Pastor Dan Mangler's Sunday Sermon

Baptism - Name and Job Description

Matthew 3: 13-17

January 9, 2005

Baptism - Name and Job Description

"And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said. ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.'" In these words God publicly proclaims who Jesus isand gives his job description.

Most Bible scholars see in these words of God at Jesus' baptism a marriage of Psalm 2 and Isaiah 42:1-4. Psalm 2 is an enthronement psalm in which God promises the newly crowned king that he is, to him, a son. Psalm 2:7 includes the phrase” You are my son, today I have begotten you.” This is clearly recognizable at Jesus’ baptism. This psalm also promises the king the power to "break [the nations] with a rod of iron, and dash them into pieces like a potter's vessel" (Psalm 2:9)

Isaiah 42:1-4, which begins “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights(at Jesus’ baptism “with whom I am well pleased). This is the first suffering servant song that prophecies that God's messiah will accomplish his work by suffering and dying, instead of, for example by military force. Here is a prophecy that Jesus clearly fulfills.

In summary, then, at Jesus’ baptism and the words he hears from heaven Jesus is given a name – he is God’s Son - and he is given a job description; he is a king and messiah who, by his suffering and sacrifice, will save the world.

Were this the only significance of Jesus' baptism, it would have been enough, marking as it does the beginning of Jesus' public ministry which will end at the cross and empty tomb. But Jesus' baptism does so much more. It frames our baptisms as well. Baptism gives us a name and a job description as well.

A ministry that began with Jesus' baptism in Matthew 3:16 ended with Jesus commanding baptism in Matthew 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..." What John's baptism did for Jesus, baptism in the name of Jesus does for us. At Jesus' baptism God publicly affirmed that Jesus was his Son, giving him a royal identity,and set Jesus on a path that would accomplish God's will, giving him a divine destiny. We have a similar experience in baptism. In baptism, we too are given a royal identity; we are made children of the holy God. And in baptism we are given a holy purpose of service in God's name. Baptism ushers us into a new life, living in God's grace as his holy children, doing God's work as his holy servants. Baptism gives us a name and a job description.

Sadly, living as a holy child and serving as a holy servant are not as clear in our experience as we would like them to be. God's Word is often drowned out by competing voices that overwhelm us daily. We are bombarded by disembodied voices and background noises. Radios blare at us in our cars, stereo systems squawk at us in our homes, elevators sing to us at work and computer generated "voices" nag us about the empty gas tank or door that is ajar.

While we routinely live with all this noise, we remain highly susceptible to the messages these voices shout. The commercial ads on radio and television pay. They pay the station's bills as we pay for the products they advertise. These voices influence what we buy, what we eat, what we expect from others, even what we think about ourselves. We are awash in voices tempting us in every direction.

Philip Yancey tells the story of a friend of his who went swimming in a large lake at dusk. "As he was paddling at a leisurely pace about a hundred yards offshore, a freak evening fog rolled in across the water. Suddenly he could see nothing: no horizon, no landmarks, no objects or lights on shore. Because the fog diffused all light, he could not even make out the direction of the setting sun." Yancey then tells how his friend splashed about in absolute panic. "He would start off in one direction, lose confidence, and turn 90 degrees to the right. Or left - it made no difference the way he turned. He could feel his heart racing uncontrollably. He would stop and float, trying to conserve energy and force himself to breathe slower. Then he would blindly strike out again. If something soon didn't give him the right direction, he would drown. At last he heard a faint voice calling from shore. He pointed his body to the sounds and followed them to safety."

We are like the swimmer caught in the fog, out of sight from land, not knowing what way to swim. Voices tempt us from every direction, but only one direction will lead to life. We know it is God's voice that we need to listen for yet it so often seems silent and we feel lost. Why isn't God's voice more discernible than all those other shouted sounds? What can we do in this fog of voices and noises? How can we better listen for and recognize God's voice?

For Jesus, it meant going to one who was speaking God's word and doing God's work. It was in the presence of John the Baptist and at John's baptism that Jesus heard this word of identity and commissioning, that he was God's Son and that victory for the world would come through his suffering. So, too, if you would know whose you are and where you will find true life, you must be where God's word is spoken and where God's will is taught. It is my belief that it is those who regularly hear and experience God's word in worship and encounter God's word in Bible study who have the best chance to hear God's word and will over the other voices and noises that compete for our attention in the world.

In worship we are surrounded by God's Word, in the hymns, and the liturgy, and the scripture readings, and the sermon, and in the water of Holy Baptism and the bread and wine of Holy Communion. In worship we hear, see, smell, and touch God's Holy Word. Without outside interference and distractions we are immersed in God's love, as his holy children, and we are in continuous contact with God's holy purpose as his holy servants.

In Bible study we share insights into God's holy word with others and grow from the spiritual insights of others. Sometimes the human voice of a brother or sister in Christ can help us hear God's voice more clearly.

Does this mean that God's Word is experienced only at church, in worship and Bible study? No. All the earth is God's, and every day is his day. And God is speaking constantly. God's Word can be experienced everywhere and at any time. But worship and group Bible study give us the spiritual sieve that helps us filter out God's Word from all the competing voices. Worship and Bible study are our spiritual eyeglasses that help us better see God's Word and way in the world.

For example, you don't need to know anything about God or the Bible to enjoy the marvels of creation, from the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains to the delicate beauty of a wild flower. But those who have been instructed in God's Word recognize that creation is a gift from God, to whom we owe thanks, and which is entrusted into our care for which we bear divine responsibility. For those who don't hear God's Word, the Rocky Mountains are just mountains, and a wild rose is just a flower. But those who know God's Word understand these as gifts God shares with his children (reminding us again of our holy identity) and who expects his children to care for (reminding us again of our holy purpose.)

Those who know and have been touched by God's Word will look differently at the poor and the unemployed than those who do not know or have not been so touched. Those who know and have been touched by God's Word will look differently at the sick and the dying than those who do not know or have not been so touched. Those who know and have been touched by God's Word will look differently at those that disagree with them than those who do not know or have not been so touched.

In baptism we, like Jesus, are given an identity and a purpose, that we are children of God and holy servants doing God's will. The competing voices and noises of the world threaten to drown out God's Word from our hearing and hide God's will from our seeing. It is then in worship that we can hear God's Word more precisely, and in Bible study that we can discern God's will more clearly. We need be reminded and instructed often that we are God's children doing God's will. Amen.

May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.