A Homily for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
A sermon preached by the Rev. Dcn. Libby Hunter at the Cathedral Church of St. Mark on July 25, 2026.
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Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. Amen
In a moment of divine synchronicity, July 26 is the feast day honoring St. Joachim and St. Anne, the parents of Mary, grandparents of Jesus. Like the long history of women, Mary’s ancestry and genealogy are never mentioned in the Bible. In fact, even their names, Joachim and Anne, were legendary, written over a century after Jesus died. Joachim and Anne are the patron saints of mothers and grandmothers, a perfect saintly coincidence as we honor Wilson, and his parents (and grandparents?)
For those of you who had your hearts set on the readings for Proper 12 – surprise. They were changed for our celebration of the baptism of Wilson Bangerter. We heard, appropriately, of:
New Life - Holy Spirit - Covenant
Our Old Testament reading from Isaiah is an invitation to renewal and abundant life. We are dependent on God for His saving grace.
The image of watering the earth, of new life, is divine assurance of God’s overflowing abundance. God’s promise to the people of Israel was like the divine provision of rain and snow that bless and replenish the earth. Maybe this summer we should skip that analogy.
Psalms are often categorized by literary themes for study purposes. Psalm 27 is in the group referred to as Trust Songs. It is a faithful song of confidence in the covenant that the people had with God, a hymn and prayer of God as a fortress, a place of safety, shelter and salvation. The psalmist writes in verse 4, “One thing I asked of the Lord...” My spiritual homework assignment for this week as you rest in God’s presence: if you could ask one thing of God, what would it be?
The Apostle Paul writes to the people of Corinth that they are ministers of the new covenant. Wilson may be a bit young to be seen as an ambassador of Christ, but for now, we, and his family and friends can be ambassadors of faith and service, so that Wilson, like others, can experience the example of a Christ-like life. A life focused on actively seeking peace. That is our mission. His baptism will be a personal and spiritual transformation, a new creation.
I was at Camp Tuttle last month as the chaplain to grades 2-4. I have to admit, the idea of 7–10-year-olds was a bit intimidating. In 20+ years at Camp Tuttle, I have been with grades 5-6, 7-8 and high school. Yes, the young campers were loud, energetic, funny and brilliant. It was a delightful time, watching them learn to play, worship and work together. And all this with no electronics, a true blessing, and the first time for most of them.
This year’s theme at Camp Tuttle is our cup s over from Psalm 23.
(Holds up Camp Tuttle t-shirt)
This symbol of abundance to meet our needs represents material blessings from the Old Testament as well as the gift of the Holy Spirit from the New Testament. In ancient times, a host would fill a guest’s cup to overflowing to show abundance, blessing, hospitality and generosity. That is the example of a life we can experience in a faithful relationship with God. Blessings sufficient to meet our needs, grace upon grace.
In our lesson from Mark, we hear one of the iconic Gospel invitations, welcome into relationship with God with the innocence and openness of a child. It is such a powerful message that it is found in all four Gospels. We live in a child-centered life of designer clothes, toddlers with iPads, elementary schoolers with computers and electronic games, and helicopter parents supervising play dates. Why would an invitation to welcome precious children be an unusual message in the late 60’s in the Roman Empire?
We traditionally think of Jewish parents having a circumcision and naming on a baby boy’s eighth day, a commitment of the Israelites to the covenant they had made with God. However, even in the Roman empire, boy and girls weren’t named until the end of the first week or more – just to see if they would survive. A father had the right to legally abandon an infant, to accept or reject a newborn. Females, the sick, the weak and the fragile were often left on temple steps or trash heaps. If you thought women were at the bottom rung of the Biblical ladder, you did not want to be a child – invisible, a cipher, property, vulnerable, powerless, a virtual non-entity.
But here comes Jesus, opening his arms and welcoming the smallest in society, upending the cultural norms. Frederic Buechner, the inspirational Presbyterian theologian and author, said the disciples who criticized the parents for bringing their children to Jesus, were cosmic bouncers guarding the velvet rope protecting the Kingdom. Sort of like an exclusive, private club. But Jesus upends the cultural norm, reaches out his strong, calloused carpenter’s hand, and again does something dangerous and political, culture versus divine grace. No exclusivity in this Kingdom.
Jesus welcomes the children because of the trust of the parents and the willingness of the children to be touched by this man, a stranger to them. Buechner again comments that the children go “with nothing to leverage, entirely dependent on the goodness of the man with the outstretched hand.”
Honesty, openness, and trust are the characteristics needed to build healthy relationships, with family and friends, and especially with God.
I know that I am repeating something you all have memorized, the Catechism from the Book of Common Prayer. What does this outline and summary of the Church’s teachings tell us are the two great sacraments of the Gospel???
The two great sacraments given by Christ to his Church are Holy Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. And today we have the joy of celebrating both.
As we rejoice with our child, Wilson, we will be witnessing powerful symbols. Water represents spiritual purification and cleansing, new creation, and entrance into a new spiritual life. It is our dying to old life (maybe not so old for Wilson), an initiation into new birth through God’s grace. Baptism is an outward sign, our acceptance of the holy spirit, empowered with faith.
(Hung a shell from the pulpit)
We will also see the shell to pour the water; shells have been used since the 12th century as an emblem of baptism. The first disciples were fishermen (and fishers of men), and shells are protection for sea creatures. The scallop shell has been the symbol of the pilgrim journey on the Camino de Santiago (the Way of St. James) for over 1,000 years.
As we welcome Wilson into the community of Christ, may we also be open and willing to accept Isaiah’s invitation to abundant life. Come to the waters.
I would like to close with a baptismal prayer for Wilson from the Book of Common Prayer:
O eternal God, you have promised to be a father to a thousand generations of those who love and fear you: Bless this child and preserve his life; receive him and enable him to receive you, that through the Sacrament of Baptism he may become the child of God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. BCP p. 444