January 9, 2022
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22[1]
Luke doesn’t tell us much about the baptism of Jesus. We
have two chapters with great material for Advent and Christmas stories, but
just two verses about the moment that marked the beginning of Jesus’ public
ministry. There is still, in this short description, an important image for us
to consider. “Now, when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had
been baptized…” (Luke 3:21). Where was Jesus? With the people.
When Jesus came to be baptized by John, he didn’t sweep in
on a storm and take over. Jesus simply got in line with everyone else, all the
people, to be healed and made new. In an act of solidarity with the sinners,
the lost and the broken, the sin-sick souls, Jesus joined them. The people who
needed God, who had come to the river to renew their relationship with their
creator, find Jesus in their midst, already identifying with their experience.
There is a stop-motion film released in 2001 as a sequel to Rudolph
the Red-Nosed Reindeer about the Island of Misfit Toys. After being told he
could not play in any Reindeer Games due to his glowing nose, Rudolph sets out
on a fantastic journey where he meets Hermey the elf, Yukon Cornelius the prospector,
and a host of Misfit Toys, all while trying to escape from the Abominable Snow
Monster. I love this idea of a place for all the broken, dirty, unwanted toys
to belong. When I think about the crowd of people gathered to be baptized by
John, it reminds me of the misfit toys. The misfit people have come to John
seeking repair, renewal, and a place where they belong.
Is that what the church is? We say that all are welcome
here. White and Black, rich and poor, gay and straight, female and male, cis
and trans, young and old, able and challenged, we declare that we are all family
in Christ. Some churches claim to be hospitals for sinners and a refuge for
those who have lost their way. I wonder, however, if we don’t spend more time
trying to shape people into our own ideal Christians than walking with one
another in our brokenness seeking God together. Do we send a subliminal message
that it is really the respectable, well-off, normal-seeming folk who are
important in our churches?
We all have difficulties to face, challenges to overcome,
barriers to becoming our best selves. Some have more difficulties, challenges,
and barriers than others. Often what we see is that people who really need help,
for whom everything is not alright and things are falling apart, the church is
not a comfortable place to be. Too many people drift away from churches,
seeking help elsewhere, only returning when they feel like they can put on the
appearance of being respectable, upright, or worthy. How many folks would turn
away from our doors because they don’t look or feel their “Sunday best”? I
think it is important for us to remember that Jesus didn’t tell people to get
washed and dressed up and come to the temple to find God. Jesus got in line
with the sinners and was baptized with them.
When “the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended
upon him” (Luke 3:21-22), where was Jesus? With the people. And he was praying.
Jesus won’t begin teaching, preaching, and healing before reaching out to God
for what only God can provide. Just as we cannot rely only on our own power and
abilities, Jesus receives the Holy Spirit to empower and encourage him in all
that he will do. It is in prayer that the disciples will seek the guidance and
strength of the Spirit of God. It is through prayer that Christians through the
ages will find the presence of the Holy Spirit on which they can depend. It is
prayer that brings us into connection with God, giving us the spiritual stamina
to go into the world to make a difference in people’s lives.
Do we depend on our connection to the Holy Spirit as we live
our lives? Do we come to God in prayer seeking the love and courage to do what
must be done? The Holy Spirit came to Jesus as he prayed, surrounded by those
who also needed that Holy Spirit in their lives. It was in that intensely
spiritual moment, with and among the people, not high on a mountain top alone,
that Jesus connected with God and was blessed as the Beloved Son.
That is why, I think, it is important for us to gather. Yes,
it is difficult in the midst of a global pandemic which is filling our hospitals
with the sick and dying, for us to come together safely. We can take steps to
reduce our risk, and technology allows us to be present even if we cannot
physically enter the building. But it important for us to seek the connection
with God together. And it is important for us to remember that even people who
make us uncomfortable, whom we deem unworthy, or who may not fit in, should be
included in our community of Holy Spirit seekers.
It was in the midst of the people that Jesus heard the
words, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). The
text doesn’t say if the people heard it too, but I believe they did. I believe
that they heard that God claims us as beloved children, and is proud of the work
we do to bring love, peace, and hope to the world. I also believe that we can
hear those words as well, that we can receive that affirmation from God, and know
that we also are pleasing in the sight of God.
We need to remember these words. We need to hear them from
one another and say them to each other. You are loved. You make me happy. Those
words, in whatever way they are spoken, can change lives. To know that in all
our brokenness, through all our struggles, that God loves us, God is with us,
and we are pleasing to God, that can make all the difference in our lives and
in all the lives around us.
Luke gives us only a short description of the baptism of
Jesus. In those two verses, however, we discover that God identifies with us
and with all people, that we can depend on God through prayer for the strength
and power to live, and that God loves us, blesses us, and we bring joy to God.
May God’s Holy Spirit be with each of you and with everyone you meet. Amen.
[1] The
scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard
Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of
the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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