Have you seen Mary Poppins Return? I have not yet, but I have a fond place in my heart for Let’s Go Fly A Kite in the first movie. I love how the movie resolves with the reprise of the song when the family reconnects, and Mr. Banks gets his job back. I also have been told that a kite brings Mary Poppins back in the sequel. Kite flying is just one of those things to which we can all relate. How we need to run to get the kite off the ground, and how the wind must be blowing for the kite to ascend into the sky. I have flown many kites at the beach where a steady wind seems to live. I love being able to tie a kite on the back of a beach chair and have it fly all day, with very little effort. Kites work well in the wind.
Today we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord, and in Luke’s gospel, the wind plays a role in that as well. Listen now for God’s word to you.
Before I get to the wind, I want to mention a couple of things. Jesus’ baptism is in three of the four gospels, and each one tells the story a little differently. But they all share God’s declaration, “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased” (22). But Luke’s account is much more personal, more connected. He notes how the people are feeling- “filled with expectations.” He notes they are wondering about John being the Messiah, there is a relational feel to this account. Then there is this amazing thing, Jesus almost stands in line to get baptized. Scripture declares, “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized.” What, it is not a singular event? Jesus is baptized with a bunch of people. I love this! Our baptism is based on Jesus’ baptism which is why it is one of our two sacraments. To think at Jesus’ baptism he had lots of other people who wanted to follow God, wanting to walk in the way, right there in the river Jordan with him. One commentator wrote, “Jesus simply got in line with everyone who had been broken by the wear and tear of this selfish world…When the line of downtrodden people formed in hopes of new beginnings through a return to God, Jesus joined them. At his baptism, he identified with the damaged and broken people who needed God” (Feasting on the Word, C1, p. 236). This makes Jesus’ baptism feel so much more relational and real.
The second thing that is unique to Luke is that at his baptism Jesus was praying. Praying! Now Jesus prays a lot, especially in Luke’s gospel. Jesus prays before he calls his disciples (6:12), before asking them who he is (9:18), after healing people (5:16), at the time of his transfiguration (9:29), before teaching his disciples how to pray (11:1), on the night of his arrest (22:41), and at his death (23:46). Jesus praying at his baptism connects us to him and our own baptism, in a new way. I don’t know about you, but I do not remember my baptism. I was an infant; my family made that decision for me as a way of recognizing that I belong to God. I would guess many of you do not remember your baptism either. But Jesus praying at his baptism helps us to connect to our own. I can pray today, you can pray today, and each time we do, we unite with Jesus and our baptism. Baptism is one and done. We do not get rebaptized, but prayer is always available to us. We can connect to that; we can do that again and again. We are more connected to Jesus and our baptism through prayer! The source of Jesus strength is prayer. Prayer is the source of our strength too!
Now back to the wind. Just as we all know that it takes wind to fly a kite, people of Jesus’ time would understand it takes wind to separate the wheat from the chaff. I must admit when I read about winnowing fork and unquenchable fire, I want to turn off, thinking it is about hell. I think you know by now I am not a hell, fire and brimstone preacher. But studying for this sermon, I learned that wind plays a key role in separating the wheat from the chaff, the usable part of the grain from the unusable. With a winnowing fork whole grain is thrown in the air and the breeze separates the two parts. So that the grain can be stored, and the chaff can be disposed. Jesus is holding the winnowing fork, but it is the wind that does the work, that is active in this process. The wind, in this case, is the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is active in our baptism and Jesus.’ It is active in Jesus’ prayer life and ours.
As soon as Jesus is baptized and prays, the Holy Spirit descends in bodily form like a dove. Luke is the only one who says, “in bodily form,” emphasizing the reality of this spiritual experience. The Holy Spirit is now descending to earth and is active in the world. The Holy Spirit was there at Jesus’ baptism, and at ours. We also connect to the Holy Spirit any time we choose through prayer! That is the power of prayer! It connects us to Jesus; the Holy Spirit is active, the wind is blowing!
Jesus is baptized and praying, the Holy Spirit is there and then into this moment we hear God’s voice. The psalmist reminds us of all the splendor and majesty found in God’s voice. The power of God’s voice when speaking over the waters at creation and the glory of God’s voice in revealing his beloved Son. This baptism is one of the few and amazing trinitarian moments when Jesus, the Holy Spirit and God all come together.
God’s voice is also present in our prayers. In our quiet moments with God, in our searching for direction, in our times of longing and joy. I have never heard the voice of God in a truly audible way like happened at Jesus’ baptism. But God’s voice comes to us in many forms; quiet nudges, strong encouragements, silent waiting. The Holy Spirit that helps us to perceive, to understand God’s plan for our lives, thru prayer.
This morning during adult education we started our 7-week Bible study looking at Vital Congregations. We explored Acts 2 another book written by Luke. In this passage Peter is describing the common life of the early Christians and starts with devotion to the apostles teaching, fellowship, breaking bread and prayer. Prayer! Inviting the active Spirit into the life of this group of the faithful. Peter is describing how the early church relates to each other, depends on each other and the Holy Spirit and prayer, to be in God’s will. I invite you to join us for this very important study next week at 9:00, and for the next 6-weeks, as we look at who we are as a congregation and pray together about our future and hopes.
Finally, today we are honoring the baptism of our Lord, the rite of passage into the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Today we are also sharing an inauguration ritual as we ordain and install elders and deacons within our church. For Chris and Barbara, this is the beginning of their ministry as deacons. Karen is returning as a deacon with Janet and Gene returning as elders. My encouragement to you is to lean into prayer. Pray for words when you are not sure what to say, pray for the people you tend in your neighborhood, pray for your own direction in how to lead this church. Thank you for your service and thank you for your prayers for the people of this congregation.
I want to leave all of us with this image. We started with the wind making kites fly. But prayer has a job too. Heartfelt prayer is like the sail of a ship that harnesses the power of the wind; the power of the Holy Spirit. If the sail is down or luffing, then the actions of the Spirit have very little impact. The wind blows, but nothing changes. Your prayer is a sail to our church. As we spend time in prayer, as we lean into this practice, we are hoisting the sails; we are capturing the wind. The wind blows, the Holy Spirit moves, but only through prayer does God guide us in divine power and purpose. Amen.
