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I Know That Voice! Luke 3: 15 – 22 |
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Summary
I Know That Voice! It wasn’t all that long ago, but a different world nevertheless, when comedy came into our homes in the form of records. The long-playing albums could hold 20 to 25 minutes of material on a side — oh, and did I mention there were two sides? That’s how we first got to know Bill Cosby — on vinyl. And thanks to his routine about Noah and the ark, Cosby taught us something else — what the voice of God sounded like! He created a wonderfully disembodied voice that was clear, commanding and authoritative. At last people knew what God sounded like. Of course, he wasn’t the only entertainer to speak for God. George Burns taught us God sounds like a kindly retiree from Florida. Morgan Freeman gave us a God who is patient and kind with a sense of humor necessary when dealing with humans. You can probably think of other examples. But if the voice of God isn’t George Burns, Morgan Freeman or Bill Cosby — what does God’s voice sound like? More important — what does the voice of God say? Can you hear me now? The Bible tells us that sometimes the voice of God is so powerful we can hardly understand it, but we’re impressed just the same. In Psalm 29 we read, “The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.” The power of that voice breaks the cedars like a hurricane, strips the forest bare like a forest fire, shakes nations out of their complacency so that they jump about like the beasts of the field. Huddled in the temple the people in their awe cried aloud, “Glory!” God is in the great glory all around us. Volcano, earthquake, hurricanes and tornadoes, drought or flood, God shatters our delusion that we control our destinies in all things. We, too, shall pass. To pass safely through times of trouble, we need to listen to the divine voice of warning. Sometimes the voice is less dramatic but easier to hear. After thunder, earthquake and fire, the prophet Elijah heard a voice that spoke out of the “sound of sheer silence.” And the voice’s message was — I need you to get back to work! Speaking of prophets, sometimes the voice doesn’t have to come from without or above or beyond. The voice of God can challenge through the words of the prophet. “Thus says the Lord,” from the mouth of a prophet should give us pause, to listen, to hear, to respond with repentance and change. Sometimes the voice of God does just echo from the past. There are modern-day prophets among us, who make us uncomfortable. There are powerful issues today that challenge us, changes and choices that demand our attention. Prophets are no doubt speaking to us once more. Down to the river to pray Which brings us to the baptism of Jesus. The Bible is clear that Jesus, though sinless, came to the Jordan River to be baptized by his cousin John. The Baptist created quite a stir with his appearance. Dressed in skins, eating locusts and honey, like a prophet of old — indeed some thought he was Elijah returned from heaven — John challenged people of all stations to repent from their sins, and to receive a symbolic baptism that represented their new clean slate. The challenge went out to everyone, to people in all walks of society, and it wasn’t enough just to step into the river, be baptized, and walk away. John insisted that people change their ways. He was more than the voice of justice — he was the voice of God! Though he was the center of attention, though some may have come to listen because he was a curiosity, John insisted on directing attention away from himself and toward the one who was coming. People, after all, were waiting for a Messiah. Their land was occupied by a foreign military force. Their economy was struggling and people were losing their lands when they defaulted on loans. All was not well, but all would be well, they believed, when the Messiah arrived and spoke to them with the voice of God. That is why Luke tells us that “the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah ....” Enter Jesus, who entered the waters. He was baptized by John as an act of obedience, demonstrating not only that he heard the voice of God, but also that he acted. And then, the voice of God — not George Burns, nor Morgan Freeman, not even Bill Cosby, but the Creator of the Universe, the Lord of Love — spoke. In words no less. Not just the power of a storm that gets our attention, but the words the storm would speak if it could. Not just a prophet speaking in the name of the Lord, but the Lord speaking. What could God have said when Jesus was baptized? “You’d better be perfect or I won’t love you”? How about, “Don’t let me down”? Or maybe, “Do you think you’re up to the struggle ahead?” God could have said anything like that. But what God said was, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” So much lay ahead, so much trouble, so many trials. But at this moment, God spoke words of affirmation to Jesus. Affirmation and encouragement Sometimes we need to hear God’s affirmation and encouragement, too — not being told that we are God’s Son, for that, of course, was and is a unique role, but we do need to hear that we are God’s beloved. We live in a world that tries to convince us we are too fat or too thin, too old or too young, too fit or too flabby. In one way or another, we don’t fit an impossible ideal, and we are encouraged to throw money down a rat hole in an effort to measure up. Pay attention to what God says. As Jesus began his ministry God spoke words of affirmation and encouragement. He called Jesus the “Beloved.” He said he was “well pleased.” And we need to follow the divine example and speak to each other in the same way. Rather than insist someone is sitting in the wrong pew, wearing the wrong clothes, driving the wrong car, speaking with the wrong accent, using the wrong translation, we instead should call each other beloved. We should learn what it means to be well pleased with the folks who worship God alongside us. There’s the story told among the German Baptist Brethren, one of the Plain Peoples of Lancaster County, about a man who resisted the call of God for decades before finally repenting. As was the custom, he was baptized on Christmas Day. The minister literally broke the ice on the surface of the pond, then dunked the man in the frigid water once, twice, three times forward, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. As he came up spluttering and gasping he shouted in triumph, “At last! It’s over.” The minister smiled and said, “No, brother. It’s just beginning.” Whatever else the baptism of Jesus was, it was not an ending, but a beginning. The words of encouragement and of affirmation would need to sustain Jesus through temptation, the long journeys, the demands of crowds, the disappointment in disciples who didn’t quite get it, the challenge of pointed questions, the opposition in Jerusalem, and finally his trial and painful execution and death on the cross. In the end, it’s a start. The ministry of Jesus didn’t end with his baptism. It was just beginning, too. As you begin, once more, to claim the faith once given to the saints, to pick up your cross and follow, to affirm in prayer and creed our confession at our own baptism, hear once again what God says — “This is my child, my Beloved, in whom I am well pleased.” Child. Beloved. Well pleased. That ought to be good enough for a start. Good enough for us. Good enough for all. |
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