Stop

Rev Michael Holdaway

Luke 3: 15-17 ,21-22

The baptism of Jesus
A few days ago I was driving and crossing the Oak Grove intersection near the hospital and would you believe it there is a stop sign. It is one of those spots which if you are a local, is so familiar that the stop sign kind of changes into a give way sign. Being a safe driver of course I slow up carefully look and then drifted across Oak Grove. Out of the blue from no-where a police car appears indicating to me to pull- over. I am frantically thinking of a brilliant excuse! A really nice policeman asked for my driver’s license and then said “did you realize that was a stop sign?”

UMMM well I thought I did stop?  Flip really, what an answer!  Porky if there ever was. Then he said   ‘you can go’, and I thought yippee! no ticket, phew.

A few days later the ticket arrives in the post, my mail never seems that efficient.
 
The reason I tell this story is because I am pointing out that familiarity can lead to assumptions and taking things for granted. Sometimes we do need to have someone to pull us up short who makes us accountable individually and sometimes as a  church. In a few verses before this morning’s gospel reading is an account of John the Baptist preaching to people about God’s judgement and their need to receive a baptism of repentance as preparation for the coming Messiah.

(Luke 3v9) “An axe is ready to cut the trees down at their roots .Any tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into  the fire.”
 
The first century Jew believed they were God’s favored nation; therefore free from God’s judgement because they were Abrahams offspring. But the people were so convinced by John’s preaching about the their actions and the consequences of God’s judgement, they ask how should they respond?

John the Baptist said
‘If you have two coats then share one with someone in need’.
Soldiers asked ‘what should we do?’  
John Baptist replied “don’t force people to pay you money be content with the pay you have “
Tax collectors wanting to be baptized asked what do we do?
“Don’t make people pay more than they owe’ (Luke 3:10-14)
 
Johns preaching was like a great big ‘stop’ sign telling people to take slow up and look around! Telling them all people are accountable for their actions particularly if they are God’s chosen people. John’s preaching brought about a change in direction.
 
For us today it is difficult to imagine this time because this was an unprecedented movement to God: a tidal wave of people went into the wilderness to be baptized and amongst this crowd was a young unassuming Jewish man. In Luke’s account it does not mention John the Baptist being the person who baptizes Jesus .It simply says while every -one else was being baptized Jesus himself was baptized.
 
A baptism of repentance, why did Jesus do it? I ask the question because we recognize Jesus as being sinless because of his perfect obedience to his Father, in other words he is in perfect love with Him. In the Nicene Creed we confess Jesus is the only son of God, Eternally begotten of the Father, begotten not made, one with the Father. Last Sunday we reflected on the Magi from the East bringing Jesus gifts recognizing he is the long awaited King .This church season is called Epiphany,  where we celebrate the manifestation of Christ ; it is a moment of revelation , discovery and disclosure.
 
With all that in our minds, why does he go to be baptized? Jesus by now   is 30 years old and people’s response to John the Baptist preaching was a ‘Stop’ sign not just to the Jews but also to Jesus. There was a huge hunger and expectation for God by the ordinary people. People were  asking John the Baptist are you the Messiah?
 
For Jesus His baptism is a stop sign, marking the beginning of his ministry, it came out of John’s call to change direction. The account says, as Jesus Prayed the heavens opened up and Holy Spirit came upon Him as dove and a voice from heaven said “You are my own dear Son in whom I am well pleased”
 
These words are from two passages in the Old Testament.
Ps 2:7 “This is my own beloved Son”
Beloved is one of my favorite words in my bible because it expresses a very tender love for someone.
And
Isa 42:1 “In whom I am well pleased “
If you read Isa 42 it is a description of a Servant of the Lord, a portrait which culminates in a suffering servant in Isa chapter 53.
 
In the action of the baptism of Jesus we see the disclosure of Jesus’s identity as God’s Son, the Messiah we also see the approval God His Father, as well as revelation of Jesus’s inevitable suffering on the cross. It is true we should take great comfort in   Jesus’s baptism because  it shows us he is Gods only Beloved Son who became one of us ! a complete human being :  proof that humanity matters, that creation matters and we are all beloved of God……………..that is true!
 
But we are being cautioned not to be complacent. It is important how we behave and what we say to each other .We are accountable to each other and God. It is easy to be like  the first century Jew and  assume that somehow we are exempt or favored because of what Jesus has done and what he means to us. Johns preaching was and continues to be a challenge to ‘stop’. Jesus disclosed himself to the world at a time when there was a great expectation for the Messiah and great hunger for God. And today there continues to be a huge hunger for God. How do we respond? 

During the week I found this passage from 1st John chapter 4 where it says “God is Love!” These verses remind us that, if  we truly love others and live as Christ in the world then we do not need to worry about judgement.  A real love for others will chase away the worries of judgement. Real love isn’t our love for God but His love for us! You all know the scripture so well, “God so loved the world that he gave his Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will  have eternal life” John3:16 I have this picture of Love being like a flax flower with a  main stem  from it ,beautiful flowers are formed each representing  different forms of love but the main stem is God , God is Love .This true love is best revealed  in  Jesus on the cross.
  
The challenge for us  as a church and individually is to ‘stop’ and reflect on the commandment God has given us is:
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“Love God and love each other” 1 John 4:21 As a church we often forget about the young Jewish man who draws in the sand while people around him ready themselves by picking up stones to throw. I am with Jesus drawing in the sand , wanting to discover love which comes from his unconditional love for me and his church. For our Diocese especially with so much disruption and ordination of our new Bishop Peter it presents an opportunity to “stop”    examine ourselves and be open to what the Holy Spirit   may disclose to us.
 
This morning’s collect is worth taking home and reflecting on because it reminds us of different ways God discloses Himself to the world remembering that fundamental truth, God is Love.  
A God who is one of us
A God ever present
Disclosed in prayer
Disclosed in our relationships
Disclosed in our desire to serve
Disclosed through the Holy Spirit
Amen.