Trinity Church in the City of Boston
The Rev. Morgan S. Allen
January 11, 2026
Baptism of Jesus, Matthew 3:13-17
In you, O Lord, have we taken refuge; for the sake of your name, lead us and guide us.1From Psalm 31. Amen.
Across my years at Trinity, I have shared in several settings that when my dad and his siblings responded to their father’s call with an angsty “Huh?” or “What?” my grandfather would firmly quip: “Don’t ‘What’ me, it’s ‘sir.’” So, when I was born as the first grandchild and affectionate names were being chosen for my grandparents, my dad and his siblings elected for their father [as he had directed!] to be called “Sir.”
See, words mattered in the house in which my grandmother, Gina, and Sir raised my father; the house in which my father raised me; and the house in which my wife and I raised [are still raising!] our children. And whether I am addressing the teenager handing me my Raising Cane’s chicken fingers, or responding to someone in the parish older than I:
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Yes, sir.”
“No, ma’am.”
“No, sir.”
For me, these graces remain more than regional fashion; they intend to convey respect and appreciation. These exchanges express our mutual recognition of one another, even in disagreement. While during my childhood, my sisters and I certainly Eddie Haskell’d2I suspect I am timing out on the viability of this reference … as much anyone, our polite devotions also moved us toward the people we sought to be.
More than words alone, “semiotics” is the study of signs organized into a structure, and semioticians study these languages of signifier and signified in their many settings. Consider how we intuitively learn that extra-verbal language we employ and receive in our conversations with one another. A child’s nighttime “Yes, sir,” if accompanied by slumped shoulders, a sigh, and a mournful tone, might well mean something more like, “Ugh! I don’t want to turn off my phone and go to bed!” Nonetheless, a parent could give partial credit for the muster of superficial politeness (provided the child turned off their phone and headed to bed, mind you) as confirming a mutual agreement about the character of family this pair seeks to establish.
Think of the legion “words” and “phrases” that contribute to our unspoken language in conversations: looking someone in the eye or looking past an interlocuter; approaching or walking away from someone who addresses us; sighing or grunting in reaction to what we have heard; and so many other embodied communications we could name.
See, not only do our spoken words matter, but the physical vocabulary with which we speak them matters, makes a difference. Over time, these languages shape our perspectives; firm our convictions; and, ultimately, can determine our actions.
The devaluation of rhetoric has eroded civility and diminished basic decency in the public square. Rather than engaging with careful, thoughtfully chosen words that recognize one another’s humanity – even in disagreement – public officials now blurt ALL-CAPS dismissals of any who dare challenge them on social media. Likewise, radio and television profiteers feed and forward this culture of confrontation, giving their viewers permission to employ the same, parroted vitriol. The language of these programs – not only the words exchanged but the extra-verbal, semiotic structures in which those exchanges occur: split screens … and “crossfire” tables … all occurring above constantly flashing, red alerts – are a grammar of aggression, and unless we remain mindful, we will carry this vocabulary of violence into our houses, our offices, and even our pews.
So what do we as the Body of Christ do? How do we who follow Jesus labor for peaceableness in a conflicted age? People of God, by word and by action, we speak a different language.
Consider the story of Jesus’ baptism. John the Baptist stands on the banks of the Jordan, and the one he affirms as Savior of the universe, approaches the riverside. This Jesus asks John to baptize him.3Matthew 3:13. John protests: Lord, “I need to be baptized by you.”4Matthew 3:14. Upon Jesus’ explanation and insistence, John submits to Jesus. Had he grown up in my house, “Yes, sir,” John might have said to his cousin.5Matthew 3:15.
Not only by words, but in the embodied language of their actions, Jesus and John express their values – humility, fidelity, and service – offer their mutual respect and recognition of one another – and God affirms their encounter: as Jesus emerges from the water, the heavens open and the Holy Spirit descends like a dove, “alighting on him.”6Matthew 3:16. A voice from the opened heavens declares, “This is my Son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”7Matthew 3:17.
We must speak Jesus’ and John’s language of trust and obedience into our age. Though it may feel foolish to engage the world with such generosity, knowing that our mercies will likely not be returned in kind, be sure that our words, spoken and unspoken, matter – make a difference for our soul and the soul of the world – as we give the Good News its voice. Indeed, gathering today as the Body of Christ, we seek to speak of God, and to God, and with one another, in this way. This morning, we baptized four children into our covenant community, and we introduced them to this new language:
As our national conversation becomes mannerless8From the prayer “For Our Country,” on p. 820 of The Book Of Common Prayer (1979), I value the line (with my italics added): “Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners.” and crude, we faithfully declare: “There is one Body and one Spirit” … There is one hope in God’s call to us.9From “Holy Baptism,”, p. 299.
Amid threats of imperialism acts of war, we announce, “One Lord … one Baptism … One God and [Creator] of all” – we speak the language of union.10Ibid.
With suffering on so many corners and lawless murder in our streets, we “persevere in resisting evil” – indeed, we more affirmatively “seek and serve Christ in all people, loving our neighbors as we love ourselves.”11Ibid, from the five baptismal promises, pp. 304-305.
We refute selfish caprice with words of Christian commitment, and we strive to respect the dignity of every human being.12Ibid, p. 305.
Sunday after Sunday and season after season, we embody the convictions we claim, choosing to kneel in witness to our humility; to stand upon the strength of our promises; and to sing when the spoken word alone cannot bear our passion.
We make friends of strangers, welcoming not only the newly baptized, but sharing with one another God’s Peace – reaching out to a neighbor whose lone qualifications for friendship is our shared humanity and their sitting next to us in the pew.
Then we table together, asking God’s blessing upon our common meal, breaking the bread to ensure enough for everyone to eat, and sharing the cup until everyone has had their drink.
Realize that all our worship becomes a prophetic grammar, the vocabulary of gratitude and graciousness our year’s theme encourages, the very Gospel language of Love. We speak this caritas not only within this house of God, but as our favored tongue in all the world. We challenge the brokenness of the body politic not with greater volume in the harangue, but with ever-greater Grace, “not only on our lips, but in our lives.”13From “The General Thanksgiving,” p. 299.
With grateful hearts and gracious lives,
Amen.