Weekly Sermon: 01-11-2026 - Season of Light, Love, and Mission

The Holy Gospel according to Matthew.

Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.

John would have prevented him saying, I need to be baptized by you. And do you come to me?

But Jesus answered him, let it be so now for it is proper for us in this way

to fulfill all righteousness.

Then he consented. and when

Jesus had been baptized just as he came up

from the water suddenly the heavens were open

to him and he saw God's spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him and

a voice fell from the heavens said this is my son the beloved with whom I am

well pleased the gospel of the Lord you may be seated.

All right. So I had a moment back when I was in kindergarten and after school,

we would get into these long lines and they were for the bus and you were supposed

to get into the line corresponding with the bus number for the bus that would take you home.

And so you stood where you were supposed supposed

to stand you did as you were told and when

it was time everybody just one after

another would line up and get onto the bus and it

was efficient and it worked but one afternoon something went wrong i don't know

whether it was because i was distracted the teachers weren't paying attention

or I was having a lot of fun being a kid. I was in kindergarten.

All right. So, but what happened was I got into the wrong line.

We started walking towards the buses. And as I, as we were pulling up and walking

up there, I looked up and I saw this isn't my bus driver.

And then I looked over at the number on the side of the bus.

And I was like, this isn't my bus number and i'm freaking out and i look around

and i see my bus pull out and just go away,

and i sat there i panicked and i started crying because what else are you supposed

to do when you're in kindergarten, and your bus is gone.

I had no idea how to get home, and I felt like it was my fault.

I should have gotten into the correct line.

And I was in the wrong place, and I didn't know how to fix it.

Eventually, just to kind of give you the end of the story, a kind teacher noticed

me standing there bawling, crying, sobbing, and took care of it. He found another bus.

He talked to the driver, and he made sure that I got where I needed to go.

I didn't have to solve it. I didn't have to find wherever home was. I just had to be found.

That feeling, the panic, confusion, the helplessness that I felt, that stayed with me.

It's a core memory. Obviously, I'm bringing it up today.

And the hardest part sometimes isn't doing the right thing, doing everything right.

It's standing where you're not sure where you belong.

Wrong and that panic doesn't just belong to me we all know that terrible feeling of,

feeling out of place who has a who here hasn't wondered if they're doing faith

wrong or if they're missing the mark maybe it's in the small moments like showing up late to church,

or as big as life decisions that make you feel like you are outside of God's plan.

Maybe it's when somebody else seems to be right in a way that you're simply not.

And we carry that quiet fear of being in the wrong line, missing our cue,

and being unsure if we belong in God's arms throughout our lives.

But here's the thing. This feeling doesn't always come from our sin or our failures in life.

Sometimes it's just our own vulnerability. The part of us that wants to organize

and control our place in the world, that part of us that flinches when we feel

like we're in the wrong place and we don't know how to get home.

I've been thinking about this fear in light of the recent murder of Renee Nicole

Good and so many other painful news stories that have come out this week.

And for many of us, it's have it has us feeling exposed, has us feeling angry,

maybe grieving and unsure of where safety and order can be found in our lives.

Moments like this remind us how fragile life actually is, how quickly it can

feel like the world around us is falling apart.

And it's in moments like these, we don't just wonder whether we are in the wrong

place or in the wrong line in relationship with our God.

We begin to wonder if the world itself is out of order. And that's why this

moment at the Jordan matters so much, Because in this story,

Jesus comes from Galilee and goes to the Jordan.

And at first glance, he actually seems to be in the wrong line.

John sees him and says, I need to be baptized by you. And do you come to me?

In other words, this isn't right. You're the Messiah. The water isn't for the Messiah.

And it's for the sinners those who

need to be redeemed and Jesus you're not feeding in

to the expected order of things you are supposed to baptize me and there's more

this is play again this is a place for sinners this is for those who feel unworthy

and are aware of their brokenness They are on the outside of God's grace,

desperately seeking a ticket into God's grace.

And lo and behold, John has just declared before this passage that baptism is

for repentance and forgiveness.

So they find themselves in this place, desperately holding on to the hope of

redemption that baptism can give them.

So one can see why there's so much commotion about the Messiah being there and

apparently wanting to step into these waters with them.

And I think this tension in the story is purposeful.

It's grabbing our attention to a deep claim about the nature of God,

about the nature of Jesus and his purpose with humanity.

And that claim is that Jesus's presence in the water is not about his need,

but rather about identifying with humanity.

Jesus steps into the same line as those who were anxious and hesitant and unsure

and dirty about their place in the world.

He places himself in the midst of the very people who will one day be redeemed through his ministry.

And by stepping into the water with the sinner, Jesus signals that God's salvation

begins with solidarity.

God is not distant and observing from afar, but rather God steps into the misery

and the messy and the uncertain places where people are just trying to find their way.

And notice also how Jesus responds to John's statement.

He doesn't argue with John. He doesn't explain his action.

He does not try to correct John's logic. He just does it.

There's no explanation needed because solidarity does not have to be rationalized.

This moment is a reminder that God's work does not always fit our expectation.

God allows the awkwardness, allows the hesitation and confusion,

and God does not clarify a correct immediately, but rather God lets the moment

unfold in its fullness and all of its tension.

This act also foreshadows the pattern of God's saving work.

God does not wait for humanity to get a right, to line up perfectly,

or to earn a place with God.

God acts first. God initiates salvation before we prove ourselves,

before we demonstrate faith, and before we are ready.

Jesus' baptism is an inauguration of the pattern. Jesus' initiative precedes human action.

And God's grace moves in the water before ministry or the sacrifice takes place.

And it's only after Jesus stands in the water and makes himself vulnerable just as a sinner.

In that awkward moment, heaven responds.

The spirit descends and then the identity of the son of God is revealed.

When it said, this is my son, the beloved with whom I am well pleased.

The voice doesn't wait for Jesus to prove himself.

Jesus hasn't healed anybody yet. He hasn't taught a sermon.

He hasn't faced temptation or begun the work that we think of as his ministry.

God speaks first, naming who Jesus is before anything else happens.

God's work is never dependent on our performance.

God doesn't wait for the perfect, flawless faith. God names Jesus beloved in

the water before any accomplishment.

And that naming sets the trajectory for everything that comes after.

And this story is not just about Jesus. It's the same voice that speaks over us here today.

God calls, God claims, God names, and God acts.

Before we have proved ourselves or even understand what God is doing in our lives.

The voice comes over the one in the wrong line, the one who is hesitant,

the ones who are unsure of their belonging at God's table.

All of them, whether they claim to be saint or sinner, are called beloved by God.

God acts first. The Spirit's descent reminds us of that.

We are never waiting to be noticed or approved by God.

God calls us and names us beloved.

And because of Christ's naming is life-giving and is the foundation of our salvation

and the root of the hope that we live by.

So standing in the water with Jesus, we are reminded that God's voice always comes first.

God's grace reaches us before we can even act.

We are beloved and named by God, and that is our inheritance in Christ,

and that it is always given, and it is never something that we earn by being the perfect Christian.

Today, that word beloved is for anybody here standing in the water,

unsure of if they belong.

Those who think they've missed their cue.

Remember that the word comes first. We just need to stand there just to notice

that maybe being where we are isn't as wrong as it feels.

So we watch and quietly we begin to hear what the spirit has always been saying

to each and every single one of us here today,

that belonging isn't earned that belovedness doesn't depend

on our performance or understanding that god speaks

first and we are claimed faith doesn't

have to be about earning a place in god's care but about

noticing the love that is already given our baptism

doesn't have to be a one-time event but rather

a place where we can return to

again and again and hear that voice quietly

telling us that we are beloved and

as we move forward throughout this week as we move through our lives if you

feel uncertain of your place with god if you find yourself in the wrong line

wondering if you belong take a moment and remember your baptism.

Let your baptism remind you that god already

has claimed you that you are beloved and

there's nothing you can do or fail to change that

in your prayers this week

i urge you to pause and thank god for your

baptism and let the word beloved wash over you let it shape how you approach

your day and your interaction with others if you journal take a moment and write

about your baptism if you have memories some of us were baptized as adults and

some of us were baptized as children.

But write down, if you remember it, what that baptism was like for you.

And if you don't, you know, think of moments throughout your life where your

baptism has informed your life, where it has had a big impact on who you are.

If you're an artist that creates something inspired by your baptism,

you can draw, paint, sculpt, whatever it is that helps you express what it means

to be held by god and called beloved,

and if you like movement if you like to walk stretch exercise lift weights,

take a moment during those to remember god's voice over you at the rhythm of

exercising or the walk in your body echo the claim that you are already god's beloved,

And in your relationship, let the awareness of you being beloved move you in

how you shape or move you in how you treat others in your life.

Offer kindness and grace, knowing that just as you are held and called beloved,

that they too are held and called beloved.

So the invitation this week is simple to notice, reflect, return, and listen.

Take a moment to remember your baptism. If you have strong memories, great.

If you don't, just let it, just think about how it's impacted you.

Remember that you don't have to prove yourself. You are claimed by God and you

are already called beloved.

Lean into that voice. let it guide your steps in your heart and let it remind

you that being in the right place isn't about perfection it's about god's presence

with you wherever you are,

so don't worry about it you're not in the wrong line or in the wrong place and god is right there,

telling you that you are beloved and it's going to maybe help find the right bus for you to get on.

So, amen. Go in peace to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly,

shining the light of Christ as you love, serve, and welcome all.

Thanks be to God, and we will.