Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

The baptism of Jesus has served the church as both a point by which we differentiate ourselves from Jesus and at the same time identify ourselves with Jesus. This creates a tension in the Christian faith that is powerful in the context of our preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. On the one hand, Jesus is the Son of God. On the other hand, Jesus is our brother in this pilgrimage on earth.

In the Gospel of Mark Jesus seems to come out of nowhere. He responds to the preaching of John the Baptizer. This prophet was proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Immediately our ears perk up at the phrase “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” From our self-centered perspective we hear that John was preaching that if you will be baptize, your sins will be forgiven.

When the church thinks of Jesus but hears the words, “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,” we have a problem. The church has always known Jesus as that one person—unlike us—who is not in need of the forgiveness of sins. So why does Jesus submit to the baptism of John?

The answer may lie in the very subtle language of the Gospel and our English translations of it. Is it possible that our fleshly understanding of the text could be understood in another way? The answer is yes. The preaching of John just might not have meant, “if you undergo the baptism of repentance, your sins can be forgiven.” It may mean something more like this: because your sins are forgiven, you can submit to the baptism of repentance.

The issue here is who is in charge of this act of healing, redemption and forgiveness? Are we in charge? Or is God in charge. Do we decide to return to God, or are we transformed in the enlightenment that comes through the proclamation that God has already drawn near? This announcement unleashes a new Spirit on the earth and in our lives. It opens up the closed world of our earthly lives and exposes the world for what it is, a corrupt, exploitive, and violent habitat that will one day be conquered by a just and loving Prince of peace.

Jesus does not go through some empty motion of being baptized in order to be forgiven. Jesus does what all the baptized do. Because we have heard the message of the Advent of God, we undergo the water of baptism. In this way we share in the dangerous destiny of the same Jesus who submitted to the baptism of John, giving powerful witness to the work of God.

Mark makes clear that the baptism of Jesus is not some formality but is an event of cosmic significance. This is signaled by a change in language. Mark tells us that all the people from Judea and Jerusalem were baptized in the Jordan River. The preposition “in” seems only to indicate that they were standing in the river. If you have visited the Jordan, you will know that it is a small stream. But Mark tells us that Jesus is baptized “into” the river. That means that Jesus was covered by the waters. This symbolism is not lost on those who know their Bible and its imagery.

Take the first reading today. Why do we hear of the beginning of creation on this day, the Baptism of Our Lord? It is because the Early Church experienced in baptism the threatening waters of the deep that made up the dark and formless matter over which the Spirit of God moved. The voice of God speaks, “Fiat Lux,” “let there be light”; and there was light. The first day of creation brings enlightenment. As the psalmist confesses, “in your light we see light.” In the light of God we see the chaos that threatens our existence. Against it we are powerless. But there is One, the Holy One, whose voice subdues the chaos and who opens the world to the presence of God. The psalmist gives us the right picture.

V.3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders;
the LORD is upon the mighty waters.
V.4 The voice of the LORD is a powerful voice;
the voice of the LORD is a voice of splendor. . .
V.7 The voice of the LORD
bursts forth in lightning flashes.
V.8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
V.9 The voice of the LORD makes the oak trees writhe and strips the forests bare.
and in the temple of the LORD all are crying, "Glory!"
V.10 The LORD sits enthroned above the flood;
the LORD sits enthroned as king for evermore.
V.11 O LORD, give strength to your people;
give them, O LORD, the blessings of peace.
Psalm 29 ELW

At the baptism of Jesus the heavens split apart, and the Holy Spirit descends like a dove, and the voice once again thunders, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased" (Mark 1:11b). Jesus has submitted to the baptism and his destiny will be determined by the Holy Spirit.

Dear congregation, we count ourselves lucky when the chaotic, watery deep is somehow out of sight—not near enough to identify. But we can only live in an illusion if we think we are safe from the watery chaos that surrounds us. For this reason we do not run from the flood, but we dive into it knowing that the flood does not rule. The Lord of the flood rules.

Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God chosen by God to take on the very forces that you and I spend most of our time denying, fearing, and escaping. In his death and resurrection we acknowledge that Jesus appears to have been swallowed up by the crashing waters of the flood. But we find that the Holy Spirit present at creation is the same Spirit present at the renewal of the creation which God continues to love and to work toward restoration.

The resurrected Lord is both our way to this New World through the water of baptism and our companion on that way at the table of his presence.

To that end we present our three-year olds their first copy of Luther’s Small Catechism. Our hope for them, for their parents, and for us is that we will find in our own baptism into Christ the courage to live in a very chaotic world that threatens to wash over us. The baptism of our Lord by John into the Jordan shows us the way to life. Let us teach our children to look first for the signs of God’s power among us that they too may confess Christ as Lord and live in faithful relationship to Christ, our brother.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.