JANUARY 10, 2010  SERMON ARCHIVE

Grace to you and peace, from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior and Jesus Christ. Amen.

The text for our meditation today are the final verses of our Gospel Lesson for today, from Luke 3. There we read:

"Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, 'You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

In the name of Jesus, AMEN

There are certain things that a child wants more than anything.

At some age, that age before they want to throw off the fetters of parental guidance, a child wants to be just like their father or mother. In a television commercial a father sits with his daughter on the living room sofa to enjoy a slice of peanut butter bread. The father folds his bread in half before he takes the first bite. The child asks "why do you do that?" To which the father responds, "I don't know, my father always did it and I always wanted to be just like my father." "That's silly," says the little girl, as she turns her back to her father and folds her piece of bread in half.

Children often want to imitate, to be just like their parents. And as they imitate their father or mother, a child wants to hear words of praise from their parent.

Again, before a child wants to throw off the fetters of parental guidance, he or she wants, perhaps more than anything, to please their parent. Or, to put it another way, children want to know that their father and mother are pleased with them. It isn't difficult at all to understand why this should be. After-all, no one wants to be a disappointment to another person, particularly someone so important to them, someone that they aspire to be like.

I would dare say if you think of your relationship with your own father or mother you'll recognize how important it was, or perhaps still is, to have their affirmation, their acceptance, and even their praise. In times past you have likely longed to hear voices, namely the voice of your father, the voice of your mother, saying, well done…good job.

There are certain things that a child wants more than anything, and yet, as you and I both know, there are certain things that parents are often ill equipped to give. Some parents praise, it would seem, is more valuable than their child's ability to earn it.

Perhaps it is because the parents are reluctant to "spoil" their child. Or perhaps it is because their own parents were stingy with praise and affirmation. Whatever the reason, children don't often grow up in the perfect household, with the perfect mix of praise and discipline. Many adults today still look back at their upbringing and they blame their parents for their own shortcomings. "If I had only had this or that as a child, some reason, things would be very different for me today."

Your heavenly Father, of course, doesn't sit with you on the sofa with a peanut butter sandwich. But if He did, I'm sure you would want to mimic His every move because you would want to be like Him.

More than that, you would want Him to be pleased with you. And there is a parallel, you know, between your relationship with your earthly father and your relationship with your heavenly Father.

However, in the heavenly realm, the good pleasure of our Father is infinitely more important and valuable than the good pleasure of your earthly father. To never gain the pleasure of an earthly father is indeed devastating. It tears at the heart and at the emotions. It can sometimes leave you paralyzed in the area of relationships.

But, it doesn't leave you destined for hell. It doesn't leave you without God's help, without His friendship and without His strength and love. To not know the pleasure of your heavenly Father however is to live without the Gospel, and therefore, it is to live without the promise of victory over death. It is to live without hope. It is to live in continual fear of God and of His judgment.

All of this brings us to a question, one prompted by the Gospel reading for this morning from Mark 1.

What does your heavenly Father think of you?

Gosh, you might think, that's a pretty daunting question, one that seems awfully broad and open ended. I mean sometimes, you might think, your Father in heaven must be pleased with you. Other times you'd have to admit that He must not be very pleased with you. You suspect that God's acceptance, or His pleasure with you changes

Oh, it isn't that God's love changes. No, He is perfectly consistent. In fact, He doesn't change at all…He is, as the Scripture says, the same yesterday, today and forever. For sure, your actions change and some of those actions, or deeds, are pleasing to God, others, those things that the Bible calls sin, are not. So, it's a pretty broad and daunting question, you might think, for someone to ask what God thinks of you.

But, it's a fair question too because only those who are well-pleasing in God's sight will finally be saved from the consequence of their sin. As the Scripture says, "the carnal mind (that is the mind alienated from Christ) is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God." (Rom. 8:7). And again, as the writer of the letter to the Hebrews says, "without faith it is impossible to please God." (Heb. 11:6)

So, what does your heavenly Father think of you?

Is there an objective theological truth behind the answer to the question, or is the answer subject to the ups and downs of your day to day existence?

What does your heavenly Father think of you?

Has God told you what He thinks of you?

Have you heard any voices lately?

No doubt, on many occasions, you have longed to hear the voice of God, perhaps while in prayer, or at some other time. In fearful moments and in moments of despair I know you would especially like to hear the voice of God.

And yet, I’m not all together sure that, should you hear His voice, you would be able to cope with it. In fact, hearing the voice of God, you might look back to those days of your upbringing. You know, when your parents didn't do everything that you thought they should, and then you might think to yourselves, "Oh great, now I'm hearing voices!" I’m not all together sure that should God speak to you that you would be able to cope with it. But still, do you want to know "what does He think of us…indeed, what does He think of ME?"

Well, God has, in fact, spoken to you. He has told you clearly what He thinks of you. Actually, He has not only told you clearly what He thinks of you, He has also demonstrated clearly what He thinks of you. Listen, if you would for a moment to the voice of God. "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

It was in that moment, when Jesus was to be baptized, to fulfill all righteousness, that the heavens parted and the voice of God was heard. God's pleasure with His Son Jesus was affirmed, affirmed in such a way that it could never be denied.

For one thing, Jesus never did anything that displeased His Father. In fact, all that He said and did was perfectly orchestrated to fulfill the good pleasure of His Father.

He loved when love was due.

He wept when weeping was drawn out by suffering

He chastened when chastening was necessary to call sinners back from the brink of destruction.

And yes, He died when dying was necessary to redeem the world.

Jesus never did or said anything that displeased His Father. He was the perfect Son. And the whole world would know, by the voice of the Father, that Jesus was that perfect Son. "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Ah, you say, that is fine and good, but the question was "what does God think of ME?" Well, again, I ask you, "have you heard any voices lately?" Indeed, you have, for what the Father says of His Son He says of YOU. "You are My beloved Son (My beloved daughter) in whom I am well pleased."

Something marvelous and miraculous took place when you were baptized into the name of Jesus. Baptism, you see, isn't just some sort of religious rite, or religious nicety. It isn't simply a declaration of what you vow to do as God's child.

No, it is God's great work in the world and in your life. You came to a font like this one, or perhaps it was this very font. Water that had been combined with the Word of God's promise was placed on your forehead and in that very moment you were transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's beloved Son.

Jesus' life became your life. .

His story became your story.

His death became your death.

His resurrection from the dead became your resurrection from the dead

And the voice of His Father became the voice of your Father…"This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."

It was that voice from heaven at which the legions of hell, your own accusing conscience and the world itself must finally bow. God has spoken, my friends, and you have heard His voice.

Christ Is Risen.