God created us for a purpose.  There is a reason you and I are here: here on this earth, here in this church this morning.  The reasons are connected.  Through Isaiah, God reminds us of this noble, glorious truth.  Today, we remember not only the official beginning of Jesus’ ministry on earth.  Remembering his ministry, we also remember our own, particularly as, today, we consecrate three of our own to serve for three years on the session of this congregation.  These elders-elect, together with the rest of session, including me, are called to be especially mindful of nurturing Christ among us and of calling, guiding, and equipping the church to live into our God-given ministries: the very purpose for which we are here this day and here on this earth.

Though we and many may have emerged from the time of fear, it has not been into a time of freedom but into a time of frustration.  There’s still so much going on, outside and inside, leaving people feeling frustrated, disappointed, exhausted.  It doesn’t take long to encounter it.  What does God say, though?  “Do not fear” (43:1).  Well, if we’re no longer as afraid as we were a year and more ago, shall we check this item off our list?  I hear God also saying, don’t fret; don’t worry; don’t let your life be ruled by frustration, disappointment, or exhaustion.  God speaks words for comfort and joy—such words aren’t just for Christmas, beloved!  God tells us not to fret or fume, as though if we would only hear His voice, hear His Word, and listen, we would have peace, as though to hear were to receive peace, as though to hear were to find courage, be given courage, and hope.

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you” (43:1).  We have heard this word redeemed several times these past Sundays.  God has paid the price for us.  The cross ever before us is a sign of this staggering reality.  He has set us free.  Our freedom has a price; it comes with a cost, but we aren’t required to pay it.  Because God created us for His purpose, He shoulders the cost.  We are redeemed from God, by God, for God.  He pays the price.

It’s not as if Jesus does not know or understand this, there on the banks of the Jordan, seeing the water, the sky, and the sun, seeing John and all the people gathered, desiring God, God with them, among them, for them.  It’s not as if Jesus does not know the cost, the price to be paid, as he walks down into the water, stands there next to John’s trembling hands: John whose eyes become wet with tears as he beholds the Lamb of God.  John knows.  He had hoped, of course, that it might even be in his day, in his time, perhaps even in his presence, but for it to be his own hands?  Can you imagine, guiding Jesus down into the waters, under the waters, and would it be your hands lifting Jesus up, your eyes beholding him take that first breath?

The assurance of our salvation is undeniable, the assurance of God’s power unquestionable.  Which doesn’t mean that people don’t or can’t deny, don’t or can’t question.  Faith, the difference between us and those outside, convicts us that God has committed Himself to us.  He has washed you and will wash you.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you” (43:2).  Immanuel.  The Spirit.  The Spirit of truth; the Spirit of life.  Oh those waters.  Sometimes calm, other times troubled.  Sometimes clear, other times murky.  Sometimes a delight, other times a terror.  I will be with you.  Do not be afraid.  God leads His dear children along.  As our foundation is firm, we walk with confidence, we walk in safety, no matter what happens.  We walk by faith, leaning not upon our own understanding.

“When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (43:2).  You might think of Daniel, of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  The fires of raging fury, the fires of opposition, persecution.  They can burn down churches, but they cannot incinerate the Church.  We know another fire, beloved; we, especially, know another fire: the fire of Pentecost, the fire of the Spirit, light for guidance, warmth for comfort, fire for purification.  God who is pure will have us pure, brothers and sisters.  Peter reminded us that our baptism has very little to do with a bath, a washing away of the outward dirt (1 Pet 3:21).  This baptism, in Spirit and truth, by holy fire, is to cleanse our hearts: an ongoing purification.  It’s our life’s work, and without Jesus Christ, without God’s Word, without the Holy Spirit, it would be a fool’s errand, this purification of the heart, a Sisyphean task: a futile labor.  Those fiery trials are to consume the dross as God refines the gold.

Why, God?  Why me?  Why now?  Won’t You give me a little rest, not even a moment to swallow my own spit, as Job so bluntly put it (Job 7:19)?  God will have us pure, beloved!  It hurts, I know!  It’s hard, I know!  Together with me, want the result.  Desire the outcome, and, with me, together, let us patiently, faithfully persevere.  Salvation is never so far away; he is always close.  Our Father will make Jesus shine in us, beloved, and how bright we shall be!

Whom God chooses choose Him.  We shall encounter opposition, resistance, rejection.  In Christ, God offers salvation to all, and we know, God’s Word is very clear, that not all shall accept this offer.  We see this as we make our journey through the world.  We know also that the Israel of God—His remnant—is hidden even to us until God reveals it.  In saving us, others are not saved, perhaps for a time, perhaps for all time.  I don’t know who is damned for all time, but I do know that to be saved is to receive God’s Word and not thereafter turn from God’s Word.  To welcome God’s Word and thereafter to be reshaped, cleansed, by the Word you have welcomed, is to be saved.  Let us not pick and choose in God’s Word: this I welcome but this I reject.  “I would really love you if I could change this one thing about you.”  Words of love?

We say God loves the sinner but hates the sin.  That is kind.  But may I just say that God isn’t really crazy about the sinner, either?  God hates the sin and is even less happy with the sinner, so He kills the sinner and gives life to the Christian.  Are you following?  God kills the sinner, giving life to the Christian.  We die to sin and live to righteousness.  This is a key part of what happens in baptism, and why it is always helpful to remember our baptism, even if we were baptized as an infant.  We may have no memories of our baptism, no memorable emotions associated with the experience, but this does not mean our baptism was meaningless.  Our faith is not built upon the experiences of our emotions.  Our faith is built upon God’s promise.  Martin Luther, in his own struggles with temptation, would cry out, “I am baptized!”  We no longer belong to temptation; we don’t have to, anymore.  We belong to God.

“Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life” (43:4).  I’ve always found that verse unsettling.  Is God saying that, in caring for us, He does not care about those other lives?  Such thinking, I fear, reflects the hardness of my heart and the thickness of my skull—the two are related, you know!

Have you ever walked up to a line of people, thinking, O Lord, this is a long line!  Only, then, you see someone trying to catch your eye, calling out to you, waving to you, beckoning, someone who is close to the head of the line, and you think, “Yes!  My lucky day!”  How happy you are, and oh those ugly stares and scowls on the faces of those you pass by to stand with your friend up near the head of the line.  It’s wonderful when someone further up signals to you, but how about the one at the door?  “[Y]ou are precious and honored in my sight.”  This does not mean that God will throw away other people for your sake, as though who cares about any of them so long as He can have you!  Perhaps they are in line, too.  Perhaps they are making their way to the line, too.  But God calls you to the head of the line: it is as if we have been called to the head of the line—a long line, a blessed and happy line.

God is at work, calling, gathering.  Christ came and was baptized to call and to gather.  We are baptized into Christ Jesus to die to sin and to live for righteousness: even Jesus Christ.  Living for Jesus, we work to call and gather, never relying upon ourselves, always being amazed at what the Spirit is doing in us, among us, through us, for the kingdom.  Through you and me—can you imagine!—God is at work, bringing back “everyone who is called by [His] name, whom [He] created for [His] glory, whom [He] formed and made” (43:7).  What does baptism mean, mean for us?  “Do not be afraid, for I am with you” (43:5).

To the God of all grace, who calls you to share His eternal glory in union with Christ, be the power forever!  Amen.