Baptism of Our Lord

It’s been years. And I’m not even sure anymore why our cub scout troop was in the Lancaster area in Pennsylvania. But I do remember the disappointment. We had stopped at Zinn’s Diner. It’s no longer there now since the restaurant changed ownership, but there used to be a giant fiberglass statue of an Amish man outside. We were having some kind of home-style meal, it might have been chicken and waffles or something like that. Much to my delight when they brought the food to the table, they immediately brought a beautiful looking butterscotch sundae served in a fancy footed glass dish on its own little saucer! And I hadn’t even ordered one! I didn’t want it to melt before I had a chance to finish my meal, so I figured I would do the sensible thing and eat the ice cream first. I drew the saucer close to me and took a generous spoonful of the sweet frozen treat. I popped it into my mouth And it was warm and salty. It wasn’t a butterscotch sundae! It was mashed potatoes and gravy! And it was instant mashed potatoes at that!! My initial feelings of confusion gave way to frustration and betrayal; the sense that I’d somehow been duped! What I actually received did not match up to my expectations. It was disappointing, to say the least.

If the gospel lesson for this week sounds a bit familiar, it should, because it was part of a longer reading just a few weeks ago on the third Sunday in Advent. At that time the focus was on John the Baptizer and his railing against the crowds that had come out to the wilderness to hear him preach. We get a little taste of that here. Unfortunately, we then skip over a bit and we are treated to the baptism of Jesus. I say unfortunately, because it’s a symbolically pivotal moment in Luke’s Gospel. It’s the transition from one type of tradition to another. It’s the transition from the tradition of the Old Testament to the tradition of Jesus.

John functions in much the same way as the prophets of the Old Testament. He condemns the religious authorities of his time for advocating the practice of empty rituals. And he points to God’s activity in their midst. But John is also the end of the line for the Old Testament-style prophet, because of the new way in which God will be engaging the world:  namely, Jesus. And the verses we are missing for today make that clear. To wit: “18 So, with many other exhortations, [John] proclaimed the good news to the people. 19 But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added to them all by shutting up John in prison.”

And that’s the last we hear of John, until chapter 7 when we see him struggling with his own confusion and disappointment, when Jesus clearly isn’t fulfilling the role of Messiah the way John thought he would: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.17His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” John doesn’t see that happening; or rather, since he’s locked up in jail, he doesn’t hear about that happening. So, he sends two of his disciples to Jesus with the question: "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?"

he baptism of Jesus tells us that Jesus is the one. But it also demonstrates to us once more that through Jesus, God is doing a new thing!

“18 So, with many other exhortations, [John] proclaimed the good news to the people. 19 But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added to them all by shutting up John in prison.” Regardless of what he says or how he says it; regardless of the size of the crowds coming out to hear John, which included everyone from the average person, to Roman soldiers, to tax collectors. Regardless of all those things, John is powerless against the powers of the world: the powers of sin and death.

They key moment, which John fails to grasp is what immediately follows Jesus’ baptism: “21Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove.”

“[The] heaven was opened…” In Mark’s gospel the Greek implies not just a mere “opening” but an action of ripping apart! God does what only God can do! God tears away the firmament! God renders null and void the barrier that separated God from God’s creation. The restoration that Jesus, the Messiah, brings is not just the restoration of Israel. It’s the restoration of all humanity! And that’s what John fails to understand. Because he’s so enamored with his own understanding of what the nature of the Messiah is to be; he fails to see that God, through Christ, redefines what it means for Jesus to be the Messiah.

The heavens are opened. That which separates us from God is no longer. God is no longer up in the clouds, at a distance, but here among us. We know all of this -- but do we believe it? Do we get it? Do we live it? Epiphanies are not subtle. Yes, we can look for God in all kinds of people and places, but sometimes God comes crashing through the clouds and stops you dead in your tracks. Clouds are ripped apart and the Spirit descends in bodily form, like a dove. And God is revealed to be up-close and personal. Depending upon your perspective, that can be a good thing or a bad thing.

God cannot bear to remain separate from creation or the created. The God that we saw in the book of Genesis, reaching down into the mud of the riverbank and forming Adam, breathing into Adams lungs the spirit of life. That same God, we see returning in full force in the person of Jesus. And that same spirit descends among us, reanimating us, filling us with the breath of God so that we can breathe life into the world around us!

God choosing to be with us is its own epiphany. We get to see the true character of God. God is willing to risk security and safety, laud and honor, distance and separation, so that God can know what it means to be among us; to be us. But Jesus’ baptism reminds us that baptism is also an epiphany, and what God chooses to reveal about God’s self is not always seen in baptismal gowns and water.

The season of Epiphany doesn’t last forever. Soon enough we will be reminded of the fact that God will also be seen in rejection and suffering, death and denial, pain and injustice. God opens the heavens, God pushes through the firmament, and says, “you, yes you, are my beloved.” Jesus’ baptism is the model of our own baptism; the promise made to Jesus is made to us. This is awesome, as in this is a moment of awe. It’s the rediscovery of who our God really is: a moment that tells us, that when we look for God, we should actually be looking for the heavens being opened -- and when that happens, everything changes.

We need this kind of Epiphany season. An Epiphany that doesn’t settle for the usual, but that trusts in God’s in-breaking when we least expect it -- to give good news to the poor, sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to realize that God’s favor is for all, especially those whom our society rejects, overlooks, continues to regard as undeserving of justice, and insists are not really worthy of God’s love.

Jesus is the model for the apostles who are the models for the church. The apostles and the church do everything Jesus does because they have the same Spirit.

Baptism and life in the Holy Spirit have little to do with institutional affiliation. Being a member of a church is not the equivalent of living a spirit-filled, spirit-lead life. You can go to church every week. You can receive communion every week, and still be spiritually dead, cut off from God’s spirit. We need to realize what the Spirit makes possible and then jump in with both feet! By the Spirit, we are empowered not only to become part of a movement towards the new creation that’s begun in Christ, but to invite others to join the movement, to work to fulfill the signs of the kingdom, and to embody the qualities of the kingdom in our life together.

In the birth of Jesus, we see God doing a new thing. In the baptism of Jesus, we see God doing a new thing! In the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus we see God doing a new thing! In the book of Revelation, John attests that the one seated on the throne says, “See, I am making all things new!” Do you see a theme here? Renewal! Doing something new!

In the book he co-authored with Systematic Theologian the Rev. Dr. Robert Jenson called, “Lutheranism: The Theological Movement and Its Confessional Writings”, the Rev. Dr. Eric W. Gritsch wrote “…like the individual Christian, the church is continually struggling, and is to be constantly re-created and sustained by the word of God” (pg. 125). As I said, epiphanies are not necessarily gentle or comfortable. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that if we’ve had an epiphany and we’re not uncomfortable, then we’re not paying said epiphany due attention. Because in a true epiphany, that re-creating and sustaining Spirit of God is palpably present. The heavens ripped apart, and the Spirit of God descending in bodily form like a dove.

The challenge before us is great: to allow ourselves to be re-created and sustained by the word, by the palpable presence of God’s spirit. And if we don’t have that palpable sense of God’s presence, and I mean each of us as an individual person of faith, claimed by God in the waters of baptism… If we don’t have that palpable sense of God’s presence in our lives, then that is where the work must begin. Work that we are all called to do by virtue of our baptism. Work that we agreed to participate in when we were confirmed. Work for which the Holy Spirit empowers us. 

The Holy Spirit calls us to engage in regular, intensive prayer. We must pray that the fire of God’s Spirit will be ignited in our midst and that it will burn brightly and not be quenched. We must pray for this individually. And we must gather together to pray with one another.

The Holy Spirit calls us to devote ourselves to scripture. We must read God’s word daily and invite God’s spirit into our lives that we might be inspired by that same spirit. But we must also come together, to explore, study, and experience God’s word together. The Christian education ministry team offers regular bible studies and Sunday school classes, and they ought to be full. And if you really want to unleash the power of scripture? Self-led small group bible studies in each other’s homes.

And lastly, The Holy Spirit calls us to be actively engaged in the work of ministry. And by that I don’t mean just financially supporting the work of this congregation, as important as that is. I mean being physically involved in one of the active ministries of this congregation, of which there are many. And I guarantee you that regardless of your talents and abilities, we can find a place for you where your own gifts for ministry can be effectively utilized. We must be bold in inviting God’s spirit to be present among us. And when we do that, we can expect some things to change because that’s what happens when God’s around. But those changes are a whole lot less scary, when you know that God is the one who is leading us.

As Christians, we must allow ourselves to be open to the power of God’s spirit to do new things in our midst. We must allow God to tear apart that which divides us from God, from one another, and from the community in which we are called to serve. As Lutherans, this kind of renewal and reformation is foundational.  And we need not fear the consequences of such actions, nor do we need to be anxious about our future. Because the promise spoken to Jesus at his own baptism is the same promise that was spoken to each of us at our own baptisms: “You are my Daughter/You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” AMEN