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Identity

St. John’s Lutheran Church
12 January 2025 + Baptism of Our Lord

Luke 3:15-17, [18-20], 21-22
Rev. Josh Evans


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“Verify you are human.”

Nothing quite brings you to the brink of an existential crisis quite so quickly as a tiny dialogue box, prompting you to check a box to confirm that you are indeed a human being, before granting you the privilege of logging in to your account.

In an age of identity theft,
it’s no wonder companies go to such lengths –
irritating as they often are –
to safeguard our information,
to confirm that you are who you say you are.

After all, our identities are deeply personal:
From the identities that we are born into –
our racial and ethnic backgrounds, our nationalities, our genders –
to the identities we take on as we grow and mature –
our careers, our alma maters, the sports teams we root for, the churches and other organizations we belong to.

Our identities give us a sense of self and belonging,
announcing as much to ourselves as to those around us:
This is who I am.

Questions about the identity of the Messiah have been swirling in the imaginations of crowds who have come to see John in the wilderness and to hear his preaching. “Are you the one?” they ask expectantly…hopefully.

And long before he has done a single noteworthy thing,
Jesus too gets in line at the water’s edge,
waiting his turn to be baptized.

“In Luke’s Gospel,” one commentator summarizes, “Jesus has not yet healed a sick person, raised a dead one, fed or taught the masses, conquered and subdued the elements, or gathered and dispatched disciples” – when, all of a sudden – “he hears the affirmation pouring out of heaven” …

“You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

In a single utterance,
an answer to the crowd’s swirling identity questions:
This is the Messiah!

Maybe.

Or maybe…
this is a more personal, perhaps solitary, moment,
meant primarily for Jesus.

In the verses missing between John’s preaching and the comparatively brief account of Jesus’ baptism, Luke writes of how Herod, once called out by John for “all the evil things that Herod had done,” had John thrown in prison – a detail Luke alone inserts before Jesus’ baptism. And, in fact, narratively and textually speaking, there is no evidence in Luke’s gospel that John is the one who baptized Jesus.

All we know for sure – in this moment –
is that there’s Jesus, the Holy Spirit dove, and a voice from heaven:
“You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Some identities are earned…
and some identities just are.

“With you I am well pleased.”

With you. Not for anything you have done, but for who you are.

There is something powerful about baptism, as Pastor Vicki Flippin reflects on her ministry:

“Whenever I do baptismal counseling for adults or children, I always emphasize this moment in Jesus’ baptism, and I tell folks that baptism is the church declaring what has always been true – that each of us belongs to God and only to God [ … ] That claim of God becomes more and more important as we wander through the maze of life, with so many individuals and institutions trying to declare ownership over us. Our baptism can remind us that no one determines our worth in this world or in the next other than God.”

And Pastor Flippin goes on, in a powerful litany:

“To the prisoner, it means you do not belong to the bars and chains around you. You belong to God.
To the addicted, it means you do not belong to that thing which you crave. You belong to God.
To the dying, it means you do not belong to this body or to that cancer. You belong to God.
To the patriot, it means you do not belong to this nation. You belong to God.
To the debtor, it means you do not belong to any bank or credit card company. You belong to God.
To the empty and overworked, it means you do not belong to your company. You belong to God.
To the depressed, it means you do not belong to this sadness. You belong to God.
To the abused, it means you do not belong to the person or the memories that hurt you. You belong to God.”

There is something powerful about baptism,
and it is nothing that we can earn or do.

In his baptism, Jesus’ identity is confirmed,
and in our baptism too, we hear God’s powerful, unshakeable words of promise:
You are my child. Beloved. With you I am well pleased.

In baptism, as our liturgy reminds us,
we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.

In these waters, we are given an identity and a sense of belonging
that no one or nothing can ever take away.

In these waters, we are held eternally in God’s abiding love and care.

This is indeed who we are and who God says we are:
beloved children of God.

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Albany, New York 12205
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