Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
Original Manuscript:
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What makes Spider-Man such a great hero is his motto: “with great power comes great responsibility.” Those are the words his Uncle Ben taught him. They are the words he has come to live by. It took a great tragedy, the death of his uncle, to finally get Spider-Man to hear those words and live into them.
Just as Spider-Man got his start listening to Uncle Ben’s words, we too get our start listening to Jesus’ words. When we get Baptized, we become part of Jesus’ flock. We become His sheep. And His sheep, as Jesus tells us, know His voice.
So when we get baptized, we start to get to know Jesus’ voice. That can be difficult sometimes, just like it was for Spider-Man to listen to Uncle Ben. That’s why Baptism is just the start. After we become one of Jesus’ sheep, we come back here each week so that we can hear Jesus’ voice. We do that by hearing God in Scripture, in the words of the Bible, just like we are doing right now.
Now Spider-Man has a lot of villains he faces, and sometimes we do too. That’s why Jesus’ voice is so important for us to hear. As Jesus tells us today in the Gospel, He’s there to help us and give us life. And the Psalm we sang together, in that we hear what Jesus’ voice can help us do. Even when we are in the most scary places, the Valley of the Shadow of Death even, Jesus is there with us to protect us and guide us. Even when we are in the midst of our villains, like Spider-Man is with his all the time, Jesus is there. He’s even there preparing a feast for us. Ultimately, Jesus is there to lead us to be with Him in the House of the Lord forever.
Baptism is just the start of the journey, and I hope it is one where you continue to hear Jesus’ voice always. I hope all of you will continue to come back so that you can hear Jesus’ voice, the voice of the Good Shepherd, our Shepherd. It’s not that there won’t be hardships or villains on the way. Yet if we listen to Jesus’ voice, we will get through them, protected and whole in the life that Jesus, in His own words, longs to give to each and every one of us.