According to the United States Coast Guard, Minnesota has the highest number of recreational boats per capita of any state in the country. By a lot. There are 143.6 boats in Minnesota for every 1000 residents. (Which leads me to one important question: Where’s my boat?)
That’s roughly 35% more than the next highest state, South Carolina, with 108 boats per thousand people. Then Wisconsin at 105 per thousand. It drops off significantly after that.
We Minnesotans, we love being on, in and around our lakes, don’t we? Just check the northbound traffic in I35 or I94 on any Thursday or Friday afternoon. It can become a parking lot as people head up “to the lake.” We boat, we swim, we fish, we play, we waterski, we canoe, we snorkel, we kneeboard, we tube, we paddleboard, we sail, we pontoon, we jet ski. In the winter months, we even drive out onto the frozen lakes, drill holes and fish. (Which I still think is just weird.) And sometimes we just sit, watch and listen. One of my very favorite things is to sit on a bench at the edge of the water and as the sun sets. I read…or I pray…or I just sit and stare. It is hypnotic. It is therapeutic. I don’t understand how, or why, but it is healing for my soul.
This week, we are beginning a brand new sermon series called “Jesus at the Lake.” And while we are being just a bit playful in our title, we also recognize the importance of water imagery throughout the scriptures.
During Jesus’ time, the lakes, the seas, the rivers were less about recreation (no jet skis or paddle boards) and more about life. Much of the economy of the day was based on agriculture and fishing. Both of these industries depended on the water from the Mediterranean sea, the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, and other smaller rivers. If you google a map of the Holy Land during Jesus’ time, you’ll see a lot of brown, as the climate in that part of the world is pretty arid. But you’ll also see splotches of color…green that surrounds these seas, lakes and rivers.
Water brought life! Water brought trees, and plants, and crops and animals. And people settled around the water…towns and communities…in the same way we do now.
So much of Jesus’ ministry, for that matter, much of his life was centered in these areas, because that’s where his people were. And so Jesus was often at the lake…or the river or the sea.
And our Gospel stories for these four weeks are going to center on his ministry in, near, or sometimes quite literally on top of the water.
We begin today the story Jesus beginning his ministry at the Jordan River. It is the story of Jesus’ baptism.
We sometimes think that the idea of baptism began with John the Baptist in the Jordan River. It didn’t. Before the time of Jesus, something very similar to baptism as we know it was practiced by the Jewish people. It was a rite of purification that was performed when a non-Jewish person decided to convert to Judaism. They were immersed…bathed in water. It symbolized the cleansing of past sin, enabling the convert to embrace the faith of Israel as a new person. So, getting immersed in water was not a new idea for people.
But for over 2,000 years, theologians have debated why Jesus felt the need to get into the water with John; why Jesus wanted to be baptized. Remember that John resisted…he didn’t want to baptize Jesus. He didn’t feel like he was qualified to baptize Jesus. And John wasn’t wrong. If baptism was seen in the traditional Jewish way as primarily as a purification rite…a spiritual cleansing, then it wouldn’t make sense for Jesus, who was without sin, to be baptized. He didn’t need it.
But Jesus insisted. Why? Well, for Jesus, the act of baptism was not about spiritual cleansing or purification. It was about identity. It was not about what he’d done…it was about who he was. It was not about his past; it was about his future.
Let’s think about identity for a moment. Let’s think about our names:
Once upon a time, our names meant something more than just what we were was called. They described something important about us. It might be our heritage, or our family. Or maybe it was about what our ancestors did; how they lived.
The name Johnson, for example. Easy: the son of John. Swenson: The son of Swen. Olson…the son of Oly. Your name described from who you came…your lineage. And if people knew your lineage, then they’d know something about you.
Or a name might describe what an ancestor did. If your last name was Baird, your ancestor may have been a poet or singer, or it is Piper, perhaps a musician, or Booker, a writer or publisher, or Sailor…well…a sailor. Whatever it is, it might describe an ancestral vocation.
Or let’s take my last name, for example. Buegler. Contrary to popular belief, it does not means someone who plays a brass instrument. (I’ve heard that a lot!) It is a German name…and it means “one who irons.” Which, in my case, is ironic…because I don’t. For a long time, I assumed that somewhere in my family history, someone had worked with clothing…a tailor…or someone who worked for a tailor…ironing clothes.
But then I spoke with someone who was from Germany, and I explained my thinking on my heritage. He smiled and told me I was probably wrong. (Shocking, I know.) Buegler doesn’t mean one who irons…it means one who worked with iron. The odds were good, this person said, that I had an ancestor who worked a forge…probably making weapons.
Having an ancestor who was a weapon maker is much cooler sounding than having one who ironed clothes…so I’m going to go with that translation.
But my point is that our names say something about our identity.
So, when Jesus went into the water to receive the gift of baptism, for him it wasn’t about forgiveness of sin…it was about who and whose he was. Because when Jesus came up out of the Jordan River and was taking a breath, remember that he heard the voice of God, saying “This is my Son…my beloved…with whom I am well pleased.”
God declared for the whole world to hear, Jesus’ identity: “My Son.” “My beloved.”
For us, yes, we believe that baptism does wash away sin…it promises ongoing forgiveness and a relationship with God. But baptism also provides something more: A name: Beloved. And with that name, an identity: child of God. Beloved child of God: one to whom God is fully committed.
And I believe that right now, in our culture…in this time and place, being confident in our identity has never been more important.
Because every single day, there are lots of people, and businesses and organizations who try to tag us with labels that they want us to believe are our identity. There are so many:
- Democrat or Republican
- American or foreigner
- Rich or poor
- Conservative or liberal
- Gay or straight
- Married or single
- Christian or atheist
- Citizen or immigrant
The list goes on and on…and it’s not just these social constructs. We are increasingly labeled and defined by the products we use or the stores where we shop: Are you a
- Nike, or an Adidas person?
- An Apple person, or Windows?
- Ford or Chevy?
- Disney or Universal?
- Costco or Sam’s Club?
- Target or Walmart…and so on.
We wear these logos like a badge of pride. In fact, we pay a premium for clothes that have these logos on them.
People define their self-worth based on what they own and the image that projects. And that…well, it’s just non-sense.
Our identity comes from what God says to us in the water.
Jesus insisted on being baptized, so that he would hear those incredibly powerful words from God. “You are my Son. You are my beloved.” And not just Jesus…all who were with him that day heard the voice of God put words to Jesus’ identity: “You are my Son. You are my beloved.”
Then, and only then…after having heard those words, Jesus began his ministry. In fact, it is the very next verse of the scriptures, chapter four, verse one, where Jesus is led into the wilderness to be tempted.
Not a coincidence. God wanted Jesus to be fully confident in both who and whose he was before he faced his temptation.
My friends, names are powerful. They mean something. They convey identity, purpose, authority and more. And we have each been given a potent family name. You may not remember it, but you heard it when you were baptized. You hear it every time we baptize a child here at Trinity.
Our family name is “Beloved child of God.”
This summer, if you’re hanging out at a lake, or a river, or a beach somewhere…or if you’re at home and you take a drink of cold water…or you’re washing a car…or you’re outside as it starts to rain…when you feel the water…when it touches you, be reminded of your identity.
Know your name, child of God. Remember your name, beloved. Be confident in who and whose you are. And trust in the God who gave that name to you…trust in the God who loves you completely.
Thanks be to God!
Amen.
Test Driving Theology 