Sermon – Baptism of Jesus
Have you lived in or travelled to a country where English isn’t the first language? It can be quite a confusing experience. There are times when you think you know what is going on but to be honest you are doing your best to piece together an idea based on the things you are observing around you with varying levels of success.
Or you are relying on your high school French to try and read a menu and the results are not exactly what you expected.
Or like me when you are in a noisy restaurant you miss half the conversation.
When some of our senses are limited it is easy to get the wrong end of the stick.
In the gospel today the crowd who are gathered in the wilderness watching John baptise people are keen to understand. They aren’t simply following along because they have nothing better to do. There is a sense of expectation, and they have questions in their hearts – could this finally be the Messiah?
John the Baptist quickly sets them straight – someone else is coming. Luke shows a stark difference between John the Baptist and Jesus.
- John is baptising with water – Jesus will baptise with the Holy Spirit and fire.
- There are the fiery prophetic images of Jesus bringing purification and gathering up his people.
This week’s gospel excludes verses 18-20 in which John confronts Herod about his marriage to his brother’s wife and his subsequent imprisonment. This is interesting given that Matthew, Mark and John all indicate that John the Baptist was present at the baptism of Jesus.
All Gospel writers had a perspective when they wrote their narrative. Luke had set out to write an orderly account, so it gives us pause that John is suddenly missing.
Luke most likely structured his account this way to draw the focus away from John towards Jesus. As Jesus begins his ministry, John the Baptist steps back.
We also see later in Acts (also written by Luke) that there was some confusion in segments of the early church. Some had only heard about John’s baptism of repentance and not the baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus. There seem to also have been disputes over whose baptism was superior Jesus or John. As Luke writes his gospel he is making clear the superiority of Jesus from the beginning. John, himself, acknowledges the superiority of Jesus.
The account of Jesus’ baptism is not detailed at all, the focus is on the relationship and display of love between the Trinity.
Jesus has been baptised and is praying. And the Father and Spirit respond.
This is a beautiful picture of our Trinitarian God. All three persons are visibly and audibly interacting with one another in full view of humanity. The heavens are opened for us to not only see the Godhead but to hear them. God initiates opening heaven to allow us a glimpse into the divine relationship between Father, Son and Spirit.
The Holy Spirit descends in a visible manifestation like a dove. Luke states that this was not a vision but a bodily manifestation of the Spirit.
Then a voice speaks from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.”
This public affirmation of Jesus is a second epiphany of sorts. God is affirming and naming Jesus as his Son. What a gift we have that God does not leave us guessing about who he is or his intentions. We are not like the crowd watching and wondering if John is the Messiah. We both have visual and verbal confirmation of the identity of Christ. God initiates the actions that will enhance our understanding. His affirmations are recorded for posterity so that we can know and understand the loving relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
And God’s actions are those of relationship, love and belonging. Jesus is the Son, the Beloved, and the Father is pleased with him. It is worth noting that all these affirmations are made before Jesus begins any of his formal ministry.
How often do you see people publicly affirming their grown children?
I think as New Zealanders we can be a bit stingy with our affirmation. Wouldn’t want anyone to think too highly of themselves! Did your parents ever say they loved you? Not because of your achievement or success in life but simply because you were their child?
We can say things like – they didn’t tell us they loved us but we knew because –
- They worked hard to provide for us
- Or there was always food on the table
- Or they sacrificed to make this or that happen
But God shows us that we need more than actions, we also need words!
This public affirmation of love and affection from God isn’t a one-off occurrence. In our Isaiah reading we see God being liberal with affirmation and affection towards Israel.
God’s love isn’t like the best china that we only bring out at Christmas. It is precious but it is also for everyday use.
- God reminds them they are created and formed by him
- He calls them by name, and they belong to him
- God is with them despite deep adversity
- God reminds them they are precious, honoured and loved by him.
Again, they find their value not from their actions, because as we know many times the Israelites fell short. They are loved because of their relationship with God. God never not stop pursuing them simply because they were his children.
We do not follow a God who is a complete mystery to us.
We do not need to try and guess and figure out what God thinks of us.
- From the beginning of creation when the Holy Spirit hovered over the waters and God spoke to the world into being. God created people and said they were very good;
- to the prophets who reminded the Israelites of God’s deep and enduring love for them;
- to God in Christ who took on human flesh to remind us how much God loves us:
We are deeply loved by a God who continually speaks of his love and affection for people. The Holy Spirit is poured out in our hearts and gives us ears to hear God’s words of love for us. When we experience God’s lavish love we can love others. It is hard to pass on something you haven’t really experienced.
Perhaps today you are feeling the nudge that there is someone in your life that you need to clearly affirm your love for. Don’t hope they have understood your actions or save your words for special occasions. Let them know. You might feel a bit squeamish at the thought of having that conversation, as an initial step on the journey of sharing you could write a wee note and email or post it to them.
But maybe you are here today it has never been clear to you that God’s love in these passages is also for you. Some of us have been in churches when the focus was deeply on our sinful estate. But God reminds us again today that we are called by his name, we are his beloved and precious in his sight. I pray that the Holy Spirit would give us ears to hear and hearts to understand God’s unfailing love for us.
In the words of St Paul, we remember that:
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:38-39)
Sarah Murphy