11 January 2026

11 January 2026 - The Baptism of the Lord

Transcript

Reading:  

See Mark 9:7 (alleluia verse)

Write:  

The heavens were opened and the voice of the Father thundered:

Reflect:   

Thundered! Can you imagine hearing the voice of God thunder? Hollywood has presented this idea many different times. A voice that overwhelms the senses and people cower and instinctively cover their heads. I doubt there is anyone who has not experienced that with a loud clap of thunder.

And yet, when Elijah tries to run away from God to Mount Sinai, he is challenged: “A very powerful wind went before the Lord, digging into the mountain and causing landslides, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the windstorm there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a soft whisper. When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his robe and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. All of a sudden a voice asked him, “Why are you here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been absolutely loyal to the Lord, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life. (1 Kings 19:16-22)”

God can thunder his response or he can give a very soft whisper. I do not remember how many babies I have baptized who slept through the whole thing; or how many babies I have baptized that have screamed and hollered – full throated – because I forgot to heat the water. I cannot say that I blame them. I would not want to have been baptized in cold water either. For that matter, I would not want to be baptized in any of the rivers in Nebraska – especially in January.

Apply:   

Why do we pour the water over the head of someone being baptized? The answer is amazingly simple. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River where the water was moving. So we pour the water – even though it is not in a river – to simulate the movement of water in a river. A cistern of water in the Middle East will tend to become stagnant – yucky – I know, a marvelously theological word, yucky. But water from a river is moving as it heads downstream. The operative characteristic is that it is moving. There is a sense in which it is alive. So in baptism, we emulate that movement of the pouring of water. If we had a large enough tank of water to allow someone to walk into it – as some churches have – we still pour the water over the head of the person being baptized. The water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit who is alive in the hearts of believers as a result of baptism. It would not be right to dunk someone in a horse trough three times and call it baptism!

So the ideal way to baptize someone would be to take them to a river with flowing water and dunk them – immerse them – completely under the water. We would do it three times, even as we pour the water three times. Three times: the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. Three times: the number of days Jesus was in the tomb: Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Both of these have critical reasons in our theology.

In the name of the Trinity is what Jesus told us to do at the end of Matthew’s gospel: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Notice he said, “the name,” not “the names.” Jesus is already pointing us to an understanding of the Trinity.

Now, St. Paul tells the Romans, “ If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him. As to his death, he died to sin once and for all; as to his life, he lives for God. Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as [being] dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.”

If you have been baptized, you have already died! The death that happens at baptism is the only death that a Christian ever needs to fear. It is the death of sin. So if we have been raised with Christ, why do we still fail and fall? That is part of the mystery of how we are made. We are made in the image and likeness of God, but that was damaged all the way back with Original Sin. Jesus came to restore us and in his baptism “all righteousness was fulfilled,” as Jesus said in our gospel.

Look at it this way: At Christmas we saw a weak baby, giving proof of our weakness. In today’s feast, we see a perfect man, hinting at the perfect Son who proceeds from the all-perfect Father. At Christmas the King puts on the royal robe of his body and is wrapped in swaddling clothes; at the Baptism the same King swathes, as it were, or clothes the river sanctifying the waters for Baptism for all of time.

Pray/Praise:   

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, as this Christmas Season ends this weekend, you remind us that your coming as a child was so that you could be here as a man. This year we have a very short time till Lent begins. Help us to make ourselves ready. We cannot have Easter without Christmas and without Christmas Easter makes no sense.

As Christmas season ends, help us to make a new beginning in this new year that rejoices in your work to sanctify us – to make us holy and acceptable in your sight. Amen.

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