Loving God, open our minds and our hearts, that we might hear your message for us this day. Help us not only to hear your Word, but to believe it and act upon it; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

When John the Baptist spoke, it seems that the people listened. His message was one of repentance: “Repent. Turn from your sins. Cleanse yourselves. Receive God’s forgiveness. Prepare to meet your God.” The people flocked to hear John speak, and many of them confessed their sins and were baptized in John’s presence. The people believed that God was speaking through John. The people believed that they were sinful, and in need of repentance and cleansing and renewal. The people heard John’s message, and they believed it, and they acted.

Jesus also came from Nazareth in order to be baptized. It wasn’t because he needed to repent. It wasn’t because his grandparents wanted him to. Rather, when Jesus comes to be baptized it marks the beginning of his public ministry. When Jesus comes to be baptized it marks his desire to be among those who are seeking something more and yearning for God’s presence. When Jesus comes to be baptized it reveals who he is.

Just imagine what it would have been like to see the Spirit descending on you from heaven and to hear the voice of God. Can you imagine the effect if God were to say to you, “You are my Beloved - my Chosen One. You are my own dear child. I am well pleased with you.”? Now, I realize that the voice was speaking to Jesus, but can you imagine what that must have felt like? Imagine your own mother or father saying to you, “You are my beloved. I am pleased with you.” Would that not give you the strength and security to go out into the world and do what you need to do?

In Jesus’ case, surely he would draw strength from this experience when facing temptation in the wilderness, or when experiencing rejection from his own people, or when his disciples continued to misunderstand him and ran away in his hour of greatest need. In Jesus’ case, he would remember this experience and remain secure in his own identity. In Jesus’ case, he hears the voice from heaven, he believes it, and he acts on it.

After his baptism, Jesus’ identification with humanity is complete as he faces temptation in the wilderness. Only then is he ready to announce the good news of God’s kingdom, as he teaches people what God is like and heals them and has compassion on them. Only then is he ready to fulfill his role as Son of God, Saviour, Messiah, Servant and Lord. Jesus hears God’s word, believes it, and acts on it.

And how many of us have heard God’s word for us, and believed it, and acted upon it? In our case, of course, it is unlikely to involve a voice speaking from heaven. It might not even involve a prophet like John the Baptist. However, there are ways in which God still speaks to us – primarily through Word and Sacrament. As Lutherans we believe that God still speaks through the Scriptures and through Holy Baptism and through Holy Communion. Sometimes God even speaks through other people, yet the gifts of Word and Sacrament have been entrusted to the Church. And so, have you heard God’s message for you through these “means of grace”?

Take baptism for example. In baptism, God says to each one of us, “I am adopting you as my very own child, and you will inherit eternal life along with Jesus. I forgive you because of my Son, Jesus, and his righteous life. I wash you; I cleanse you; I give you new life. I love you. You are mine.”

In baptism God gives us the gift of salvation and then asks us to grow into it. God says, “I have made you holy and righteous. I have given you the Holy Spirit. Now become who you are.” Through faith in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, we continue to learn and to grow.

Have we heard God’s message to us in baptism? Do we believe it? And what are we doing about it? Have we put our faith in Jesus Christ? Are we continuing to learn and to grow in our faith? Are we striving to “grow up” into Christ (Eph. 4:15)? Do we live as children of God, trying to imitate our Father and our elder brother, Jesus? Do we live in such a way that others know that we belong to God?

And how about God’s message to us in Holy Communion? For Martin Luther, the key words associated with Communion were always “given and shed for you.” In Communion, God says to us, “This is how much I love you. This is how much Jesus loves you. His life and his strength were given for you. Even now, Jesus gives himself to you in order that you might have life. Receive this precious gift. Believe that it is for you. Go forth in the strength of Christ and in the peace of the Holy Spirit.”

Do we hear God’s message to us through Holy Communion? Do we believe that we are beloved and forgiven and empowered for service? And if we believe, what are we doing about it? Are we carrying the love of Christ with us as we go forth from God’s table? Are we acting as if we are part of the body of Christ and the communion of saints? Are we experiencing reconciliation with God and with one another?

There is a recurring pattern here that was suggested by today’s gospel: Hear God’s message for us, believe it, and act upon it. We have thought a little bit about God’s message for us in baptism and communion, but what about God’s message in the Scriptures? Truthfully, we have already heard a large part of that message, for the message found in baptism and communion comes from the Scriptures. However, in the sacraments we not only hear the message, but see it, touch it, taste it, and smell it.

Boiled down to the essentials, the Scriptures tell us who we are and where we came from, the problems brought into the world by sin, and what God did about it. God’s solution and God’s love are found in Jesus of Nazareth, who lived the life of loving service that we cannot, died the death that we would never want to, and was raised from the dead in order to give life to all who believe. Not only that, but Jesus remains present with us through the Holy Spirit.

For our part, we are invited to hear God’s message, to believe it, and to act upon it. Acting upon it simply means this: Living the life that we were intended to live by the power of the Holy Spirit. In other words, we are to love and serve God by loving and serving one another. So simple, and yet so difficult. That’s why the Holy Spirit simply had to come into the picture. On our own, we would never quite make it!

Let us then continue to grow up into the people that God has made us through baptism. And let us continue to learn from and rely on the Holy Spirit. Who knows what God might do through us? After all, when the Holy Spirit is involved, “nothing will be impossible with God” (Lk. 1:37). Amen.

The Baptism of Our Lord (B) Mark 1:4-11
January 11, 2009
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2009 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved