Baptism of Our Lord, Year A January 12, 2020 Lutheran Church Rev. Carol Fryer 42:1-9; Psalm 29; Acts 10:34-43; :13-17

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the . Amen.

The celebration of the Baptism of our Lord is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to remember our own baptism. We will do that this morning, beginning with a thanksgiving for baptism and a ritual sprinkling of holy water from the baptismal font as we sing our first hymn.

Jesus came to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. This was the very beginning of his public ministry. Last Sunday, when we celebrated the Epiphany of our Lord, was still an infant in his mother’s arms. The Wise men came from the East to worship him bringing him gifts fit for a newborn king. An odd king he was, however, born in a stable to poor parents in very humble circumstances. That did not seem to bother the Wise men. They were following an extraordinary star and believed that this child was something special, in spite of his lowly circumstances.

Suddenly we jump ahead in time and Jesus is a grown man – about 30 years old. His older cousin, John, has been preparing for his appearance by calling people to repent of their sins and be cleansed through baptism. John had warned the people:

I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing-fork

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is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. (Matthew 3:11-12)

When Jesus comes to be baptized, John hesitates to do it. It doesn’t make sense to him! Jesus is one human who has no need of the cleansing bath of baptism, for he is without sin. But he insists, “to fulfill all righteousness,” and John obediently takes him down into the river Jordan and baptizes Jesus.

Then something extraordinary happens! The heavens open and the Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus in the form of a dove and heaven’s voice said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased!”

Long, long ago, the Isaiah had cried out to the Lord: O that you would tear open the heavens and come down! (:1)

The prophet is crying out for the Lord to make Himself known for the sake of the beleaguered people of . They had come to believe that their God had abandoned them. They were at low ebb. Things were not going well. They had lost their homeland, their temple, their sense of identity and security. They were at a loss in this world, wondering how they might possibly move forward.

And so the prophet cries out on their behalf, interceding for a people who believed they had been forsaken and forgotten. Isaiah, however, believed that God was there nevertheless and he pleaded with the Lord:

O that you would tear open the heavens and come down! (Isaiah 64:1)

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Well guess what! That very thing has happened! The heavens opened and Jesus was born at Christmas. The heavens opened and the angels sang to the shepherds. And, as if that were not enough, the heavens opened again and the Holy Spirit descended upon the son of Mary and Joseph, a simple man of . And then again from the torn open heavens there came a voice declaring the true identity of this humble man from Nazareth – he is the beloved Son of God – sent to bring justice and salvation to the world! Thus, the mournful cry of the old prophet Isaiah finally receives its answer.

Guess what else! When you were baptized that very same thing happened! The heavens opened, the Holy Spirit descended upon you, and you were declared a beloved son or daughter of the almighty God! (And if you have not yet been baptized, this is what will happen when you are!) Even though it probably didn’t happen in quite the dramatic way as it did when Jesus was baptized doesn’t mean it didn’t happen! The mysteries of God are often silent and veiled – like humble bread and wine becoming the body and blood of Christ for you! This is what I want you to keep in mind when you remember your baptism – the very heavens opened to welcome you!

Maybe you can’t remember your baptism because you were an infant in the arms of your parents at the time. And yet you know that it happened! You may even know the date of your baptism – I know that I was baptized on August 11, about a month after I was born. I don’t actually remember it but whenever we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord or the baptism of anyone else, we can say – I too was baptized! And it happened very much like this. Indeed, the heavens opened and you were declared a child of God. Henceforth your true home is not this world, but

3 that divine realm where our dear Lord Jesus now reigns over all things forever and ever!

Today’s first reading also comes from the prophet Isaiah. It is an earlier reading and has come to be known as the first of the of Isaiah. We often read these servant songs during Lent and Holy Week, for they speak of a servant of God who suffers for the sake of his people. This morning’s reading tells us a little bit about the servant the God promises to send.

1Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the nations.

First, we find out that God has chosen a servant in whom He takes delight. The voice from heaven at Jesus’ baptism echoes these words, doesn’t it?

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased!”

Then we learn that God has commissioned him through the Spirit – the Holy Spirit – and that he has a specific job to do: He will bring forth justice to the nations.

Ah, what a good thing that is! Justice to all the nations – that is the restoration of God’s order in the world.1 On a day when our ears are attuned to the news regarding Iran, surely we recognize how desperately we need God to put things

1 Brevard S. Childs, Isaiah, Library 4 right in our world. But justice also means salvation – salvation for all people, indeed for the whole earth!

And yet there is more as the prophet continues: 2He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street;

Notice that Jesus comes to John quietly, as one among many. He does not announce his arrival with trumpets or shouting. He is not aggressive but humble and calm. Even John imagines him differently and even violently: His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing- floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. But Jesus is not like that! His weapons, if you can call them that, are love, forgiveness, healing, and compassion. 3a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; He knows that we are frail and fragile. He knows that we are often at low ebb like a candle that is about to go out or the delicate reed that easily bends and breaks. He is gentle and kind, seeking out the lost and the forsaken as a shepherd seeks the wayward sheep.

The servant song concludes: he will faithfully bring forth justice. 4He will not fail or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.

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Here the prophet only gives us a hint of what lies ahead for God’s beloved Son. He will succeed in his mission to establish justice, though in succeeding, he himself will fail and be discouraged. Even though we have just celebrated Christmas, we know that Good Friday looms before us. We know that Jesus’ way of establishing justice is not by knocking heads together or waging war, but the way of emptying himself even to the point of death on the cross. And yet in that very sacrifice, he is triumphant over every form of injustice and evil, including death, for death could not hold him. Jesus lives and carries on his mission of justice – restoring God’s order in the world – and we, through baptism, are chosen to help!

Baptism launches Jesus on a mission of justice and salvation for all people. We too are launched by baptism into this same mission! We are claimed as God’s beloved sons and daughters, made citizens of the kingdom of God, and filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the building up of the people of God. We are chosen to follow Jesus – to pursue his ways of justice, peace, forgiveness, healing, compassion and love for all people everywhere.

So today and always: remember your baptism! Remember who you are – beloved children of God, sisters and brothers of Jesus Christ, our Lord, to whom belongs the glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

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