Divine Mercy and Sacred Beginnings: Grace in the Journey of Faith

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be always acceptable to thee, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer, and Lord, give us here today, eyes to see and ears to hear so we can learn your word together as a family. We offer you all the praise, honor, and Glory for it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Good morning, my fellow encouragers! Today we gather for this Eleventh Sunday after Trinity with hearts full of gratitude. Our liturgy today is especially graced as we witnessed both the sacrament of Holy Baptism and the Churching of Women, an ancient rite of thanksgiving that speaks to God’s providence in human life. We, ‘The Encouragers’, are reminded that ‘The Sacred Still Speaks’ through these timeless practices of our faith.

Our Collect today beautifully frames our worship: ‘O GOD, who declarest thy almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity…’ This is a marvelous paradox of our faith in that the omnipotent God reveals His power primarily through compassion, not through dominance. This fact of divine power, shown through kindness, sets a wonderful foundation for both the sacrament of baptism and the Thanksgiving ceremony we experienced earlier.

The Paradox of Divine Power: Mercy as Strength

Our Gospel reading from St. Luke 18 presents us with the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Our Lord contrasts two approaches to God, one characterized by self-righteousness and the other by a humble recognition of dependence on divine mercy.

The Pharisee stands proudly, essentially congratulating himself before God: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ His prayer is telling. It reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of his relationship with God. He approaches the Almighty, thinking he has earned divine favor through moral achievement.

In stark contrast, the tax collector would not even look up to heaven. Instead, he was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” This man recognizes his complete dependence on God’s mercy. He makes no claims of moral superiority, offers no record of religious observance, and presents no credentials for divine approval. He simply pleads for mercy.

The way Jesus concludes this parable is striking: “I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

This parable highlights the truth expressed in our Collect, that God’s power is chiefly declared in mercy and pity. The tax collector, in his humble acknowledgment of dependence, experiences the true power of God in justification. The Pharisee, attempting to stand before God on his own merits, remains unjustified despite his moral achievements.

The Foundation of Faith: Received and Handed On

In our Epistle reading, St. Paul reminds the Corinthians of the Gospel he proclaimed to them: “For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures.”

St. Paul highlights a key aspect of Christian faith: it is something we receive and then pass on to others. He didn’t create the Gospel; rather, he received it as part of a tradition and shared it faithfully. This process of receiving and sharing is at the heart of how we understand faith, especially within the Anglican tradition.

The sacrament of Baptism we participated in today embodies this very pattern. In baptizing Ambrose, we are joining in a rite that Christians have practiced since apostolic times. As the baptismal office states, Our Lord commanded His disciples to “…teach all nations, and to baptize them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

In baptism, we receive this child into the continuous tradition of faith, grafting them into the Body of Christ, and committing ourselves to hand on to them the faith once delivered to the saints. Ambrose receives what we have received, the covenant promises of God. In time, he will be called to hand on this same faith to generations yet unborn.

By the same token, in the Churching of Women, we joined Kelsey in an ancient rite of thanksgiving for safe delivery in childbirth. This service links her with countless women throughout salvation history who have offered thanks for God’s mercy in childbearing. While not a sacrament, this rite beautifully expresses our dependence on God’s providence in the most fundamental of human experiences.

Hope in Resurrection: From Death to New Life

Our Old Testament reading from the prophet Isaiah offers a sincere message of hope: “Your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise. O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy!” Isaiah anticipates the resurrection hope that finds its fulfillment in Christ’s victory over death.

This resurrection theme connects powerfully with both baptism and childbirth. In baptism, as St. Paul teaches in Romans 6, we are “buried with Christ by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” The waters of baptism represent both death to sin and resurrection to new life in Christ.

Childbirth itself carries theological significance as a journey through peril to new life. The pain of childbirth, which is part of the fallenness of creation, gives way to the joy of new life. As our Lord teaches in John 16, “When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world.”

The Churching of Women acknowledges this path through difficulty to joy, offering thanks for God’s mercy in bringing both mother and child safely through to new life. The first verse of our Introit today is a perfect reflection of Kelsey’s thanksgiving. “I WILL give thanks unto the Lord with my whole heart, * in the council of the faithful, and in the congregation.”

Our Psalms this morning, 124 and 125, reinforce this theme of divine deliverance: “If the LORD had not been on our side… then they would have swallowed us up alive.” These psalms express confidence in God’s protection: “Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.”

Living in Grace: The Way of Humble Dependence

How then should we apply these sacred truths to our daily lives?

First, we must embrace the paradox of divine power revealed in mercy. Like the tax collector rather than the Pharisee, we approach God with humble acknowledgment of our dependence on grace, not with credentials of moral achievement. This posture of humility opens us to experience God’s justifying power.

Second, we must recognize our place in the continuous stream of faith. Like St. Paul, we have received the Gospel as tradition, and we are called to hand it on faithfully. In today’s setting, this applies particularly to the parents and godparents of baby Ambrose, who promised to raise him in the Christian faith. But it applies equally to all of us as members of Christ’s Body.

As ‘The Encouragers’ at St. Barnabas, our calling is to strengthen one another in this received faith, building up the Body of Christ through mutual support and exhortation. Like our namesake Barnabas, the ‘Son of Encouragement,’ we are called to come alongside one another in the journey of faith.

Third, we live in the hope of resurrection, trusting that God brings life from death in every circumstance. Baptism reminds us that we have died with Christ and been raised to new life. The Churching of Women reminds us that God brings joy from pain, life from the shadow of death.

Our Collect prays that “running the way of thy commandments, [we] may obtain thy gracious promises, and be made partakers of thy heavenly treasure.” Note the sequence: we run the way of God’s commandments not to earn divine favor but because we have already received grace. Our obedience is a response to grace, not a prerequisite for it.

Conclusion: Mercy, Tradition, and Hope

My fellow encouragers, as we witnessed the sacrament of Baptism and the thanksgiving rite of the Churching of Women today, we are reminded that ‘The Sacred Still Speaks’ through these ancient practices of our faith.

In baptism, we see God’s anticipatory grace reaching out to claim this child before any moral achievement or even conscious faith. In the Churching of Women, we see a mother’s grateful acknowledgment of God’s providential care, bringing her and her child safely through the waters of birth to new life.

Both of these remind us of the heart of our Collect today, and that is that God’s power is declared chiefly in mercy and pity. Both remind us of our place in the continuous tradition of faith, receiving and handing on what has been entrusted to us. Both point us to the resurrection hope that sustains us through every trial.

Witnessing these sacred beginnings today, I pray we are renewed in our commitment to encourage one another in faith, to hand on faithfully what we have received, and to trust in God’s mercy through every circumstance of life.

For truly, it is only by God’s grace that we run the way of His commandments. It is only through Christ’s merit, not our own deservings, that we are justified before God. It is only by the Spirit’s power that we are sustained in the journey of faith.

In the sacrament of Baptism and the thanksgiving rite of Churching, we see our ‘Ancient Faith’ expressing ‘Real Love’. We see God’s love for us in Christ, our love for one another as Christ’s Body, and our shared love for this child, this mother, and this family, whom our Father in heaven and we bless today.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.