Children of the Heavenly Father

It all seems like a blur, doesn’t it? We decorate, we buy, we bake and cook, we buy, we plan, we buy, we visit, we add huge numbers to our normal worshipping community, and we make returns, and then it is over. Liturgically, it shouldn’t be, at least until today, but even the decorations in the church get a little dingy and it’s hard to keep the same mood or spirit we had when over three hundred people joined us for worship on Christmas Eve. It’s sort of like children, and I’m especially reminded of this by my youngest grandchildren, when there have been extra loved ones in the house. Then, someone says, “Well, it’s time we went home.” And then everyone begins to leave at once. I don’t know about your grandkids, but mine often tear up when that begins to happen. We generally stay around and reassure the kids, and give a few extra hugs before we return home as well.

As our spirits threaten to wane, perhaps we need some reassurance as well. So, while I don’t usually title my sermons, I called this one Children of the Heavenly Father. The Baptism of Our Lord for me says as much about Christian people, in fact all people, down through the ages as it does about Jesus. Jesus, in fact, in other narrations of this event, makes it clear that this happened more as a great sign or as the fulfillment of prophesy rather than a baptism for the forgiveness of sin. After all, Jesus was in every way like us; but without sin.

Mark tells us that as Jesus comes forth from the waters of the Jordan, the heavens are ripped apart. The Holy Spirit descends as a dove upon Jesus, and the heavenly Father booms out, “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” We often speak of John as the last of the Old Testament prophets. He dresses funny and has odd tastes in food. The Jordan, which the Jews crossed over into the Promised Land, is little more than a muddy creek. An event of epic proportions occurs in very ordinary surroundings. God reveals himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The perfect love which exists among the persons of the Holy Trinity shows up our human failings and our failed relationships. Life for us is like a combination of Desperate Housewives and The Book of Daniel. And yet, the creator of heaven and earth reminds us on this day that we are children of the heavenly Father. The Baptism of our Lord reveals to us that we will never be left alone. Others may leave us, but the ultimate parent, the Divine Father will always hold us close.

In the Sacrament of Baptism, we are born again into a new family. We become the precious children of God and brothers and sisters of the Lord. All of our human failures and family breakdowns are overshadowed by those new relationships.

It’s always wonderful when we have a baptism on this Sunday, and we often do. Baptism reminds us of the earthly. There is the font, the very human pastor, ordinary water that will be blessed for the occasion, and most importantly of all, the Word of God. The Word tells us that “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Today heaven spills forth glorious words of promise that can indeed be trusted. We are reminded today to look upon the Baptism of Jesus, for in Him we are created children of the heavenly father. Amen

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