Sunday 12/01/25

Baptism of Christ

Luke 3:15-17; 21-22

Isaiah 43:1-7

‘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; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;’  The prophet Isaiah speaks of redemption and salvation.  The dangers that the people have been facing they will survive and those who were taken away from their homeland shall return.  The Lord has promised and he will not delay.  In Luke’s Gospel, we are told about the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.  John had clearly said to the people that he himself was not the Christ and that he was not worthy even to untie his sandals.  Then, when Jesus appeared on the scene and was baptised, 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.’ 

This is the moment when Jesus begins his ministry, at about 30 years old.  It is also another moment when his identity is revealed, and quite strongly too!  God’s own voice speaking audibly and affirming his Son.  The Baptism of Christ is also marked specifically in this Church season of Epiphany, and the reading from Isaiah is important in this respect, as it proclaims the salvation of the people.  The reference to ‘the waters’ we can interpret in this context and also in that of the wider scope of God’s promise and work of salvation.  Of course, we are reminded of the beginning of Genesis and the story of creation, when God’s Spirit ‘hovered over the waters’.  Water is an image of chaos, of danger.  But it is also essential to life.  Life on earth is not possible without it!  And, Jesus himself is the Water of Life in that meaning of life-giving and life-sustaining.  But, the water of baptism is a reference to death.  In baptism we go through death symbolically, to come out ‘at the other end’, as it were, renewed and more fully alive.

And here we have the message for today: we, as human beings, are fallible and sinful, and without help we are already dead in a way, even while we are still alive.  The word ‘sin’, as it has been said, has ‘I’ in the middle; in other words: we put ourselves at the centre of the universe far too often and therefore ‘miss the mark’, which is what ‘sin’ means.  We are literally doomed in that way, as there is no way we can – of ourselves – wipe away the wrong we have done.  We need God to save us from our sin, and to help us to change.  That we most certainly can, through faith in God’s Son, Jesus.  That is why it is so important to see who Jesus is.  He is our life-saver, quite literally!  And God says to us, ‘do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you.’  Isn’t that the most beautiful news?  I think it is wonderful to know that God cares so much for us that he has put his plan of salvation in motion and made sure that we can actually truly live.  As we see Jesus – now baptised and affirmed by God the Father – we have a foretaste of that final act of salvation that he performed on the cross.  For us, so that we don’t have to be overwhelmed by death but may rejoice in the new life we have been given.  Amen.