Sermon from the Baptism of Our Lord – January 12, 2025, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church – Buffalo, NY .
Sermon Video | 8:30am and 10:30am Worship Services
Sermon Text | Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Sunday morning before the Buffalo Bills play in a playoff game is a time of excitement mixed with a bit of apprehension. We have no idea what kinds of plays we will see, but we will certainly see throws that look like they really have no place to go, but somehow they arrive in the receiver’s hands. We will see throws where, from the quarterback’s perspective, there is no receiver to throw to. That is … until suddenly a receiver shows up at the right place and the right time. We’ll see catches that seem impossible as they defy all laws of physics. This is true of other great teams, as well.
Performing at this level, of course, relies on talent and intellect, but also on the hours upon hours of practice to build and polish the relationship and trust between the quarterback and receiver. At some point, practice leads to muscle memory almost on the level of instinct. The players are then able to not only intellectually process the game, but almost feel their way to the right play and the right move.
Much like running plays and practicing on a football team, you and I can develop spiritual muscle memory that helps us feel our way through the challenges and complex emotions we face as we navigate our lives.
During Advent and Christmas, we heard a lot about FEAR. We heard about an angel of the Lord who appeared to John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, saying “do not be afraid.” Then the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary saying, “do not be afraid.” Then later when the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds in the field keeping watch over their flocks by night saying, “do not be afraid.”
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that generally, people haven’t changed all that much since the time of Jesus. Fear is still fear … and someone telling you not to fear doesn’t help much. A statement or directive doesn’t automatically or immediately alleviate the fear or the cause of it.
There are legitimately many things to fear in our world. I heard an interview yesterday of a man who said that, at the beginning of this past week, his worries, his priorities, and his plans for the day were fairly typical. He never would have imagined that, by the end of the week, he and his family would be abandoning their home in California and taking only what they could carry, while worrying for the lives and property of their family, friends, and neighbors. Their lives, their pets, their property, their keepsakes and all of their possessions were in danger from the California wildfires. Californians were not facing dramatized danger, but real danger.
My cousin and her family live in the affected area. They had to flee their home. My cousin’s husband also had to evacuate his mom from an assisted living facility. He went back yesterday and all he found was a shell of that facility. The apartment where she lived on the third floor in the back of the building was no longer there.
Does it work in such a situation to say, “do not be afraid”? Of course not.
In fact, saying not to be afraid in these kinds of situations can come across as being out of touch, insensitive, or like a meaningless platitude.
This leads me to wonder: is the statement “do not fear” more of a reminder than an instruction? Does the reminder not to be afraid call us to rely on what we know, what we believe, what we hold dear, and what we’ve experienced … kind of like football players relying on their training and feeling their way forward?
We hear the reminder not to fear in the reading from Isaiah 43. This was a very dark time in the history of God’s people called the Babylonian Exile. Around 586 BC, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians. Many residents of Jerusalem were forced to move to Babylon, which is in modern day Iraq – about 1,000 miles away. I looked it up on Google maps which indicated that it would take 259 hours to walk there – that’s if you walked directly through the desert.
This period of Exile was not short – it lasted about 50 years! A whole generation of children were born who only knew captivity.
They had good reason to fear with no idea how long they would be in captivity.
All of this stirred up some serious questions for God’s people. In the middle of their fear and uncertainty, they sought to remember that they believed God was “almighty.” They remembered that following God, they had defeated their enemies. They remembered that God led them from slavery in Egypt, through the wilderness, to the Promised Land.
They remembered that God was with them through these times … providing for them. Then God dwelt in the Temple in Jerusalem.
How could any army defeat God’s people when God was on their side?
Had God abandoned them?
Was God not as “almighty” as they had thought?
Isaiah 43 was written during this time of Exile. It shares the reminder not to fear – not to let fear rule. It also shows the honesty and intimacy of God’s relationship with the people.
These passages teach that God doesn’t pretend that bad things won’t ever happen to us. God tells the people “WHEN you pass through the waters” and “WHEN you walk through the fire”, and then God reassures the people: “I will be with you,” “You are mine,” the waters will not overwhelm you and the flames will not consume you.
There are times in most of our lives when we face a pervasive fear that things will never change – things will never get better. There are times when things are rolling along smoothly and, out of nowhere, our lives get turned upside down. This is the reality of life.
In these times, we can choose to become like the Buffalo Bills … we engage our hearts, our minds, and we remember God’s word to us in the middle of those times of doubt and uncertainty and fear. We can further develop our spiritual muscles and resiliency as we hear God speak to us the familiar and powerful words, “Do not fear” – remembering it not an instruction, but a reminder. “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”
As you go through the week ahead, how can you remember for yourself (or remind others) that we are called, claimed, and loved by God who goes through it with us … because of love.
Each time we hear or are reminded of these words … each time we experience fear and realize we’re not alone in it … each time we experience God’s unconditional love and unwavering presence, our soul’s muscle memory is strengthened and we are more able to feel our way through life as we experience the confidence and joy of living in God’s presence.
In the name of Jesus. Amen!
Epicurious Lutheran 