1-7-96	Why Water? Why Baptism?	Isaiah 42:1-9

Return to Sermon Index	Acts 10:34-43

Matthew 3:13-17

One of the great lessons from an objective reading of the Bible is the lesson that God teaches about how important it is for us to be open to the unexpected. Over and over again, as we read the Bible, God gracefully breaks through the barriers of what we expect with something totally unexpected. When Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden of Eden after they ate of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they did not die, as they expected they might. Instead, God gracefully put together something totally new and unexpected for them. Adam became a farmer and Eve gave birth to children, something that was totally unexpected for them. And, when Cain killed Abel, was Cain punished by being put to death? No. Rather, he was given a life's sentence and was a changed man, as a result. Totally unexpected! And, just when Abraham and Sarah got to be old and thinking about retirement and taking life easy, God gracefully came along and told them to get ready for the birth of a baby boy. And Sarah laughed and Abraham was amazed. Totally unexpected! And then, after Abraham's son, Isaac, was born God told Abraham to take his son to Mount Moriah and offer him as a sacrifice. Again, totally unexpected! But, then, just before Abraham would have sacrificed his son, God told him to stop and provided a ram for the purpose, instead. Yes, it was totally unexpected. And we can go on and on through the scriptures to see how God works in our lives, continually reminding us that in spite of how satisfied we may be with the way things are, God offers change and movement in our lives. Just when we think we've got everything all figured out, God comes along and challenges us with something new. Just when we think we understand God, God comes along and shows us a completely different and totally unexpected facet of God's wonderful and divine personality.

And, as we read our Old Testament lesson for this morning, we can see that this was just as true in Isaiah's day as at any other time in the history of God's people! In Isaiah's day, the people of Israel firmly believed that God was their national god. They didn't have the concept, as we do, of God being the God of the universe. Thus, when the people of Israel were taken into exile to Babylon in the middle of the fifth century B.C., they believed they were leaving God behind in the ashes of Jerusalem. They didn't yet have the concept that God was able to be with them anywhere. But, it took the exile for them to learn that God could be out there in the deserts of Iraq as easily as in the Temple in Jerusalem. It took the experience of that exile for the Israelites to learn that God is not just a national god, but was the creator of the universe. Totally unexpected! Suddenly, they realized that God was a God of grace; for Isaiah says, "In faithfulness God will bring forth justice." Suddenly, they realized that this God of grace had chosen them, not to contain God in their holy place of worship, but to share that God with the world, for Isaiah said, "I will keep you and will make you to be a light for the Gentiles." Totally unexpected! But, then, isn't that often what the grace of God is?

A well known preacher once wrote: "When I get to haven I shall see three wonders there. The first wonder will be, to see many people there whom I did not expect to see. The second wonder will be, to miss many people whom I did expect to see; and the third and greatest wonder of all will be to find myself there."

Another preacher, Alexander Whyte, of Scotland, once stood up in his pulpit in Edinburgh and announced, "I have discovered the most wicked man in Edinburgh." Then he paused while the congregation eagerly awaited the name, whereupon Whyte pronounced the name: "Alexander Whyte."

The wonder of these stories is here we have two great preachers who, being painfully aware of their own shortcomings, knew full well that they did not deserve a place in heaven. They understood that even one sin places them on an equal level with the worst of sinners. In fact, they knew if it wasn't for the grace of God in our Lord Jesus Christ, heaven would be totally unexpected. Certainly, how important it is for us to remember this, as well. Where would we be if it wasn't for the grace of God in our Lord, Jesus Christ? Salvation would be totally unexpected. God's call upon our life to be his disciples would be totally unexpected. God's movement in our lives, God's involvement with us, would be a surprise, indeed.

Sometimes, however, God's involvement in our lives, God's call upon us, God's movement, is not only unexpected, it is also unwelcome. The first Christians, for example, were unsure about what God had in mind for the Church of Jesus Christ. As far as they knew, membership in the Jesus movement they were a part of would simply be limited to Jewish believers. In fact, for many of them, the thought of Gentiles being a part of their fellowship was unheard of and unacceptable. But, then Peter got up and reminded them of how God surprises us, saying, "I realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts those from every nation who fear him and do what is right." And then Peter reminded his fellow Christians of how the even prophets testified about Jesus, "that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." Totally unexpected, but totally necessary if the Church was going to grow! The Church of Jesus Christ ceased being a closed, exclusive group and, in stead, by the grace of God opened itself wide to the world. God was calling God's people to openness, not only to each other, and not only to persons who were different from themselves, but also to God's very Spirit – a Spirit that cannot be contained - a Spirit that continually calls us to move and to change and to grow, as uncomfortable as that may sometimes be.

In light of this information shared with Christians of the first century, we 20th century Christians need to be constantly reminded of this truth, as well. And, indeed, there come times in our life as Christians that God comes into our presence and asks us to do things for him that may make us feel uncomfortable. Just when we are comfortable with the way things are, God's Spirit moves and we find ourselves saying to each other, "This is going to take some getting used to!" Just when we think we've gotten to an understanding to a clear understanding of God, God's Spirit moves and we find that what we knew was only the beginning, only a part of the story.

Take our gospel lesson for this morning, as an example. While John the Baptist felt he had a pretty complete understanding of what his mission was in the world, something happened to upset that understanding, to cause him to realize that there was a lot more he didn't know. For several years he had been baptizing persons in the Jordan River. Meeting with faithful believers on the East Bank of the Jordan, he would spend several days in a retreat setting remembering and celebrating what God had done for the people of Israel in past Wilderness experiences. There, in the Wilderness, John the Baptist would talk to his fellow Jews about the importance of repentance, of choosing the right pathway through life. And, then, one by one, the people of God would cross from the East Bank of the Jordan, crossing through the waters into the Promised Land, re-enacting the journey taken by their forbearers, by the ritual known as baptism. For John the Baptist, this was important for anyone who wanted to see the Messiah when he came. This was John's ministry; and he was comfortable with that understanding.

But, then, according to our Gospel lesson for this morning, Jesus came walking into the midst of his John ministry to be baptized by John. Totally unexpected! For John knew Jesus to be the Messiah. And the last thing the Messiah needed was a baptism of repentance! And John protested, saying to Jesus, "I should be baptized by you, so why do you come to me?" But Jesus insisted, telling John that it wasn't for repentance that he was being baptized, but simply because it was the right thing to do, a necessary step in his ministry to the human race.

So, as uncomfortable as John felt in doing so, he baptized Jesus in the Jordan. And, in doing so, John's understanding of himself and of his relationship with God and with Jesus was forever broadened and changed.

There are things that we do in the church that are often akin to what happened to John when he baptized Jesus. We get accustomed to the same group of people worshiping with us on Sunday morning, then, someone new walks in and sits down in what we thought was "our pew;" and suddenly, if we're listening, God gracefully reminds us that the Body of Christ must be open and accepting of others in order to grow. Or we get accustomed to a particular set of familiar hymns, forgetting that every hymn we know we had to learn, once upon a time. And then, suddenly, someone introduces a new hymn! It is then, if we are listening, that God gracefully reminds us that there is always something new to learn as we follow the Way of Christ.

Indeed, if we're willing to listen, God is always offering us something new. Isaiah says it, himself, he writes in our Old Testament lesson for today, "See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you."

This is the grace of God, my friends! Totally surprising! Totally unexpected! Uncomfortable, at times? Yes. But, if we will yield to God and submit ourselves to what God is doing in our midst; if we will see what God offers, not as a problem, but as an opportunity, there will be blessing for God's people. And we may find ourselves standing with the faithful others who by faith and the grace of God have seen heaven opened and the Spirit of God descending like a dove.

Amen.