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Baptism of our Lord, 01/12/2014
Sermon on Matthew 3:13-17, by Beth Schlegel
What a day for rejoicing! Babies being baptized into the church, the family of God, parents and godparents renewing their relationship with God, the whole community coming together to welcome new sisters in Christ.
These babies will be carried into worship, carried to the font, held while the water of life is poured over them, carried into their new family.
They may squirm, they may scream and cry, or they may sleep through the whole ordeal.
But for babies, it is a fairly easy time - today, at least.
But did you hear the workout Jesus got when he was baptized?
First, Jesus came to the Jordan to be baptized by John. From Jesus' home in Nazareth in Galilee, all the way to Judea, near Jericho, would have been about 60 miles - 3 days' journey on foot.
Then he went into the water to be baptized and went up from the water.
Then the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God in bodily form - coming to rest on him as a dove might alight on a fence.
We are reminded of Psalm 139:
O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways. . . .
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in the grave, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
Jesus is the one who comes to the Jordan to make known in his own being, the perfect truth of divine intimacy: being known, watched over, loved, guided and sustained by Almighty God.
His baptism is the beginning of the public ministry by which his own name - Jesus - is fulfilled - he saves God's people from their sins.
Here at the Jordan River, near the city of Jericho in Judea - that very city which fell to the ramshorns of Joshua to make way for God's people to have a home -
Jesus is publicly made known to be -Immanuel - God with us.
Now, his baptism becomes our baptism.
His inheritance as Son of the Father who pours out the Spirit is now our inheritance who share his baptism.
The Spirit that rests on him now rests on us.
The favor of God the Father is directed to us because of Him – This is my son, my daughter, with whom I am well-pleased.
As the book of Hebrews puts it, Jesus is “the pioneer and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). He crosses the wilderness of suffering and the boundary of death ahead of us so that we have no fear in following him into life eternal.
Jesus’ baptism is the beginning of our future – our destiny, if you will – as a narrative made visible for us.
What happens after baptism, Jesus shows us, is the living of a life well-pleasing to God.
I am reminded of a story of a small-town baseball team that had a reputation as losers. In 10 years, they had not won a single game.
They were laughed at just for showing up at games.
Their colors were considered a badge of shame.
Not surprisingly, the team had low morale and players showed little commitment to the team.
Then a new coach came to town.
Hello Champs, he said – I want to be clear from the start – I only coach champions. We will practice as champions, play as champions, dress as champions, and respect one another as champions.
When we win, we will win as champions and when we lose, we will lose as champions.
When each of you gets up in the morning, I want you to greet your image in the mirror with “Good morning, Champ” and each night, I want to you tell that image in your mirror, “Get a good night’s rest, Champ.”
Team practice began to have 100% attendance; the defeatist attitudes were transformed into positive goals.
The team began to win games. And the following year, they won the regional championship.
That coach changed the team’s identity and the team responded by living that identity until it was fulfilled.
Jesus was publicly declared God – Son of the Father on whom the Spirit of God rested. Of him, God said, “I am well-pleased with you.”
At our baptism, Jesus passes this identity on to us. We are the ones God has made his children and is pleased with.
Now we live, and work, and play, and relax as those of whom God has said, “You are my child, I am well-pleased with you.
In this new baptismal identity, we change from our fearful, selfish ways to living a godly life.
We wake up in the morning and greet our reflection in the mirror “Good morning, Child of God.” And then we live as a Child of God would live.
And at night, we say to our reflection in the mirror – Good night, Child of God, rest in peace, and we give our worries and cares to our heavenly Father to tend.
Jesus’ baptism becomes our baptism – his identity becomes our identity – his life becomes our life.
The day of our baptism is not the end, but the beginning of our salvation. It is the first day of the rest of our life eternal.
So Jesus’ workout is our workout –including temptation and suffering – so that we are fit to share in his resurrection.
So let’s take another look at the first stage of Jesus’ workout.
The first thing Matthew tells us is that Jesus came to John.
John was in a particular place preparing the way of the Lord, calling the people of Judea to make way for their promised Messiah.
All of Judea and Jerusalem came out to him to be baptized in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.
The community of faith in the promises of God was gathering to be purified for the coming of the Lord, the day of their redemption, as the Lord had promised.
John was in this particular place gathering this particular community of God’s people – and Jesus, who was also part of that community, but living at a distance, came to be with the people of God in Judea.
He made a journey of several days, at great cost and inconvenience, to come to the community at worship.
We, too, are called by God into community – we come to the community of faith, the church, to be baptized into that community of faith, God’s family. And from then on, we live in that community of faith as sons and daughters of God the Father
The workout of Baptism begins with coming to the community of faith.
The second thing Matthew tells us is part of Jesus’ baptism workout is Obeying God’s Word.
John did not want to baptize Jesus, knowing that Jesus was greater than he. But Jesus came to save humanity. And this meant he had to come as an ordinary Jew to the purification for forgiveness.
As a good Son, he also had to be obedient to the Father -- He had to keep covenant -- he had to fulfill all righteousness.
Jesus does not save us by going off and doing his own thing, but by doing the very thing God had been talking about since Abraham.
How else could Jesus be the Anointed One of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke?
How else could Jesus preach the nearness of the kingdom of God if he was not obedient to the Word of God that described that kingdom in which the hungry are fed, the poor provided for, the lame healed, the blind given sight, and those in bondage freed?
It follows then for us, who receive the baptism of Jesus, the identity of Jesus, and the life of Jesus, that his workout of obedience to God’s Word is also ours.
How else do we live as the children of God but by putting God’s Word into action? It is how we make known to others that we belong to God and follow Jesus as Lord.
With Jesus we come to the community of faith and we live and act in obedience to God.
Finally, we come to the third exercise of this baptismal workout -- Bending down and opening up to God’s work in us.
Matthew says Jesus was baptized. That meant he waded into the water and bent down to immerse his whole body in the cleansing waters. To bend down is a posture of humility, submission to a greater power.
In being baptized, Jesus made himself humble, bending before the Father. Then, he stood up and came up out of the waters and the heavens opened upon him and he saw the Spirit of God anoint him and heard the Father declare, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well-pleased.” Jesus humbled himself and was exalted. He submitted to the will of the Father and now the world submits to him. He bent down, rose up and was lifted up.
Right here in his baptism, we see the outline of Christ’s saving work – his incarnation, suffering, death and burial, resurrection and ascension to divine authority.
In baptism, we share in the ongoing work of salvation:
- by bending our wills to the will of God,
- by enduring suffering for the sake of the Gospel,
- by submitting to the death of our sinful self in order for God to raise up the new creation in us,
- by humbling ourselves in repentance and opening ourselves to the life God will work in and through us. .
There is no other workout like the life of a baptized Christian – and the spiritual fitness we gain from living all our days in the community of faith, in obedience to God’s Word, and in humble living for Christ’s sake cannot be gained for $10 down and $10/month at the local gym.
It is not too late to start – even by singing: “Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask you to stay
Close by me forever, and love me, I pray.
Bless all the dear children in your tender care
And fit us for heaven, to live with you there.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen