 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
There is something about water in God’s eyes. God is always using water in the Scriptures. At creation He divided the waters. In the Flood He used the waters to save Noah and his family. At the Red Sea He used the waters to save the people of Israel from hard-hearted Pharoah and his minions. And in our Old Testament lesson we hear of how God parted the waters of the Jordan river to bring the people of Israel safely into the Promised Land.
Today we hear about how God used those same waters of the Jordan River to begin Jesus’ public ministry and declare to the world that He is the Son of God. Jesus came from Galilee to John the Baptist, his cousin, to be baptized by John. John was preaching in the wilderness of Judah along the Jordan River, and was baptizing for repentance to the forgiveness of sins. Jesus and John had known each other their whole lives. Jesus was thirty years old when He began His public ministry. And not surprisingly, He began with His own baptism.
Now John had part of the picture. He knew that he was a sinner, and He knew what baptism was about. So when Jesus came to Him to be baptized, John asked the question, I need to be baptized by You, and You are coming to me? John had part of the picture. He understood baptism, but he didn’t understand where the power of baptism came from. So John actually tried to prevent Jesus from being baptized! Jesus, however, responds with kindness to His cousin, Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.
How often do we do the same thing with our Lord? Time and time again we presume to know better than God Himself on what is best, or how He wishes to do things for us! We try to dictate to God how He should run things. Often we operate as thought each of us had a perfect picture or vision of what our life should be like, and if things don’t work out that way, well, then He must have made a mistake. Somehow I have to get God back on track for my life.
But God doesn’t work that way. Saint Paul put it best in our Epistle lesson, But had has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence (I Cor. 1:27-29).
God chooses the weak, the foolish, and the base things of the earth. These are His divine tools. This, too, is the message of Epiphany. God comes to earth as a little child, and shows His divine power in weakness and lowliness, by becoming one of us. He gets under the waters for you. He takes on your sin, your weakness, your very flesh, so that you can receive the inheritance of eternal life. That is the miracle of Epiphany.
So God chooses the weak and the lowly, so what? So what does that have to do with me? What does that have to do with my life here today as a Christian? How does that impact my faith, and how I live my life here on earth? Well, it impacts it in many ways. First of all, it changes where you go to look for God. God isn’t to be found in the mighty and the powerful, but in simple words and water. Jesus puts Himself under the water for you, and calls you to join Him there to get soaked with God’s love and mercy.
What this means in simple language is that God desires that you come to His house and hear His Word of life for salvation. He wants you to be baptized, and to daily soak yourself in His mercy and love, which He gave in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Secondly, this perspective on God changes how you look at yourself. There aren’t many of us that would consider ourselves to be heroes. You are a common human being. You live, you grow up, you have a family or are a part of a family. You work either at home or elsewhere. It’s very easy to look at this life as somehow mundane or insignificant. Why should it matter what I do or who I am? I’m just one more blip on the screen of life.
But it is this perspective that God calls foolish. For remember, God uses the ordinary to do great things. He uses water to bring salvation, He uses a little baby to give eternal life to the world, and He uses you to show the world His love and mercy. That’s right. He uses you. You are a co-creator with God.
Think again to the words of Saint Paul, But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption – that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.” So where do you boast? You boast in the Lord. Jesus is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.
What this means for you is that your life may look ordinary on the outside, but from God’s perspective it is far from ordinary. The normal, everyday tasks of life take on new meaning and vigor. Through the eyes of faith you may look at your life not as a series of mundane tasks to be performed out of habit or necessity, but as God acting in the world to bring life and light and salvation. He uses you for this great task! As Saint Paul wrote, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Your life according to the world may not be significant, but in God’s eyes it is precious, because you are in Him and He is in you.
So how do you get it? How do you get these great gifts of life and salvation through the lowly and hidden things of God? You already have it! For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. You have God’s Epiphany light shining in your hearts and minds because of faith in Jesus Christ, which only He can give.
This is why Luther said in the Large Catechism:
“Thus we see what a great and excellent thing Baptism is, which snatches us from the jaws of the devil and makes God our own, overcomes and takes away sin and daily strengthens the new man, always remains until we pass from this present misery to eternal glory. Therefore let everybody regard his Baptism as the daily garment which he is to wear all the time.” Large Catechism [Tappert p.446 #83]
All this God gives you through this gift of Baptism. Life, forgiveness, salvation, purpose, meaning, identity. You are God’s children. Our Heavenly Father says to world just what He said to the world about His Son. He says, “This is my beloved Son, this is my beloved daughter.” That is your identity and purpose for your life. Believe it for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
We rise in singing the final three verses of How Lovely Shines the Morning Star. The congregation sings verses 4 and 6, and the choir sings verse 5.
Todd A. Peperkorn, STM
Messiah Lutheran Church,
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Epiphany 1 (Alt.), The
Baptism of Our Lord
January 7, 2001
Matthew 3:13-17
Last revised on: March 22, 2004 5:37 PM
Copyright © 2000-2004 Messiah Lutheran Church, Kenosha, Wisconsin