Second Sunday of Epiphany
15 January 2023 in Hermanus, South Africa
Good Morning!
What a gift it is to be here today with you, to listen to the word of God, to share just a little bit of who we are and to share a meal together in this space.
My name is Abi Moon and on most Sundays, you can find me and my friends in Boston, Massachusetts at Trinity Church.
Thank you for your warm welcome and sharing your space with us.
We arrived last Tuesday and we will head back to our various families on this Thursday.
I wonder, have you ever had the chance to watch the sunrise or sunset?
In Boston, we are at that time of year where the sun rises at about 7:30am, our days are still short. I will admit, it has taken some effort for me to see the sunrise here…with your days so full of sunshine!
If you have watched a sunrise you know that the sun comes up over the horizon slowly and it is not instantaneous…..rather bit by bit the effects of the sun are felt, seen and the entire experience transforms the landscape.
What was once impossible to see becomes illuminated and continues to be transformed as the rays of the sun peek over the horizon….and then if you are lucky, the clouds continue to transform….bit by bit, pinks, yellows, amber, if you have the time, you can see all sorts of different things……. if you are watching.
As my friends and I have walked and ridden around Cape Town and Hermanus, we have been given the gift of being still and listening to the light of God’s story unfolding in your lives, in the struggles of South Africa, the living stones that each of you are shedding light to those you encounter, showing a space where hope and struggle exist.
Today’s gospel reading reminds us of two things.
Belonging and becoming.
John baptizes Jesus.
Jesus invites his first disciples to follow him.
In Jesus’ baptism, Jesus is publicly showing he and all of us belong as family together.
We are family through baptism, through the love and grace and forgiveness that only God can give.
We rejoice with each baptized child of God at their baptism and walk along side of them as they discover God for the first time.
And much like a sunrise, that one moment is not the conclusion, rather it is just a part of the beautiful unfolding of sunlight, of god’s love.
Because the next thing that Jesus does is say these words “ Don’t just sit there—–Come and see” “Walk with me, listen to the story unfold. BE a part of the story.”
Each of you ‘came to see’ today by coming to church.
You were curious,
you might have needed the strength and joy of this community,
you came to see…..
AND
You know that in community, we see love in action.
We see strength in companionship,
We see hope in even the most complex situations because we are reminded that we are not alone.
We too, are called by name to belong to this community, to listen to each other’s story, to be with each other.
And to be transformed.
In listening on this pilgrimage my friends and I have seen landscapes transform from pages in books to human faces and story.
We have been invited to pray and learn.
Like the sunrise, each moment seems to transform with new imagery and illuminations along the way.
And that is what John the Baptist and Jesus are all about today.
They are:
Inviting each of us to know that we belong.
THAT
We belong with all of our failures.
We belong with all of our joys
We belong right here, right now
AND we are to continue on this path of faith together….
Come and see
Keep walking
Keep being transformed by the unexpected
Keep looking up to see the landscape being transformed by God’s love and light and invitation.
This is the season of Epiphany, the time of the church year where we are reminded that The wisemen who visited the baby Jesus went home by a different way… transformed by their experience of God.
Each of us, too, will leave this space and no matter how far we go in the next part of our travels home, my hope is that your path is transformed knowing that you, too, are called by name.
You, too, are invited to come and see.
You, too, are invited see where God’s love and light intersect on your path.
With each and every sunrise, know the light of God’s love in your life and the invitation to be transformed.
"I will with God's Help" 