Jesus in the Water

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."How often do you think about your baptism? If you said, “every day,” I applaud you. I also would say that you are in the minority of Christians—I may be wrong, and I hope I am—but I would guess that the majority of Jesus followers don’t dwell on their baptism a whole lot. That’s a shame. It’s like standing next to a limitless supply of energy and never plugging in. In a very real sense, to forget our baptism is to forget who we are.But it is understandable, if you’re like me and you were baptized as a baby. How can we think about and dwell on something that we don’t remember? It’s not a memory I can access. For that reason, I think those who were baptized as babies may have a twinge of ‘sanctified jealousy’ for those who are baptized later in life, because it is an experience they can remember. That works both ways, though. Those who are baptized later in life may have a twinge of ‘sanctified jealousy’ towards those who have been a part of the family for so long. The point is, baptism is extremely important and deserves more thought and reflection than we usually give it. Baptism is a powerful way that God lays claim to us, whether we remember the event or not. An adopted child is adopted whether or not they remember the adoption process. They live in the results of that adoption daily: they have a home, they have parents, their needs are met, and so on. In the same way, a baptized person is adopted whether or not they remember the baptism. They live in the results of that baptism daily: they have a home with God and possess a living faith in his Son, Jesus Christ. Baptism matters because it establishes our identity. You are no longer a free agent. There’s no flying solo for you. You have been connected to Jesus through baptism. A powerful link has been forged between you and Jesus. He shares everything with you. His suffering and death. His resurrection and victorious life. Baptism creates this bond. We need to dust off the font and dwell on what God did to us there.We have that opportunity today as we hear of Jesus’ own baptism. Now there is always the potential for confusion when we talk about Jesus’ baptism. Some might ask, “Why did Jesus need to be baptized?” If, as we believe, Jesus was the sinless Son of God, then why would he be on the receiving end of a sacrament that provides forgiveness of sins? The answer is found in the very purpose for which Jesus became one of us. Jesus did not need to be forgiven, but in His baptism, Jesus wades into the water of our sin. He gets covered with our dirt. He begins his work of doing things he didn’t have to do for people like us, who couldn’t do them. In the waters of the Jordan River, Jesus builds a reservoir of life, holding innumerable gallons of forgiveness of sins and rescue from death. Those precious gifts will flow to all who are baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Jesus needs to be baptized, not for himself, but for us, so that the channel can be dug and the connection can be made from his life to yours.Mark records the vivid detail that awaited Jesus when he came up out of the water. He saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove. These things also happen to the baptized. For the truth is, were it not for Jesus and His willingness to do things he didn’t have to do, heaven would not be open to us. The doors would be shut and the gates locked. We would live the darkened lives of the self-absorbed and self-serving. If we had any thought of a heavenly life after this one, we would deceive ourselves into thinking we earned it. More likely, though, we would simply try to die with the most toys.But thanks be to God in Christ, we are free from such a hopeless outlook! When you were baptized, heaven was torn open to you and the gates were flung wide. A cord of life was tied around you—and at the other end is your resurrected, living Lord. You and I live in a finite world—a world where things fall apart, break down, and die. But in Christ, you are infinite with Him. There is much trouble, sickness, death, and heartache in this finite world—more than enough to go around. But the baptized Christian endures all these things with the promise that you will outlast them all. You will live beyond these problems. In your baptismal connection to Jesus you will survive even the annihilation of this world to continue on with Him forever. This promise is made to all baptized Christians. There is more for you beyond this present life and baptism into Jesus seals it.Also, at Jesus’ baptism, he saw the Spirit descending like a dove. This too happens to the baptized. The Holy Spirit enters a spiritually dead person and begins generating life—which is to say that he creates faith. This is an element of baptism that must not be overlooked. We need the Holy Spirit. We cannot believe in or appreciate, much less love God without the Spirit’s work in us. St. Paul writes, “No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12: 3) and St. Peter offered the solution to that problem in his Pentecost proclamation: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” We can’t believe in Jesus without the Holy Spirit. So God provides us with His Holy Spirit through the simple action of baptism. He keeps on doing what we could not do to give us what we could not earn.The baptismal connection that you have with Jesus has been likened to the umbilical cord that connects a mother and child in the womb. Of course, we know that a mother supplies nutrients and oxygen to her child through that cord in a continuous flow, things that keep the child alive and cause growth. What you may not think of immediately is the fact that the child sends something back through the cord as well. The baby sends back poisonous wastes, and the mother eliminates them for her child. Baptism is that connecting cord between Jesus and you. Through God’s extraordinary umbilical, baptismal connection, all the wastes of your sins flow continuously to Jesus and are removed forever by his shed blood—He’s absorbed all your poisonous sins into his body. In return, Jesus’ life-giving strength and perfection flow continuously to you. His life is always being renewed in you! And since you are connected with Christ Jesus in this way, you stand with Him as the Father says: "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." The words apply to Jesus, and because of Him, they apply to you, too. You are God’s beloved child. He is well pleased with you. He says, “You are mine.” This is who you are. Live in your baptism—your connecting cord to Christ!

Secret Identity Revealed

I’d like to play a little word association game with you today. I’m going to say a few names and you tell me who comes to mind. Ready? Clark Kent. Peter Parker. Bruce Wayne. Bruce Banner. OK. Your comic book literacy is where is should be. One big feature of superhero stories is the idea of a secret identity. The concept creates all kinds of dramatic tension, centering on what might happen if the true identity of the super hero is revealed. You get a lot of close calls and once in a while the mask is pulled back and somebody discovers the truth.I would submit to you that there’s an element of this in the story from our Gospel Lesson today. The curious mountaintop experience recorded there is the brief exposure of Jesus’ secret identity. We call this Jesus’ transfiguration. That means his figure or appearance changed. In front of his closest friends, Jesus peels back the human mask and lets them see who He really is. Mark just says that Jesus was transfigured before them and His clothes became dazzling white. Luke adds that the appearance of Jesus’ face changed and his clothes were as bright as a flash of lightning. Matthew says it like this: “His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” The secret identity is revealed. Jesus, who looks like just another guy from Galilee, is God.What do you do with information like that? Peter, James, and John, weren’t sure. What do you do when you find out that the rabbi you’ve been hanging out with has the full glory of the Almighty God hidden inside Him? What do you do when you discover that he can hold conversations with Moses and Elijah? How do you handle the voice of the Almighty One speaking the ultimate reveal: “This is my beloved Son—Listen to Him!” Well, the first thing you’d probably do is just that—you would listen to Jesus. There’s more than meets the eye here. And then you might start to wonder, what can’t Jesus do? If he’s connected to this type of power, He might be the answer our people have been looking for.But the moment things seem normal again, Jesus asks you not to talk about it. He doesn’t mean forget about it. How could you? He wants you to remember. One day it will make perfect sense. But He’s concerned. He knows what people will say and do if the word gets out that he has super-heroic power. But he did not come to leap tall buildings in a single bound, nor did he come shatter the shields of the Roman Empire. He came for the cross. He came to stagger up the hill of the Skull. This superhero’s power is made perfect in weakness. With love and strength that defies description, he will lie down on the wooden beams and allow the nails to enter his flesh. His heart will stop beating and he will breathe no more. Only then will sin be cancelled. Only then will it be clear what the power of Jesus is. It is the power of sacrifice. It is the power of mercy. It is the power of forgiveness. It is the power of love for the undeserving. He used this peculiar power for you.And then He would live again. Not in some eulogizing sort of “He’ll live on in our hearts forever” type of thing, but he would really live again, physically, resurrected, walking around, eating, breathing, teaching. There, too, is the power and glory of God. Death is defeated. Its stranglehold is broken. Jesus will share resurrected life with all who believe in Him.Jesus had His cross and tomb in mind when he told Peter, James, and John not to say anything about his transfiguration. His secret identity would be revealed to the whole world, all in due time. But for now, his path led to Jerusalem. His work of saving you and me from a horrible life in this world and even worse things in eternity was not complete until cross and tomb were dealt with.With all this talk about secret identities, we can’t leave today without wrestling with this question. Are you keeping your Christian faith a secret? Is your Christian life with Jesus a secret identity that you keep under wraps? Is there a part of you that hopes that your friends and acquaintances never discover your link to Jesus? If you’ve struggled with this, you’re not alone. Sin would have us hide the light of Jesus under a bushel basket. Society would have us keep our faith private. But that’s simply not what Jesus would have you do.Jesus would have you repent of the times when you have made Him your little secret. He would have you know that there is forgiveness for you through faith in His actions at the cross and tomb. And He would have you see yourself through His eyes when he says: “You are the light of the world. A town can’t be hidden when it’s built on a hill. You put a lamp on the lampstand, where it gives light to everybody in the house. So let you light shine before people that they may see the good you do and praise your Father in heaven.” Likewise, the apostle Paul writes to Timothy, “God didn’t give us a cowardly Spirit, but a Spirit of power and love and good judgment.” And Paul can write to the Corinthian Church: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” If you have been connected to Jesus through Holy Baptism, and you continue to trust in Jesus for forgiveness and strength, then this is your true identity. It is an identity that cannot be kept secret. It isn’t possible. Because if Jesus is alive in you, He’s going to cause you to look for someone to help. He’s going to cause to you look for someone to serve. He’s going to cause you to come alongside someone with words of gospel hope and deeds of kindness. That’s just the way He is. Sure, we can decide to not go along with it. We can try to put the lid on His compassion. But even then, the Spirit calls us to turn around and seek forgiveness for frustrating God’s purposes for us. We’re called to trust that we have been given a Spirit of power and love and good judgment. And we’re freed to let our true identity—our connected-to-Christ-identity—shine through each and every day of our lives.God wants this to be our reality. He wants to give us Himself. The same God who hid his full glory in a normal-looking teacher and carpenter from Nazareth still hides Himself today. He hides himself in words on a page; words that are sung; words that are preached; words that are discovered in Holy Scripture. Every time you hear those words it is God speaking to your heart and mind.He hides himself in ordinary water; water scooped out of a bowl. Every time that water is accompanied by God’s Name, it is God Himself cleansing a person and gifting them with His life.He hides himself in flatbread wafers and wine from the grape. When this food is combined with Jesus’ words, we take the broken body and shed blood of our Savior into ourselves. He literally pours Himself into us, sharing His identity with us, giving us the things we need most. Far more than a hero, Jesus is our reason for living.

Speaking to God

Wherever Jesus went, he brought with Him new life. Wherever He went, he brought the Kingdom of God, or the reign of God, with Him. The old order of things was passing away. The demons couldn’t stick around because their conqueror had shown up. Sickness and disease couldn’t stick around because Jesus brought healing and wholeness. Jesus was obviously no ordinary man. He was nothing less than God-in-the-flesh, coming on the scene to reclaim His creation. What an awesome thought. But it’s not really our focus today.No, the thing that I want us to ponder today is almost like an afterthought in today’s Gospel. It is easy to miss, especially when you’ve got miraculous healings taking place. Mark tells us that after a tremendously busy day, Jesus got up early in the morning and went off by himself to pray. That’s what I want us to consider, and it’s a simple thing, really, on the surface of it. Jesus routinely made time to pray. He created the time to communicate with His Father. If he needed to, how much more do we need to? We know this, and yet…I think many Christians struggle with prayer. I would be lying if I said that I never had any troubles with prayer. My prayer life seems to go in spurts. Sometimes it is great, and then, there are times that I just…don’t. If you aren’t satisfied with yourself when it comes to prayer, today’s message is for you. May the example of Jesus inspire us to regular prayer and heartfelt communication with Him and our Heavenly Father, guided by the Holy Spirit.Isn’t it intriguing that Jesus, in his humanity, valued prayer so highly? More than a good habit, it was a deep need for him. He was willing to set other things aside for a while, so that he could pray. In fact, his disciples break the silence by finding him and telling him, “Everyone is looking for you.”
The implications for you and me are probably obvious. So often we fall into the trap of being “too busy to pray.” We assume that there are better, more practical ways of using our time. Perhaps part of us doesn’t believe that prayer is going to make any difference, so we don’t do it. Or, we paralyze our prayers by thinking they’ve got to be done in just the right, precise way or they won’t work. Whatever the reason, Jesus’ example puts us to shame. That is, of course, because Jesus’ motives for prayer were pure—perfect, in fact. He simply needed to talk to Dad.The idea of prayer as an element of a relationship with God can be very helpful once it is understood. For example, everyone knows what it means when one person stops talking to another in any relationship. It means something’s wrong. It is never a good sign. On the other hand, we all have people that we enjoy talking to, because we know they will listen and understand our viewpoint. It is never a good sign when we find ourselves giving God the cold shoulder through a lack of prayer. It is a symptom of a deeper spiritual problem—it is evidence that sin is getting the upper hand. Why else would we refuse to communicate with the God who loves and saves us? We have a standing invitation to get back on speaking terms with God. We have an advocate with the Father—His Son, our Lord Jesus. God’s Word promises that when we can’t think of the words to say, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us—the Spirit interprets our thoughts and feelings so they come out right before the throne of God. Furthermore, you can talk to a God who understands—a God who has walked the proverbial mile in your shoes—a God who knows what it means to suffer, to hurt, to be lonely, to be scared—a God who’s been there, right where you are now.You’ve probably heard stories of people being rescued from injury or death by total strangers—and oftentimes the person who was rescued has a deep desire to meet their rescuer again and talk to them and say “thank you.”Wouldn’t you like to talk to the person responsible for your freedom? Don’t you have something to say to the One who saved your life for eternity? May the Holy Spirit help us to find our mountain—our regular place of prayer—that we might be refreshed in holy conversation with our loving Father; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.