Baptism of Our Lord, Year A
Psalm
29
Sermon by Pastor Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson
I don’t know if you discovered it or not, but in
all of our lessons, including Psalm 29, there is a common thread, a familiar
theme. Did you hear it or see it? It is the importance of God’s voice, God’s
word, and speaking God’s message. God’s voice is described in a variety of
ways in our passages. However, in that wide variety of descriptions, there is
one eternal message—namely: that God is God; God is in control of the entire
creation; God loves and claims us and gives us a mission as his people.
In our first lesson, we hear the voice of God
speaking, or perhaps even singing a beautiful “Servant Song.” God’s voice,
spoken through the words of the prophet, is echoed in our Gospel today, as John
baptizes Jesus and the Spirit descends as a dove and the voice from heaven
speaks: “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” In the
first lesson the voice of God says: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my
chosen in whom my soul delights.” Filled with God’s Spirit, the Servant, Jesus
our Messiah-King is loved and claimed by God and given the important mission of
bringing: “forth justice to the nations, (and of being) a covenant to the
people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out
the prisoners from the dungeon, those who sit in darkness.” In this beautiful
Servant Song then, the voice of God is certainly a gentle voice of hope,
love, and grace—full of Good News for everyone.
Then, as we move to Psalm 29, we are given quite a
picture of God’s voice. The psalmist, in verses three to nine, mentions God’s
voice seven times. In each reference to God’s voice, we are given a description
of God’s revelation through powerful acts of nature. The psalmist associates
God’s voice with thunder and lightning, the wind and the waves, earthquake,
fire and tornado. In ancient Israel, such natural activities were associated
with a revelation from God. All of these descriptions of God’s voice in this
psalm function to remind us that God is God; that God is certainly in
control of the entire creation; that God is the King of the universe. Furthermore,
scholars believe that this psalm is also connected to the creation stories in
the book of Genesis—because it refers to God being LORD over the waters of
chaos and bringing order to them. If this is true, then if we go back to the
account of God creating the universe in the Book of Genesis, we remember there
too the voice of God plays a very important role. The voice of God has the
power to create the heavens and the earth. God speaks and in that speaking
creation comes into existence. God creates, orders and controls the
universe by the act of speaking.
Even though we live in what some today call the
post-modern age; even though we are very influenced by the progress of science
and technology and the information explosion; does the message of our psalmist
today not give us some comfort? Is it not a comfort to us to believe that God
is in control of the whole universe—even though tragic things happen in our
world? Is it not a comfort to us that God controls the very destiny of all
creation—for God created everything for a purpose and one day, all things shall
reach a point of completeness, to live in perfect harmony with God forever? Is
not our response to God’s voice not similar to that of the psalmist and ancient
Israel, as they worshipped God in the Jerusalem temple and said: “Glory!” As we
are witnesses to the vastness and the complex diversity of the universe; and
how efficiently it all holds together and functions from day-to-day; are we
not, like ancient Israel, filled with awe and wonder as we worship our
God of heaven and earth?
Then, as we move from Psalm 29 to our second
lesson, we are given another picture of God’s voice. This time it is through
the words of the apostle Peter, and the first generation of the church, as they
share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the world. They are fulfilling their
baptismal covenant and calling by going out into the world and speaking the
Gospel message. God is present in, with, under, over, and through their words
of witness. As they spread the Good News, people’s lives are changed; they are
saved and healed and given new life and freedom in Jesus Christ. The voice of
God loves and claims these new hearers of the Good News, and, in turn, sends
them out into the world by giving them the mission of spreading the Good News
too. Thanks to such people, who faithfully carried out their baptismal mission,
the Gospel has been transmitted around the globe, even to us. So the voice of
God speaks continuously, through God’s faithful to all peoples, drawing them
into God’s realm.
Then, as we move on to our gospel, we hear the
voice of God again speaking at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan. Here
the voice reaffirms that God has claimed and loved his only Son. The voice
is one of Good News, love and grace to Jesus, yes, but also to all people. For
it is after Jesus’ baptism that he begins to fulfill the voice of God through
the prophets and the psalmist. In Jesus, God comes to earth to speak and carry
out the Good News of freedom and hope, love and peace, healing and salvation.
What about you and me? What about us, here today?
How do we hear the voice of our God speaking to us today? How do we hear the
voice of our God during the rest of the week too? Is the voice of God for us a
voice of only law and condemnation—preventing us from experiencing any true
love and acceptance in our lives? Is the voice of God for us a severely twisted
or distorted voice—causing us to be slaves of anger and hatred? Is the voice of
God for us oppressive and dreadful—filling us with despair, doom and gloom? Is
the voice of God for us truly one of Gospel and grace—giving us freedom and
forgiveness? Is the voice of God for us a voice of blessing and hope—raining
down upon us good health, healing, and fresh new opportunities? Is the voice of
God for us gentle as well as strong—full of kindness, yet keeping us focussed
on working for justice and peace in the world? Is the voice of God for us a
life-giving and saving one—do we experience the resurrection working in our
lives and the lives of others?
If we listen carefully, we shall indeed hear the
voice of God speaking to each one of us, every day. Listen for it through your own voice, as well as
through the voices of your spouse, your daughters and sons, your friends and
neighbours, hopefully through me J, along with all of God’s servants who may very
well happen to be: the hungry and homeless, the unemployed and imprisoned, the
single-parent, the sick and dying, the refugee and ethnic or racial minority,
all who are poor and struggling to make their voices heard in the church and
the world. For it is in these and other voices that we encounter the voice of
Jesus himself, calling to each one of us.
The voice of God for us, telling us all
that God is in control of the universe, we need not live in fear or terror.
Telling us that in our baptism we too are claimed and loved by God. Telling us
that there is a deep purpose for our lives, which is fulfilled by carrying out
God’s mission of speaking the Good News to everyone; in our thoughts, words,
and actions. Listen then for God’s voice, today and everyday.
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