We Are God’s Beloved

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

The lectionary is a very good tool to use for planning worship services. The way it follows the church calendar and offers passages from the bible for the message-giver to open their minds and heart as to what is the massage for that particular week can honestly be both challenging and rewarding – to me at least.

It’s not just what’s in the lectionary passage for the week that can be challenging, but also what is left out of the lectionary choice. Today’s selection is a prime example of how this can be.

Because the verses I want to talk about are not printed in today’s bulletin, I need to ask you to grab a bible from the pews and open it to the Gospel according to Luke. Once you’ve found Luke, turn to chapter 3, and we’ll be reading from verse 15.

Verses 15-17 reads as follows: “As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’”

I believe we talked about this passage during Advent, and how it follows John the Baptizer’s answer to the question about what more those who are gathered need to do besides be baptized in water and proclaim themselves the rightful heirs to Abraham’s promises. In case we forgot; the answer was to share whatever we can with those in need as well as not accumulate or take more than what is needed through deceitful practices and to be happy with what we have.

We also talked about the literary funnel-like construction of these passages and how Luke begins talking about the ancestors, moves into the nation of Israel, then to the crowds gathered where he focuses on a few. He then talks about a more intimate baptism by someone who will come into our very being and clear out the chaff, or the junk we store within us, getting rid of it forever. This action by the one who is coming will leave only the good wheat, cleaning our souls, hearts, minds, and lives.

This is where we pick up the passage, reading what the lectionary has left out. Let’s continue from verse 18: “So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, added to them all by shutting up John in prison.”

Why is reading these particular passages important to today’s message? Let’s take a closer look to see if we can answer that.

The Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and John clearly state that it’s John the Baptizer who baptizes Jesus. Each one of those Gospels have very similar proclamations by John, and each of those Gospels has either a telling of the event which happened after Jesus was baptized or John himself speaking as an eyewitness to that account. Either way it is clear that Jesus is baptized by John in the river, and as he comes out of the water the skies open and a Spirit descends like a dove upon Jesus and a voice from the Heavens proclaims Jesus as God’s beloved.

Not so in the Gospel according to Luke. Let’s read those verses again, focusing on verses 19 and 20: “But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him (John) because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, added to them all by shutting up John in prison.”

I like the Common English Translation which says, “But Herod the ruler had been criticized harshly by John because of Herodias, Herod’s brother’s wife, and because of all the evil he had done. He added this to the list of his evil deeds: he locked John up in prison.” Herod locked up John in prison. John the Baptizer is in prison, and Jesus has not yet been baptized.

Who, then, did baptize Jesus?

Let’s turn to the first part of verse 21: “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized.” Or as the Common English Translation reads: “When everyone was being baptized, Jesus also was baptized.”

It’s in the following realization that everything I thought I knew was challenged: We aren’t told who baptizes Jesus; we are only told that Jesus was baptized with others. Jesus was part of the crowd, Jesus was one of those gathered, Jesus was just one of the guys. He joined in with everyone else and was baptized as part of the gathered folk. No proclamation at his baptism, no opening of the heavens or voices from above as he comes out of the water; Jesus’ baptism is ordinary.

What happens next, however, is what the message of Luke’s Gospel, as well as the message of his follow up book which records the Acts of the Apostles as the Christian church is born and expanded. Please read with me the 2nd part of verse 21 and verse 22: “Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’” Reading that again from the Common English Translation, “While he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit came down on him in bodily form like a dove. And there was a voice from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness.’”

If you remember the literary construction of the passages we spoke of earlier, you will remember that John speaks of an intimate cleansing of our selves when we are baptized by the one who is coming after him. That person, the one whom Luke is foreshadowing in his Gospel, is the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who will come into us, empty us of all the bad stuff, and leave only the good stuff.

We see here in the intimate setting of prayer what is the message of baptism in Luke’s Gospel. We are baptized as common individuals within a part of a group of people, entering into the church community of fellow followers of Christ. We make an outward gesture with the words we say and the covenants we promise, to do the best we can to be faithful to the church of Jesus Christ and to grow in our faith as best we can. It’s when the Holy Spirit fills us, though, that we hear the voice of God proclaim us as his beloved; as the one who God dearly loves.

I’m not sure if I shared this story with you, a story of when I was filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit as I struggled with one of my core beliefs of Christianity. I do know I have said that seminary had a way of shaking my faith, but when that faith was restored, nothing can ever shake it again.

The issue was the virgin birth. There is so much comparison in seminary made to the language of the 1st Century listeners of the Gospel, that the point is made strongly that the stories which tell of the virgin birth of Jesus is similar to the stories told of the virgin birth of all great leaders who are thought to be a direct descendant of a god; especially Caesar. The arguments which were made about these similarities, and the possibility that Jesus’ virgin-birth narratives might just be a way to put the focus on Jesus as the Son of God, not Caesar, made me think, really think about where my faith was.

I had come to terms with all the other core parts of my faith. I know that Jesus is part of a trinity which includes the Spirit as well as God, I know that Jesus performed miracles, I know that Jesus was put to death on the cross and was resurrected on the 3rd day after that death. But, the virgin birth was one core part of my faith I was having a difficult time with.

One day, as I was driving to a meeting about my ordination process, my dilemma began to surface. For the most part whenever I began to struggle with the birth story of Jesus, I was able to distract myself and move on. Not this time; nothing was going to make this difficult struggle go away.

I want to clarify something before I go on. Seminary did not, nor does it in any way teach that the virgin story is not real. Seminary didn’t, and doesn’t, tell people how or what to think or feel, or accept as truth. What seminary did was open my mind and heart to other possibilities which may or may not explain some of the stories in the bible. The “truth”, if we want to call it that, is what my mind, heart, soul, and body came to accept without falter.

To continue my story, there I was, driving on the H-1 through Kalihi, when I just couldn’t take the struggle any more. I was literally obsessed with one single decision: was or was not Jesus born to a virgin mother.

It was just before the breaking point, just before pure frustration took over, that I stopped and prayed. No, not stopped my car on the freeway, but stopped my obsessive behavior. I asked God for guidance, I asked God to take from me the pain I was going through.

That’s when I suddenly felt a presence unlike any I’ve felt before, and heard a voice which said to me, “Randy, does it really matter what others say or think? Search your heart for the truth.”

In that moment I proclaimed, maybe out loud, that the birth of our Christ Jesus was from a virgin. It was in that moment I understood that my faith comes from God’s presence and is given to me through the Holy Spirit. Who God is became clear to me; one who accepts me for who I am and never faults me from swaying in my faith.

I cried deeply in that moment, so much so that I literally had to pull to the side of the freeway. However, while my vision was blurred by tears, I can honestly say that the leaves on the trees seemed greener, the sky above me was bluer, and the presence which filled me could not be contained.

God was revealed to me that day.

It’s in this time of the Epiphany we are asked to look for the different ways God is revealed to us. Maybe it was as you sat on the beach and watched the most beautiful sunset you’ve ever seen. Maybe it was in the eyes of a newborn grandchild. Maybe God’s revelation is still coming, and you know what, that’s okay. God will reveal God’s self in God’s time, when the moment is right for us.

For Jesus, the revelation came in a time of intimacy as he spoke with God after he was baptized.

With your permission I would like to ask you, if you wish, to come forward one by one to celebrate Jesus’ baptism. This is not a formal act of baptism by you, nor am I asking if you want to be baptized. I only want you to come forward and dip your finger in the bowl of water I will be holding, and as you do so say out loud these words, “I am loved by God.”

We are asked to allow the Spirit to come into us and to share in the journey of the Christian Church. We do this by being in the presence of God with Jesus Christ at our side.

God is with us always.  Amen.