The Voice We Listen To

A sermon on Matthew 3:13-17

for an audio recording of this sermon, click here. Photo by Mohammad Metri on Unsplash

We have a lot of exciting things happening in worship today, including the baptism of one of our incoming members, so rather than giving the kind of full exposition on today’s texts that I would normally try to offer in a sermon, today I just want to offer a quick reflection on the meaning of baptism.

Because there is one detail from Matthew’s story of Jesus’s baptism that I think can prompt important reflection for us in contemplating how we live out our baptisms.

In this short account, we hear two different voices address Jesus. They don’t use a lot of words, but they communicate profoundly different messages.

And it is worth examining those messages, because they are the same kinds of voices that consistently address us.

The first is the voice of suppression:

John challenges Jesus’s intention to be baptized, even seeking to “prevent” him with an argument about how the interaction ought to go.

It’s a specific situation, but the argument can apply in countless other contexts. The hesitancy is familiar. Moreover, it feels reasonable!

That argument tells us, “there’s a proper procedure for things… expectations about who is supposed to take what role… and we should not presume to question that system.”

Violating the rules and expectations feels wrong, which triggers fear.

Who might judge us for breaking taboos? What consequences might we face for stepping out of our place? What makes us think we have the right?

Obviously, John is a faithful prophet of God and virtually all of his words recorded in scripture are wise and trustworthy. But here, he shows his fallible humanity.

And the fact that we hear the voice of resistance from John is important, exactly because his is a voice we are used to trusting.

Arguments from dangerous enemies are not likely to hook us. But when we hear a trusted voice offer a caution that seems grounded in reason, it can sway us, sometimes without us really even thinking about it.

And that is the danger of the voice of suppression, the voice that tells us not to question, not to step out of line, not to act in an unexpected way.

It nurtures a habit of compliance, rather than discernment.

It discourages us from examining what lies behind the jolt of anxiety that wants us to automatically shut-down any urge to push back against expectations and systems of control.

It calls us into passivity and blind obedience.

But the baptismal calling is not about passivity and blind obedience.

It is about empowerment to be God’s agents of change in a broken world, and that calling sometimes requires us to ask uncomfortable questions, and or push back on established expectations.

And while we should always be thoughtful and prayerful about such actions, we won’t even engage the questions if we are conditioned to automatic compliance.

Especially not when the voice of suppression trains us to question our own worthiness.

That’s the trap John falls into in this story. He sees the Savior of the World approaching him for baptism and he assumes that he, John, is not worthy.

It seems like humility, but really it’s defensiveness. It’s the assumption that the relevant issue is John’s own goodness, not his calling to participate in God’s work.

And with that worry as his foundation, his ego demands self-accusation as a means of safety. He turns in on himself and away from God, which is the very essence of sin.

But the second voice Jesus hears in this story is the voice of empowerment, and it is the antidote to self-accusation, and automatic caution, and passivity.

When Jesus comes out of the water and receives God’s Spirit settling on him, the voice from heaven proclaims, “This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I am well pleased.”

And in that proclamation, God’s voice affirms three truths.

1.    The truth of Identity. Jesus is God’s Son.

And this is one way that out baptism imitates Jesus’s, because we are also named and claimed as children of God at the font.

It is a statement of who we are at the most fundamental level, independent of what we do.

2.    The truth of Belovedness. God’s overarching response to Jesus is love.

And we also receive that promise in the waters of baptism. God loves us. Any murmurs of self-doubt, any self-protective instincts, any urges of anxiety have to melt away in the warmth of that love, the assurance that we don’t ever have to hide from a gaze that is grounded in love.

3.    The truth of Trust. At this point in the story, Jesus has not yet done anything to advance his ministry, but God is already “well pleased” with him.

In other words, Jesus’s calling and affirmation is not provisional. God doesn’t say, “This is my Son, the Beloved, now let’s see how he does with the task I have set for him.” God is already pleased, just seeing Jesus embrace his calling.

I think we need to hear this truth loudest of all, because our instinct is to assume only conditional approval.

To believe that God’s calling on our lives (and God’s love, and our identity) will be revoked the moment we make a mistake.

That’s the consequence of our worthiness-based conditioning. Our automatic assumption is our calling to be part of God’s healing, serving, peace and justice establishing work in the world is dependent on our worthiness.

But it’s not. It’s all part of the gift that we receive at the font, because baptism is first and foremost about what God does, not about what we do.

God names us and claims us.

God pours out God’s love and Spirit on us.

And God calls us as partners in the work of redeeming the world, regardless of our worthiness.

So, as we witness the baptism of our sibling in Christ in a few minutes. And as we receive the new members into our community. And as we hear again the affirmation of our baptismal calling to do God’s work in the world…

May we all take heart of the reminder to listen to God’s voice of Empowerment today and every day.

Siblings in Christ, we are loved, and we are called.

Thanks be to God.