The principle way in which we human beings interpret our lives within the wider context of reality is with stories, stories that have characters and events, to be sure, but stories that help us understand ourselves and our place in the world. For Christians those central stories come from the Bible and especially the New Testament. We have one of those stories today with the baptism of Jesus.

Here is the story: Jesus’ first 30 years have been spent mostly in Nazareth, an obscure rural village quite a long journey from any major city. Now he comes to the eccentric religious figure who has everyone in Israel talking—John the Baptist, the one who is preparing the way for God’s messiah. As was his custom, John was baptizing people in the Jordan river. We can imagine John standing up to his waist in the river with a line of people waiting to be baptized by him. Then Jesus comes out into the water. John protests, “I should be baptized by you.” Jesus says, “No, this is part of God’s intention for us both.” So John baptizes him. Then as Jesus is walking out of the water, he has a vision: he sees the Holy Spirit coming down upon him like a gentle dove and he hears a voice that says, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” A very dramatic event. What does it mean for Jesus? What does it mean for us?

First, what it means for Jesus. Its meaning for Jesus depends greatly on his own awareness of God. If we think Jesus was completely aware of his special relationship with God right from his birth, then what happens at the Jordan River is just an eye-catching public relations event. It’s strictly for the benefit of other people. But if we take the humanity of Jesus seriously, then he comes to the belief that he was called by God to fulfill the unique role of messiah gradually, over time. The moment at which he becomes clear about this is his baptism by John and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that accompanies it. For Jesus himself, then, this is a major development in his life. It’s when he first becomes clear about his primary purpose in life.

We can appreciate some of what was involved for him when we realize the difficulty of coming to terms with his call to messiahship. The event of Jesus’ baptism brings a complex message with points of resonance with several Old Testament figures. First, the voice from heaven acknowledges a special relationship with Jesus by saying, “This is my Son.” David and other kings of Israel had been designated Son of God. Most of those kings had been very unfaithful to God. But the messiah was to be the truly faithful Son. How so? By being one anointed not only with oil, but uniquely anointed with the Holy Spirit. This happens at the Jordan for Jesus. He sees the Holy Spirit descend on him like a dove.

But there is more. The voice from heaven also speaks of Jesus as “the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Here the message becomes far more troubling. Long before, Abraham and Sarah had only one child—a son, Isaac, born in their extreme old age. When Isaac was a young boy, Genesis tells us that God tested Abraham by calling him to sacrifice Isaac. It says, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, the beloved and offer him as a burnt offering.” So for Jesus to be called “beloved” has a strong undertone of sacrifice.

This undertone of sacrifice is fortified for Jesus when the voice says he is “the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” While this may sound comforting to our ears, to a Jew of Jesus’ time, it was a reference to the Suffering Servant in the book of Isaiah, read as our first lesson today. This servant will establish justice in the earth, but will do so not by force, but by his own suffering. So when Jesus is anointed by the Spirit to be the Son of God, the Beloved, with whom God is well pleased, it’s not a time for jubilation and high fives all around. He realizes that God is calling him to follow a very difficult path. Yes, the Holy Spirit, God present, will support him, but the way will be hard.

Now what does this story of Jesus’ baptism mean for us? I suggest two things. First, just as Jesus received a calling from God to serve in a certain way, so God calls each one of us to serve in certain ways. Jesus was called to the role of messiah, a role like no other. We are called to serve God and others through more ordinary social roles—roles in the family, work, school, and community. Each of us is called to serve in several ways, for we all have multiple roles.

For example, I have multiple social roles. Within my family, I’m a husband, a father of three children, a grandfather of two kids, a brother, and so on. In addition, I’m a friend to a number of other people, some I’ve known since childhood, some I’ve met rather recently. Then I have my work as a teacher, preacher, and director of Grace Institute. This work brings me into relationship with more people. Every one of these relationships and responsibilities presents opportunities to care for others.

Each one of us can find deep meaning in our everyday relationships and roles, if they are constructive, potentially life-building, for others and for us. Being a drug pusher is not a constructive social role. But if a relationship and social role is potentially life building, then it may be that God is calling us to serve others through it.

Of course, we often have to explore and test things out before we identify the relationships and responsibilities that we can put our heart into. Even Jesus had to mature as a person, for he didn’t take up his public role as messiah until he was thirty. That was the central role God called him to. Yet even as he was dying on the cross, he remembered his responsibility to his mother, for he instructed his friend and disciple John to look after Mary. Each one of us has multiple roles in family, friendships, school, work, community that may be opportunities to serve God by serving others.

The baptism of Jesus also has a second meaning for us: in living out our callings from God, we too face a path that will have difficulties. We are not called to be the messiah who suffers for others, but suffering is a part of our life too. Some of it we bring on ourselves, but a lot of it we don’t. We don’t fully understand why it’s this way. Oh, there are attempts to give theoretical answers to the so-called problem of evil, but none of them fully satisfy. In any case, suffering is a part of life.

This is acknowledged in the symbolism of our baptism, for we are baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection. So the path to true life (resurrection) is through suffering. Thankfully, the path to true life is not only through suffering, for there is much in life that brings enjoyment and happiness. Nonetheless, the path does include suffering. In fact, when we look back over our life, we often find that the times when we grew most in faith and as persons were the hard times. Not that we feel this in the midst of the struggle, but after the way has smoothed some, often we can see significant growth has taken place. The Holy Spirit, God present, often works in our lives in ways that are hidden to us now, but become evident later. This is certainly true when we suffer.

What may sustain us as we walk our path through the high points and low points is God’s declaration given already in baptism and reaffirmed in the Christian message: “You are my son, my daughter, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Because of what Jesus has done, the words spoken to him also may apply to us: “This is my son, my daughter, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Jesus opens up the possibility of that relationship with God for you and me. That relationship is established already in our baptism, for there we are claimed as God’s daughter or son. Of course, we’re rather like those unfaithful kings of ancient Israel who lived more by their own guidance than by God’s. But the fact that Jesus followed through on his calling to be the Suffering Servant, the way is open for us to live day by day with the awareness that we are loved by God.

That’s easy to say, but I know it’s not easy to live. Deep down we often tend to feel that our value depends most on how well we do at our relationships, our work, our friendships, our marriage, our parenting, our grand parenting. So we get things backward. We feel that our value depends on how well we’ve done things. What God offers us is a solid foundation for all aspects of our life—the foundation of being loved by God. This is the most fundamental part of our calling—to live day by day as beloved sons and daughters of God.

So you see, this simple story of Jesus baptism long ago has the power to orient us in the world, undergird our lives with profound meaning, and comfort us in our suffering. Thanks be to God. Amen.