are challenged to remember, along with Jesus, who we are in God,
what is our name and what is our identity in God. Jesus’ baptism reminds us
that God calls us by name and we are His beloved children. Affirmed with this
identity and God’s love in us, we are empowered to participate in the
rebuilding of God’s kingdom.
May the
claiming of our own name and identity as God’s beloved children enfolded by the
Holy Spirit through prayer renew our life and strengthen our faith. Amen.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, January 10, 2016
