The Baptism of our Lord
Text: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Pastor Jean M. Hansen
Here we are, beginning the new year as we always do with the story of the baptism of Jesus. The Christmas season and Epiphany are behind us, the season after Epiphany continues for seven more Sundays after today, and the ministry of Jesus begins. The baptism of Jesus is a big deal, right? It must be, since we remember it every year. And yet, if that’s the case, why does the Gospel-writer Luke make so little of Jesus’ baptism?
It’s certainly not that he’s lacking for words or descriptive acumen, as is proven by the first three and one-half chapters of his book. First, he tells about Elizabeth and Zechariah and the unusual circumstances surrounding the birth of their son, John. (They’re too old to have a baby but have one anyway.) Then, a young woman named Mary is visited by the Angel Gabriel and told that she will miraculously become the mother of son who will be named Jesus. “He will be great,” the angel says, “and will be called the Son of the Most High….” There are beautiful, poetic descriptions in Luke of Mary’s Song of Praise and Zechariah’s prophecy when John was born. Then comes the well-known account of the birth of Jesus with angels and shepherds playing the starring role.
Jesus is named, and then presented at the Temple where elderly, faithful Simeon and Anna proclaim this infant as the redemption of Israel. Jesus has his “Holy Spirit Moment” in the Temple at age 12 and then 18 or so years go by and John the Baptist prepares the way for Jesus, with challenges for the religious leaders. (Remember? “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come!” and “…the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”) A LOT happens in those three and one-half chapters.
And then, after all that wordiness, we come to the baptism of Jesus in Luke’s Gospel, which we just read, and it’s two verses long, lacking detail and drama, and is presented almost as an afterthought. That’s odd, isn’t it? As commentator Scott Hoezee writes, “How understated can Luke get? He mixes Jesus in with the larger crowd, tells us Jesus was praying at some point, and then reports the descent of the Spirit but without giving us a single clue as to whether or not anyone other than Jesus witnessed this particular sign.” (1)
It’s as if Jesus, at age 30, is still in the background. In a way, that fits, because after the Holy Family settled in Nazareth, other than that foray to the Temple at age 12, Jesus’ life was pretty much unremarkable, as far as we know. And isn’t that how God works much of the time … in the background?
Often that’s the opposite of what we would like to see happen. Quoting Scott Hoezee again, “Most days we wish God would come down and kick a little tail, clear a threshing floor here or there, throw around some fire and perform a little razzle-dazzle to shake up the powers that be. Mostly, though, it just doesn’t happen. The headlines seldom scream out the message “Jesus is Lord!” (2)
Life is more like the two-verse account of the baptism of Jesus. Yet, there’s something important to note in those two verses. God is there is trinitarian glory. We can take heart because the Son of God came, the Spirit really did descend, and God was “well pleased” with how the story was unfolding. God made a move and is on the move! (3)
The Son is well-pleasing to God, and as our own baptisms proclaim, so are we. Listen to this beautiful description from commentator Chelsey Harmon, “Like Jesus, we are the children of God; God’s beloveds, able to bring pleasure to our Father by our very existence in the world God created. In each and every one of our lives, God will show that pleasure with untold and unknown mercies. God will and has done great things for which we have not given God due credit. God accompanies us with his love as we go about our lives. God’s way of being around us has the ability to fill our hearts with expectations and questions, but as we get on with our ordinary lives, will we pass it off as something (or someone) else? Or, will we look up and see the heavens rendered open and God’s goodness come down?” (4)
More often than not our lives are like the story of Jesus’ baptism in Luke … rather understated. And yet, as was true of Jesus’ life after his baptism, the power and presence of God is very real. To help us see how that might be true, I decided to take the format of verses 21-22 in today’s Gospel and rewrite it to reflect our ordinary experience. (See the example in your bulletin.)
It begins with, “Now when all the people were (doing what)_________________ and I also had been (doing what)____________ and was (doing what) _________________, the (who showed up) ________________ and (did what)_______________. And a voice came from (where) _____________, saying (what) _________________________.
Here’s the example I made up: Now when all the people were shoveling snow and I also had been wanting clear sidewalks and was worrying about how that would happen, the neighbor appeared and cleared my sidewalks. And a voice came from my heart saying, “There are good people around you; be at peace.”
I’d love to see what you come up with for your example of how the power and presence of God are very real, but sometimes quite ordinary. Do not pass that power and presence off as someone or something else, but acknowledge how God’s goodness has come down. That’s what we’ll see in Jesus’ life during this Epiphany season, light seeping into the darkness through him, sometimes in ordinary, but also in surprising ways. May we see how that’s happening in our own lives too. AMEN
“Commentary on Luke 3:15-17, 21-22” by Scott Hoezee, January 13, 2019, www.cepreaching.org
Same as #1
Same as #2
“Commentary on Luke 3:15-17, 21-22” by Chelsey Harmon, January 12, 2025, www.cepreaching.org