January
13, 2019
Baptism
of our Lord
Isaiah
43:1-7
Psalm
29
Acts
8:14-17
Luke
3:15-17,21-22
Please
pray with me,
May
the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable
and suitable in your sight, O God, our rock, our strength and our
redeemer. Amen.
So
here we are, celebrating the baptism of our Lord, almost halfway into the first
month of a new year and how are we feeling?
So
often a new year comes with feelings of excitement, hope, maybe some new
energy, maybe some trepidation, but for many folks it begins in a positive
way.
I
have to tell you, as I met with an awesome group of high school youth last
week, the sentiment was not quite there.
There were wonders and concerns about what the new year would bring and
there was some feelings of …hey…this new year isn’t really kicking off that
well. On the 6th day of
January, some of them wanted to press the restart button on 2019.
I
wonder if any of you have been feeling the same way. That even with the hype of a new year, things
haven’t really changed in a way that you had hoped for.
I
thought about the conversations around the table with those youth and thought
about how we think about then and now…how we think things will change in the
future and wondering about when that will happen.
In
the movie Spaceballs, yes, Spaceballs, work with me here. It’s a Mel Brooks spoof on the Star Wars films that was released in
1987. At one point in the movie, Lord
Helmet, is trying to find the princess, so they use a new technology where they
can actually rent the movie that they are in so they can watch it to find the
princess. It’s hard to explain, so
here’s the scene where they watch the film.
When
will then be now?
Soon!
When
will then be now? When will 2019 be the
best year ever? Soon!
Isaiah
has a different response…
“But
now thus says the Lord,
He
who created you, O Jacob,
He
who formed you, O Israel;
Do
not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I
have called you by name, you are mine.”
But
now…
The
people of God were in exile because of their own doing and there was no one to
save them. But now…the God who created
them has risen up as their redeemer and restorer. (Long)
This
is part of the Old Testament’s sweeping saga of salvation. God creates the world and God’s people, and
the people mess up and God sweeps in to save them. Things go well for a while until the people
mess up, fall short, turn away from the ways of God and then God sweeps in
again to save them. Time and time again,
this is the story of our salvation history.
But
now…God reminds them of the promise.
Do
not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I
have called you by name, you are mine.
When
you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
When
you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
For
I am the Lord your God,
The
Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
This
promise is one that has been seen through the ages.
It
is the reminder that the salvation of the people comes not because they love
God, but because God loves them: “You are precious in my sight and honored, and
I love you.”
The
saving of God’s people does not happen because the people love God, but because
God loves them. It is God’s love that
brings salvation.
That,
my friends, is good news.
But
wait, there’s more!
It’s
what Isaiah doesn’t say, that is also important.
Isaiah
does NOT say that there is nothing to
be afraid of.
Did
you catch that?
Even
with the saving power of God’s love, we are reminded, do not fear. And that’s important, because that’s Isaiah’s
way of saying that fears will present themselves.
Even
though God’s presence is with God’s people and the good news that salvation
comes to us because of God’s love for us, the fears will still be there.
And
fear, that can be a powerful force.
"Do
not fear,” is often easier said than done.
I
often joke that my biggest fear is dropping my cell phone in a
port-a-potty.
It’s
more of a paranoia than an actual fear for me.
I
think fears are different for everyone.
Fears
may stem from our physical well being, our job situation, our home life, our
relationships at work or school, the state of our nation, the color of our skin, our gender or our
outward appearance.
Fears
may stem from our innermost being where we may fear that we are not good
enough, strong enough, brave enough or just plain enough.
Fears
that may not worry others may be larger than life for you.
Fears
that impact others, may not have ever dawned on you.
We
may have fears for ourselves or fears for those whom we love.
Looking
around the rooms we can only guess that there are a multitude of fears that any
of us could name.
But
there is something bigger and greater than all of these fears.
It’s
the presence of God in our lives and in our world.
God
reminds us not to be afraid because God is with us.
God
says, do not fear…when you have been in harm’s way I have been with you and
will continue to be with you.
The
way we remember that is through the waters of baptism.
Through
these waters, we are named, God’s beloved…
We
are claimed as God’s beloved…God’s own…
These
waters, this promise of God is bigger than any of the fears we see, hear or
face…
God
says, because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you…
Name
those fears, beloved…what are they…the future, relationships, work load, school
work, stress, social media posts…?
Name
them…in prayer, in writing, in words to others…
Name
them, beloved, because you are more than the fears that you feel or know…
They
cannot claim you, they cannot own you….
Only
God can do that and has done that through the waters of baptism.
Louder
than any fear hear this…
You
are beloved.
You
are God’s own.
You
are loved.
Carry
that with you as you come up to receive communion this day.
Dip
your fingers in the font to remember the promise God made with you.
Beloved,
be loved.
And
now may the peace, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus, and let all God’s people, say amen.
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