“What Identify Have You Adopted?”

Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – January 10, 2016

Centenary United Methodist Church

Isaiah 43:1-7; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

 

    This morning's lesson from the Gospel of Luke concerns Jesus' baptism.  Have you ever wondered who Jesus was prior to his hearing the voice that said, "You are my Son and I am very pleased with how you are living?"     

    New Testament scholars are fairly certain that during Jesus' early years, nothing extraordinary occurred.  Had he been a child prodigy, demonstrating miraculous feats like healing people, turning water into wine or as the Gospel of Thomas suggests, making clay pigeons and turning them into living birds, he would have drawn considerable attention to himself.  There is no record of that happening.

    The Gospel of Mark suggests that Jesus was just an ordinary member of the community that was obedient to assuming the traditional Hebrew roles of the eldest son.  When Jesus was teaching in his home town synagogue, people were amazed at his wisdom.  They said, "Isn't he the carpenter, the son of Mary and aren't his four brothers and his sisters living here?" (Mark 6:1f)

    These passages suggest that Jesus possessed no unique qualities that would have made him stand out from everyone else.  People knew of him but they knew very little about him. Jesus does not appear to have awakened spiritually until he was baptized by his cousin, John.

    We have no reference that tells us what motivated Jesus to seek baptism.  What we do know is that his experience during this event literally turned Jesus' life inside out and upside down.  His experience plunged him into a mental and emotional state that was akin to having an identity crisis.  

    This morning, we are going to talk about how we can benefit from having a different interpretation of Jesus' experience.  What this experience did was defined God for Jesus in a way that nothing else had done in his past.  His understanding of God radically changed from being the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to a presence that knew Jesus personally.

     Had this moment not occurred, would Jesus have remained in his father's carpenter's shop for the rest of his life?  While this is an intriguing question, we have no way of knowing the answer.  Jesus had a divine encounter that fundamentally changed the quality and direction of his life.  He did not return to his carpentry business.  Rather, he withdrew from his baptismal experience and went into a wilderness where he could figure out what had just happened.   

    Everyone during my career that has had an out-of-this-world encounter of this magnitude has never been the same afterwards.  Atheists have become searching students of what they had experienced. Christians have shed their doubts or fears that were lingering around the margins of their lives.  People with addictions instantly graduated cold turkey with not a twinge of craving that might have tempted them to start using again. 

    If all of us died for about ten minutes, experienced what is on the other side of the curtain, and then returned, our thoughts and attitudes would be permanently changed in an instant.  Try to imagine Jesus' utter confusion when a voice from heaven provided him with a new definition to his identity. Words came to him, "You are my Son and I am very pleased with how you are living."  (Mark 1:11). 

    What this experience did to Jesus cancelled all previous definitions that others had given to him.  He no longer continued in his family's role of being the eldest son. He no longer returned to his craft as a carpenter.  He was no longer confined by the boundaries of his inherited religious faith and traditions. He abandoned the judgmental attitudes that he had been taught about lepers, prostitutes, tax collectors, Samaritans, Roman soldiers, and religious leaders.   

     Think about the implications for us if our identities experienced realignment by shedding the labels others have attached to us. We come into existence as a fresh bundle of loving energy.  After our arrival, well-meaning people begin to apply their definitions in very innocent ways. Think of all the ways we have contributed to the roles that children assume.

    "What a cute baby!"  "That dress makes her look adorable." "Her skin color is so radiant."  "He has the body of a future athlete. Where did you find a Manchester United jersey in his size? He's going to be your football player."     

    Later we hear about our I.Q. that places us in a particular category of a predictable pedigree. They say, "Oh, you are an only child."  Or, "You are a middle child, no wonder you are the way you are." We are taught to think that being a doctor, an attorney, an engineer or an architect is somehow more respectable than being a dock worker.  We compare our packaging to others whom society looks upon as being beautiful, handsome or definitely red carpet material. 

    As we age, we tend to reminisce and enjoy telling others about our past accomplishments.  Our identities have become attached to the academic degrees we have, the books we have written, the well-known people we have met and the world landmarks we have visited.  We have been trained to believe that titles, experiences, roles and status are signs that we have succeeded in life.  These are natural occurrences most of which happen without our giving them much thought. 

    When Jesus heard that he was God's son, these words erased everything that Jesus had been taught about himself.  Think about this:  Did the voice give to Jesus any additional qualities that were different from those he already possessed? We are all God's sons and daughters but that designation probably does not resonate with us unless we hear the voice giving us that identity directly.  It would be a shame to discover some time later that the only thing that separated us from having the same qualities as Jesus was how that voice shaped his thinking from the moment he heard it. 

     If the Son of God, who had the spiritual DNA of our Creator inside of him, chose to serve others regardless of who they were, what does that decision communicate to us?  It tells us that the same thing is possible for us. The only missing piece to our personal puzzle is the voice telling us that we are God's sons and daughters. Most of us have allowed other definitions of ourselves to get in the way. (John 3:12)

    Think for a moment about Saul of Tarsus. His father was exceedingly successful by being the owner of a large commercial shipping company.  Saul's dad was able to pay for the best education for his son who was named after the first King of Israel.  He even secured Roman citizenship for Saul, which would have given him free passage to anywhere in the Roman Empire, a privilege that was afforded to very few Jews.  

    Eugene Peterson's translation of the Scriptures provides an interesting definition of the Apostle Paul's attitude about his acquired stature and status in the ancient world after he heard a voice calling him from a blinding light.  His experience changed Saul of Tarsus into the Apostle Paul. The following words come from Paul's letter to the Philippians according to Peterson:

Most of you know my pedigree:  a legitimate birth, circumcised on the 8th day, an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin; a strict and devout adherent to God's law, a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, a meticulous observer of everything set down in God's Book of Laws. 

    

The very credentials that these show-casing, aristocratic religious perfectionists are waving around as something special, I am tearing up and throwing into the trash can, along with everything else I used to take credit for.

I did not want a well-manicured, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could have a highly energized and dynamic faith that comes from following Jesus, the Christ, and trusting that God's spirit is working through me.  (Philippians 3:3f)

    If Jesus and Paul awakened and rose above all the labels that their societies had given to them, why are these voices silent when it comes to the rest of us? Obviously, something else is at work in our lives.  Jesus and Paul are signposts for what is possible for everyone. We do not need to hear the voice before we willingly choose to serve one another. (Mark 10:33) We have a choice whether or not to be God-like.  In the New Year, why not try for one month being God-like?  The benefits to us and everyone else in our lives would be startling.

    We need to stop defending our right to be miserable because of our circumstances.  We need to realize that every judgment we make only defines us as one that needs to judge others.  We need to accept the world and everyone in it just as they are.  We need to give without expecting anything in return.  These are God-like qualities.  A key question is this:  "How can I serve others right where I am in life that will help our world to become a more wholesome and loving place for people to live?"    

    We can assume all of these attitudes the moment we accept our identity as God's daughters and sons.  The spiritual DNA of our Creator is within us. We do not need to hear any divine voice to tell us the truth about ourselves.  We have to experience our divinity by choosing to become people whose delight is to serve others.  So, doctors, attorneys, engineers, architects and dock workers can all give of themselves and heal the world from their own vocational path.

     Is it possible that what separates us from Jesus and Paul is the absence of hearing a voice that tells us who we are?  Even if we cannot believe any of this, why not try living this way first, before we overlook and deny our true identity?  The truth is that God communicates to us in many different ways through every kind of profession but we have to be looking and listening.  More than that, we have to be participating.