The Obedience of Faith
Baptism of Our Lord A
January 12, 2020
Grace, Waseca, MN
Matthew 3.13-17
When hearing the story of Jesus’ baptism, I can’t help but think of some notable baptisms that I’ve done. For instance, like Cornelius’ household in Acts 10, there was the whole family I baptized as a result of the mom’s friendship with my wife, Cindy. Then there were the two teenage sisters, daughters of a Lutheran dad and Hindu mom, who decided to be baptized and then confirmed. There was a woman of Asian descent who grew up in a Catholic school system but was searching and wanted more in life. She started attending church, accepted the invitation to the Lord’s table and then wanted to be baptized.
It hasn’t been all rainbows and unicorns. In one of my less-than-finer moments, there was the dad that wanted to kill me after I dramatically declared that we were going to “kill” his infant daughter in baptism. It was my dramatic way of emphasizing that we have died to sin and rise to new life. He didn’t buy it. I no longer do this with parents, but I do tell the story to illustrate the same point.
Those who study baptism and the early church think that the baptism of John the Baptist may be loosely connected to ancient Jewish washing and purification rituals. Yet, they also believe those baptisms were an entity unto themselves. Likewise, the significance we place on baptisms now as a sacrament, a gift of God’s grace that provides a daily dying to sin and rising to new life, becoming part of God’s family, an assurance that we will always belong to God no matter what happens, were not a part of John’s baptisms either. But what I think does tie these memorable baptisms with Jesus’ baptism is an attitude of vulnerability.
Only in Matthew’s version of Jesus’ baptism do we have the curious exchange between Jesus and John the Baptist. John wonders why he should be baptizing Jesus, intuitively knowing a baptism of repentance for Jesus doesn’t make any sense. Jesus’ response, that it is necessary to fulfill all righteousness, is vague and provokes much speculation as to its meaning. I think that Jesus’ comment has something to do with Jesus agreeing to take on the mission for which God sent him. In every case, being baptized means agreeing to give up control of our lives and giving it to God. Even when we baptize babies, we do it without their permission, setting them on God’s path for them. And at some point they have to say to God in one way or another, “Let it be according to your word.”
The thrust of the season of Epiphany is to make manifest or reveal just who this Jesus is that has come into our world. It is bookended by two festival Sundays, the Baptism of Our Lord and the Transfiguration of Our Lord. In both cases, as we will see, a voice from heaven declares Jesus to be God’s beloved Son. So it is that in our baptisms, we are baptized into Christ Jesus, becoming God’s beloved children forever. In addition, we open ourselves to God’s direction in our lives, to share in Jesus’ mission to love and bless the world, an act of faithful obedience that continues daily until we move to the next life.
As we’ve seen all too clearly this past week, we live in a hurting and broken world. The shooting of Officer Arik Matson and the all-too-sudden death of Arlene Thieme have rocked us. In our own community of faith, we still feel the effects of numerous conflicts, traumas and tragedies. Yet, we persist because we are God’s beloved who are called to be a healing presence in this world. You see, all baptisms are notable baptisms. Today, we are humbly reminded that God has a vision for us, to make manifest God’s love to all who need to hear it, including ourselves. In the months ahead, we’ll discover together what that means for us as Grace Lutheran Church. But for now, let us “walk wet” in the obedience of faith, allowing the light of Christ to shine in, with, and through us. Amen.
For an audio version of this sermon, click here.
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