Sermon for January 12, 2025
Baptism of Our Lord
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22; Isaiah 40:1-5; Isaiah 43:1-7
Rev. Karl-John N. Stone
Today as we celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord—and give thanks and praise for our own Baptism into Christ—it’s a good time to think about how precious water is. In many ways, water is life. 55 – 60% of the human body is made of water. 71% of the earth’s surface is water. We live near the shores of Lake Michigan, and the Great Lakes as a whole account for 21% of the world’s freshwater, and provide the drinking water for 40 million people. Water can be dangerous—just ask anyone who’s been caught in a storm on Lake Michigan. But we also need water to be safe, as those who are now suffering so terribly from the wildfires in Los Angeles know all too well. We enjoy water for recreation, too, whether that’s the water parks in Wisconsin Dells, or crazy kids like my son who took the Polar Plunge in Lake Michigan on New Year’s Day; (have any of you ever done that? I watched from shore). That icy water might take your breath away before giving you a rush that makes you feel rejuvenated.
It’s amazing how water can accomplish so many things. No wonder God chose it to be the way we are adopted as brothers and sisters of Christ, in Baptism!
Like water itself, baptism is precious. The simple water combined with God’s Word is God’s way of giving you new birth; adoption into the family of God. And God uses baptism to wash you clean from the power of sin and evil—because in baptism, you are joined to Christ forever; he forgives your sins whenever you turn to him in repentance and faith, and he opens the way to abundant and eternal life.
The gift of baptism is all part of God’s plan and God’s mission to bless the world. In our first Bible reading today from Isaiah 40, we heard the verses that inspired John the Baptist (who baptized Jesus in the Jordan River where it flows through the rugged desert wilderness). John’s ministry as a prophet was about “preparing the way of the Lord”. Through his preaching and baptizing he was metaphorically making “a highway in the desert for our God”—by “lifting up the valleys, making low the mountains, leveling out the rough uneven ground, turning the rugged places into a plain”—and doing it for one purpose: make it easier for people to see God.
John the Baptist adopted the words of Isaiah as his inspiration, but they were first spoken some 587 or so years before the birth of Christ. Back then, God was speaking a Word of hope through the prophet Isaiah, because God’s people had been sent into exile in Babylon. They had been cut off from their home and longed to return. Isaiah spoke words of hope and comfort so the people would look ahead, and plan for the day (which came about 50 years later) when they would finally get the chance to go home and rebuild Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.
Today, the words of Isaiah that inspired the Israelites and inspired John the Baptist, still inspire us because these words are fulfilled in Christ. He is the one who makes it easier for us to see God. Jesus is the one—born in a humble manger, died on a rugged cross, raised again to new life out of a cold dark tomb—who now lives among us, and leads us to new life whenever we face our own times of exile or sorrows; whenever we must live with our own sins or regrets. He comes to us through faith, and gives us his message of hope, that God’s mission to bless the world is still alive and well in the world and in our own lives.
The words of Isaiah inspire us because when we were baptized, the Holy Spirit descended upon us, and gave each of us the calling to be children of God, and the calling to offer ourselves to God’s service. When you were baptized, God called you to be part of the work God is doing in the world all around us. God is at work—healing the sick and comforting the suffering; feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless; forgiving the sinner and loving the outsider; watching over those in danger and welcoming the stranger; teaching us how to love one another and opening the very gates of heaven whenever we turn to him in prayer. In short, God is always at work blessing the world—and God calls us to follow Jesus by sharing with others the blessings he has given us—through our prayers, our energy, and our resources.
God has “called you by name” and chosen you for this work—but not only us who are gathered together this morning. Because God wants everyone else, everywhere else, to realize that God has chosen them, too. God has a place for everyone to be part of his mission to bless the world.
As we kick off our “HOP Into the Future” Capital Campaign today, God’s mission to bless the world still inspires us, and the words of Isaiah describe it so beautifully. We have some important and significant capital projects that we hope to accomplish, and they will take everyone working together. The end goal is about more than having a place to park your car, or a providing a shelter from the rain and snow, or communicating about our church to the neighborhood. The parking lot, the education wing roof, the outdoor sign—these are all investments to provide a safe, welcoming, and functioning environment for members, friends, visitors—for the whole community. They’re tools that we can put to use for God’s mission to bless the world in Jesus’ name.
The goals of the capital campaign are summed up in Isaiah 40:4-5, and there’s four aspects to the whole thing. Each project is symbolic of the larger mission God has given us. And these things will help us—as we to listen to God, our community, and each other—they’ll help us in having a home base to launch the experiments we try to make is easier for people to see Christ; by having that welcoming, functioning, safe environment.
The parking lot is like “The rough ground shall become level”. The roof is like “The rugged places will be made plain.” The outdoor sign is where “The glory of the Lord will be revealed.” And the missional tithe to support outreach ministry is how “And all people shall see it together.”
We’re planning these investments for the next 30 years of ministry as House of Prayer (just as previous generations made investments in the church that we benefit from today), as we live into the future that God is leading us toward: so that we grow in following Jesus as a caring family of God, serve our neighbors in Jesus’ name, and make caring connections with people in our surrounding community and in the world God loves. Whether it’s people in our church, or people out in the community, the good news that God has a mission to bless the world is something that includes everyone. Everyone is precious to God. And this good news is summed up so beautifully in Isaiah 43; and it’s good news that God calls us to carry, in word and deed, into the world and into our community—with all the precious people around us: “Thus says the Lord who created you: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine. I will be with you; you are precious and honored, and I love you.” Thus says the Lord. Amen.