“Anointed for Servanthood” (Matthew 3:13-17)

The Baptism of Our Lord
Sunday, January 8, 2023

“Anointed for Servanthood” (Matthew 3:13-17)

Today we recall the Baptism of Our Lord, that great event when our Lord Jesus was baptized in the Jordan by John the Baptist. The heavens were opened. The Spirit of God descended on Jesus like a dove. The Father’s voice came from heaven, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” What an awesome occasion! And what I especially want to say about it this morning is that, in his baptism, Jesus was “Anointed for Servanthood.”

“Anointed for servanthood”? What does Jesus’ baptism have to do with that? And what do we mean by “anointed”? How was his baptism an anointing? Let’s find out.

(more…)

Published in: on January 7, 2023 at 1:03 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , ,

“Epiphany, Baptism, and a Tale of Two Herods” (Matthew 2:1-12; Luke 3:15-22)

The Epiphany of Our Lord/ The Baptism of Our Lord
Sunday, January 9, 2022

“Epiphany, Baptism, and a Tale of Two Herods” (Matthew 2:1-12; Luke 3:15-22)

Every year, the Epiphany of Our Lord always falls on January 6, which was this past Thursday. The Gospel reading for Epiphany is the visit of the wise men, from Matthew 2. On the first Sunday after the Epiphany, which is today, we always observe the Baptism of Our Lord. And this year the Gospel reading is the account from Luke. This past Thursday, we had to cancel our Epiphany service. So now today, I decided to combine the readings for the two services, the Epiphany of Our Lord and the Baptism of Our Lord, into one message around a common theme: “Epiphany, Baptism, and a Tale of Two Herods.”

(more…)

Published in: on January 7, 2022 at 10:25 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , , , ,

“The Baptism with Our Lord” (Mark 1:4-11; Romans 6:1-11)

The Baptism of Our Lord
Sunday, January 10, 2021

“The Baptism with Our Lord” (Mark 1:4-11; Romans 6:1-11)

Today we celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord. On Wednesday we celebrated the Epiphany of Our Lord. That makes today the First Sunday after the Epiphany. And that means that today, as we do every year on this Sunday, we hear an account of Jesus being baptized, whether from Matthew, Mark, or Luke. This year it’s the account from Mark.

And Mark says, “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” And you say, “OK, so Jesus got baptized. Why is that important? What does this have to do with me?” And I say, “A whole lot. As we will now see.” The Gospel reading from Mark and the Epistle reading from Romans will make the connection for us, the connection between the Baptism of Our Lord and our own baptism, under the theme, “The Baptism with Our Lord.”

(more…)

Published in: on January 9, 2021 at 10:41 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , ,

“Baptized with Sinners, Anointed for Service, Manifested as God’s Son” (Matthew 3:13-17)

Th Baptism of Our Lord
Sunday, January 12, 2020

“Baptized with Sinners, Anointed for Service, Manifested as God’s Son” (Matthew 3:13-17)

On this first Sunday after the Epiphany, the Gospel reading every year is the account of the Baptism of Our Lord. That was the great event when our Lord Jesus Christ was baptized in the Jordan by John the Baptist. The heavens were opened. The Spirit of God descended on Jesus like a dove. And the Father’s voice came from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Today I want to say three things about this event, three things on which your very salvation depends: 1) In his baptism, Jesus was baptized with sinners. 2) In his baptism, Jesus was anointed for service. And 3) In his baptism, Jesus was manifested as God’s Son. “Baptized with Sinners, Anointed for Service, Manifested as God’s Son.”

(more…)

Published in: on January 10, 2020 at 10:33 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , ,

“The Heavens Being Torn Open” (Mark 1:4-11)

The Baptism of Our Lord
Sunday, January 7, 2018

“The Heavens Being Torn Open” (Mark 1:4-11)

How many of you know when your baptismal birthday is? Mine is September 10. What’s yours? It’s good to take note of and remember the day of your baptism, that happy day when all your sins were washed away and you became a child of God. So if you don’t know your baptismal birthday, you might want to go ahead and find out when it is and then celebrate it.

But did you know there’s a baptismal birthday going on today? And that it’s one all of us can celebrate? Because today is the First Sunday after the Epiphany, the day in the church year when we celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord. This is the day we remember that event when our Lord Jesus Christ was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. So today is, in effect, Jesus’ baptismal birthday.

The Baptism of Our Lord is an event recorded in all three of the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and also referred to in the Gospel of John. The accounts are very similar, except here and there one writer may include a detail that another leaves out, or one writer may use slightly different wording to describe the same event. So it is in our text today from the Gospel of Mark. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all mention that when Jesus was baptized the heavens were opened, but only Mark uses the exact word choice that we find today. He says: “And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opening.” “The heavens opening,” but more literally it says: “The Heavens Being Torn Open.”

(more…)

Published in: on January 7, 2018 at 1:21 pm  Comments (1)  
Tags: , , ,

“Behold My Servant” (Isaiah 42:1-9)

The Baptism of Our Lord
Sunday, January 8, 2017

“Behold My Servant” (Isaiah 42:1-9)

“Behold my servant,” the Lord says to us today. Who is this servant, you ask? It’s Jesus, of course. The Christ, the Anointed One, baptized as the Lord’s servant, to do the will of the one who sent him. Jesus, the Christ, anointed with the Holy Spirit at his baptism. And Isaiah is here to tell us about him. Through the prophet Isaiah now, the Lord invites us to look upon Christ, saying, “Behold My Servant.”

(more…)

Published in: on January 7, 2017 at 8:23 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , ,

“When You Pass through the Waters” (Isaiah 43:1-7)

The Baptism of Our Lord
Sunday, January 10, 2016

“When You Pass through the Waters” (Isaiah 43:1-7)

With the recent floods of late December and early January, we certainly witnessed the destructive impact those waters can have. Highways were shut down. A stretch of I-55 was closed for days. Highway 141 at I-44 was underwater for a week. Homes were damaged. I think the most dramatic and memorable image I saw was video of a house literally floating down the Meramec River. And the people affected by the flooding went through and, in many cases, still are going through, a rough time.

Maybe you yourself were not affected by the flooding. But perhaps you’ve been going through a rough time in other ways. Your home may not be underwater literally, but maybe it is “underwater” figuratively, meaning you owe more on your mortgage than your home now is worth. That’s bad. Or suppose there are other rough situations you’re going through. Your pension has been cut, and you don’t know how you’re going to make it. Your marriage is falling apart, or your kids aren’t talking to you, and you don’t know why. Your heart is acting up, and you find yourself short of breath. These are tough experiences to be going through, and I could list other difficult, even overwhelming, situations that people here in our pews are facing.

So what do we say to people when they are going through such things? What comfort do we ourselves find when we face these situations? Well, today God has a word to say to you, a word of comfort and hope, for those times “When You Pass through the Waters.”

(more…)

Published in: on January 9, 2016 at 9:24 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , ,

“Something in the Water” (Mark 1:4-11; Romans 6:1-11; Genesis 1:1-5)

The Baptism of Our Lord
Sunday, January 11, 2015

“Something in the Water” (Mark 1:4-11; Romans 6:1-11; Genesis 1:1-5)

I don’t listen to pop music or country music on the radio, but recently I read that there is a song that’s popular on the airwaves right now that makes some references to baptism. That caught my attention, naturally, so I looked it up and listened to it online. It’s a song called “Something in the Water,” by a singer named Carrie Underwood. I don’t know if you’ve heard it or not. But it does have to do with baptism. Now very likely it’s coming from a theological perspective on baptism we wouldn’t agree with entirely, but even so, it’s surprising that a song about baptism would even make it on the charts, much less be a big hit.

Let me tell you a little about this song, in case you haven’t heard it. Miss Underwood starts out by singing about a conversation she had with someone who, in the midst of his frustrations, had followed a preacher man down to the river and now, he says, he’s changed, he’s stronger, “there must’ve been something in the water.” Then Carrie herself, the singer, says that one night, when she was out of hope, cried out to God and felt his love pouring down. So she then “got washed in the water, washed in the blood.” And now, Carrie says, “I’m changed, I’m stronger, there must be something in the water.” And so the song proceeds.

Well, good. It’s refreshing to see a song that at least alludes to the Christian faith make it big on the airwaves. While this song “Something in the Water” doesn’t use the word “baptism,” and it doesn’t mention Christ by name, the song is nice as far as it goes, I suppose. But it only scratches the surface. I don’t know, can you scratch the surface of water? In any case, today I would like to take us deeper into the water of Holy Baptism. Yes, there is “Something in the Water”–a number of things, actually–so let’s find out what they are.

(more…)

Published in: on January 10, 2015 at 6:23 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , , , ,

“To Fulfill All Righteousness” (Matthew 3:13-17)

The Baptism of Our Lord
Sunday, January 12, 2014

“To Fulfill All Righteousness” (Matthew 3:13-17)

The Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ is an event recorded in, or referred to, in all four gospels. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the account of the baptism itself is recorded. In John’s gospel, it is referred to. Clearly God wants us to know that this is an important event in the life and career of Christ, an important event for us to know about. And so it is. Thus the church has set aside the First Sunday after the Epiphany every year for us to focus on the Baptism of Our Lord.

As I say, this event comes up in each of the four gospels, and it comes up early. For this baptism really marks the launching of Christ’s public ministry. From here in the Jordan, Jesus will set out to do what he came to do, which is to bring in the kingdom of heaven by saving his people from their sins. This is Jesus’ inauguration day, if you will, the day when he takes up his office as the promised Messiah. The Spirit comes upon Jesus, anointing him with power and blessing for the performance of his office. The Father’s voice attests to Jesus as his beloved Son, with whom he is well pleased–his chosen one, in whom he delights.

The other gospel writers, Mark, Luke, and John, bring out these points about the Spirit’s descent and the Father’s voice, as does Matthew in our text today. But it is only in Matthew’s account that we find the little dialogue that goes on between John the Baptist and Jesus, before John consents to baptize him. And so we will give some added emphasis to this part of our text this morning, under the theme, “To Fulfill All Righteousness.”

(more…)

Published in: on January 11, 2014 at 6:38 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , ,

“Christ the Baptized and Baptizer” (Luke 3:15-22)

The Baptism of Our Lord
Sunday, January 13, 2013

“Christ the Baptized and Baptizer” (Luke 3:15-22)

Today in the church year is the Baptism of Our Lord, which we always celebrate on this, the First Sunday after the Epiphany. The Baptism of Our Lord is that auspicious occasion when our Lord Jesus Christ, as he was about to start his public ministry, was baptized by John in the Jordan, and the Spirit descended on him like a dove, and a voice came from heaven, attesting to Jesus as God’s beloved Son, with whom he is well pleased. And so every year on this day the Holy Gospel is the account of Christ’s baptism, as we have it in either Matthew, Mark, or Luke, depending on the year. This year it’s the account in St. Luke, reading especially these verses. “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’”

But notice that today’s reading is prefaced with some words from John the Baptist about the Christ and what he will do, particularly these words: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

So, taking these two sections together, what we find in our text is that Christ was baptized and that he will do some baptizing of his own–he will baptize us. Thus our theme this morning: “Christ the Baptized and Baptizer.”

(more…)

Published in: on January 12, 2013 at 5:15 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , ,
« Older Entries