“What Do You Hear?”

Text:  Luke 3:15-17,21-22           Baptism of Our Lord                January 10, 2010

A young handicapped man would regularly come into a downtown church. Finally one day the pastor asked him if he prayed.  He said “Yes.”  “How do you pray?”  “I listen”  “When you listen, what do you hear?”  “You are my beloved.”

What do you hear this morning as we remember the Baptism of our Lord?  I told the confirmation kids on Wednesday night this is one of my favorite Sundays as we remember this special event in the life of Christ.  This event was followed by the temptation of Jesus, so in many respects the Baptism of Jesus prepares him for the wilderness.

We begin the Epiphany season, the manifestation, the making known, the appearing of God to this sin filled world of ours.  The first Sunday after Epiphany is always the Baptism of our Lord, where the voice from heaven makes known that Jesus is God’s son.  The last Sunday is always the Transfiguration of our Lord, again the voice from heaven makes it known that Jesus is God’s son.

Wasn’t it just yesterday that Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger?  Now he is a grown man knee deep in the Jordan River.  God had John prepare the people for the Messiah. They got so excited about John they thought it was him, so he set   them straight.  “I baptize with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thongs of his sandals, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Fire, where does that come from, water makes sense, but fire?  The metaphor of fire is more powerful than water.  Water cleanses the surface, but fire cleanses thoroughly, removing the impurities from within like the purifying of gold.  I can remember back in Nebraska they would burn off fields to get rid of the stubble allowing for new and healthy growth.  You sterilize medical instruments with extreme heat; impure water is boiled so it can be safe to drink.  God’s purpose in baptism is for people to experience new life, cleansed from the wilderness dangers of sin.  This is what you hear from God.

There is an old comedy sketch showing two hobos eating lunch from their tin cans. One gets too close to the fire and starts his back side on fire.  He jumps and runs trying to put out the fire. The other one says, “I’ve never seen him jump and run so fast.”  Getting baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire has the same effect. It sure made a difference in the life of Christ, his first 30 years were pretty quiet, the next three proved to be a firestorm.

What do you hear?  Can you imagine the reaction of everyone when they heard the voice from heaven boom?  It doesn’t say it boomed but it had too, it wouldn’t be, (softly) “You are my son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.” It would sound like this, (booming) “You are my son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.”  It had to have been that way!!

We worshipped in Kauai a few years ago; the Pastor announced that at their congregational picnic that afternoon there would be a baptism in the little inlet by the park.  I guess that was common for baptisms there.  Jesus goes to be with the others and be baptized.  It was not just some special ceremony in the synagogue; he was baptized like anyone else in the river.  He joins the crowd.  That would be the human side of Christ.  Then of course the voice comes in, acknowledging that he is God’s son, so we also have the divine side of things. In the Baptism of Jesus the human and the divine meet.  In Baptism Jesus stands in solidarity with all of us sinners.  People always want to know why Jesus was baptized.  There are many answers but one certainly is that we are sinful, so he became one with us to lead us out of this darkness.  And because he did that for us, we can be assured by those wonderful words we hear from Isaiah, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you.”  Please be clear, God absolutely hates sin.

Have you noticed that in tall buildings the walls by the elevators are all mirrors?  That’s so people can pass the time looking at themselves.  When you do that you see a sinful person in desperate need of being loved and forgiven. That is what you receive, that is what you hear.  This story is not just to inform us about Jesus’ baptism but ours as well.  You hear, just like that opening story, that you are beloved and well pleasing in God’s eyes.

Sin wraps itself around your heart, God sends his son to break that grip.  He nestles right beside you in baptism: remember – he hates sin.  Listen to what Paul said in Romans (6:4) “We have been 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.”  Luther called Baptism, “death by drowning.”  He suggested throwing infants into the lake and rescuing them as they are about to go down for the third time, demonstrating how God in Christ delivers us from the sin in which we drown.

What do you hear?  It seems to me the message is very clear, God lays claim on your life, you are his beloved.  The heavens open yet again today as you receive the gift of this beloved son in the bread and the wine.    Amen

Related posts:

1. The Everyday Fights
2. “God’s Side”
3. “What Voice Gets Your Attention?”