Loving God, you claim us as your own in baptism and call us to live as your children, learning from you and growing in love.  Help us to continue to grow into the people that you created us to be; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    There’s a white dove who has been hanging out under my balcony since some time in the Fall.  Every so often I come out and see the dove, sitting there, looking at me.  It makes me think that maybe the Holy Spirit is hanging around my building.  And really, is that so far-fetched?

    I like to think that the first reading that we heard today from Isaiah is addressed directly to me.  Not just to me, mind you, but to every person who has been baptized into Christ.  God says to each one of us, “I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you... I give people [and] nations in exchange for your life” (Isa. 43:1-4).  And really, is that so far-fetched?

    After all, Scripture is constantly taken and applied to new situations.  Even at Jesus’ baptism, the voice from heaven speaks the words of Scripture – words that previously were addressed to someone else.  “You are my Son” comes from Psalm 2:7 and was previously addressed to the kings of Israel at their coronation.  “The Beloved,” or the Chosen, and “with you I am well pleased” come from Isaiah 42:1.  Previously, these words were addressed either to the nation of Israel or to an unnamed individual who was understood to be God’s servant.  However, at Jesus’ baptism, these words are put together and are addressed to Jesus.

    Not only is this God’s message for Jesus at his baptism, but it also tells us a bit about who Jesus is and what he is going to be like.  He will be an anointed king from the line of David, but not in the same way as any previous kings.  Instead, Jesus will be a king who serves.  Interestingly enough, though, these words are addressed to Jesus before he has “done” anything.  He hasn’t even begun his public ministry, and yet the voice speaks as if he has completed it.  “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased” (Lk. 3:22).  And really, is this so far-fetched?

    God declares Israel to be beloved and redeemed and chosen, in spite of their sinfulness.  In the Old Testament, God always goes after his beloved, holding out his hands to a nation that does not seem to care (Hos. 11:1-2).  God never gives up on his precious creation.

    For us, too, God declares us to be saved and forgiven before we have ever “done” anything.  That is what we call “grace” – a gift that we did not earn.  Whether we are a baby or a child or an adult, God wraps us in the righteousness of Jesus Christ and tells us that we are beloved and chosen and belong to God.  God cleanses us by water and the Spirit and adopts us as sons and daughters.  From then on, we are called to grow up to be what God has already made us: saints - holy people - witnesses to the love of Christ.  And really, is this so far-fetched?

    After all, the Holy Spirit enables us to grow up into Christ.  You might think that only really special people are called to be saints, but you are, too!  God calls us to become the people that we were created to be.

    Of course, nothing says that you have to do this.  Jesus, too, could have chosen to forget all about God’s mission and just enjoy life on this earth.  He could have decided that so much suffering was too much to ask, and that most people didn’t deserve it anyway.  He could have set out to prove God wrong about his status as chosen and beloved and God’s own dear Son.  However, instead Jesus lived the God-pleasing life and fulfilled his mission as the Saviour and Redeemer of the world.  He did this purely out of love for us, and we, too, are asked to respond in love.  And really, is this so far-fetched?

    Some people might claim that people only respond to threats of judgment and hell.  However, the God whom I find in the Scriptures desires that we respond, not out of fear but out of love.  I have to wonder, though, what difference it might make in our response if we truly believed the words of Isaiah 43(:1-7).

    God says to each one of us, “I created you and formed you.  I have redeemed you, and I know you by name, and you are mine.  You will go through difficult times in this life, but there is no need to be afraid.  I am with you every step of the way, and my power is greater than any troubles you might face.  I am your Saviour, and I would give even people and nations in exchange for your life.  You are precious and honoured in my sight, and I love you.  Do not fear, for I am with you.  You were created for my glory, and you are called by my name.”

    Would we live differently if we truly knew and grasped the depth and the fierceness of God’s love for us?  What difference would it make if we knew how precious we are in God’s sight and how precious that person beside us is, too?  What difference would it make if we knew for a fact that God is in charge and has only our best interest at heart – especially at those times when we are facing difficulties and trials?

    If we think about Jesus’ life, he did indeed “pass through the waters” and through the fire (Isa. 43:2), and we know from his prayers in the garden of Gethsemane that it was not an easy thing for him.  After all, who would ever want to be whipped and crucified?  Yet, he believed that greater good would come out of it.  He submitted himself to God his Father, trusting that his suffering and death would not be the end of the story.  He adopted the same attitude of love toward God’s precious creation that we find in Isaiah 43.  While the thought of it did overwhelm him at times, in the end, God raised him to life.

    Today we are invited into the same kind of close companionship with God that Jesus experienced during his life on this earth.  You might recall that Jesus was constantly spending time in prayer, strengthening his connection with his heavenly Father.  While he was the Son of God, during his time on this earth, his connection was the same as it is for all human beings – through prayer.  He needed the constant strengthening and direction and love that could only come from nurturing his connection with God.  And really, is that so far-fetched?

    We, too, need that inner strength.  We need to know how precious and honoured we are in God’s sight.  We need to know God’s intention and purpose for us: lives of loving service lived for the glory of God.  We need to know that God always has our best interest at heart, especially at those times when we are tempted to sink into fear or despair.  We need to know that we have been saved and forgiven and given the Holy Spirit – called into service as children of God.

    Our God loves us so much that he sent his only Son, who shared our lives in every way except sin.  He shared our deepest pain and suffering, and he shared our greatest joys.  His presence here on this earth was so threatening to the powerful that he was crucified, taking the weight of the sins of the world onto that cross.  But God raised him from the dead, that all those who put their faith in him should not perish but have eternal life.  And really, is this so far-fetched?  After all, our God is the Creator of the Universe.  Amen.

The Baptism of Our Lord (C)                        Isaiah 43:1-7
January 10, 2010                                Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2010 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved