The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Sermon for the Baptism of our Lord. Isaiah 43:1-7; Luke 3:15-22

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of each heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord our God, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

The people of Israel were between a rock and a hard place – or as our friends across the pond might put it, they were trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea. At their backs were the Egyptian chariots, coming toward them full speed, ready to work the fury of pharaoh and bring them back into the bonds of slavery. But in front of them was a vast expanse of water. Water. How often in their labors in the hot Egyptian sun had they desired just a sip of water? And yet now this life source looked to be the very thing that would keep them from the freedom that lie just ahead. Yes, trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea sums it up perfectly.

The Israelites looked to Moses with desperation and Moses looked to the Lord. And then an amazing thing happened – a most miraculous, unexpected thing. Moses raised his staff and the waters in front of them began to move – unnatural waves moving from the center of the sea to either side, waves growing higher and higher until at last there were two walls of water, leaving a road of dry land in between. I cannot imagine what the Israelites must have been thinking at that moment. It was a miracle, yes, but really, this is the way to freedom? To pass right through these waters that at any moment could come crashing down and drown them and their children? Maybe freedom wasn’t so important after all – maybe there was another way….? The sound of the approaching chariots grew louder – and Moses stepped into the space that had once been covered by the water and began the journey into the wilderness – the journey into freedom. And one by one, the people followed. There was only one thing to do – trust God. Trust God, who had made a promise to their ancestors so long ago; trust God, who for some reason had claimed them and named them as his own. And so they walked forward, through the waters, into freedom.

This same story repeats itself time and time again in the scriptures – the geography changes, but the situation remains the same. God’s people find themselves caught between the devil and the deep blue sea and time and time again God creates a way where there had been none, time and time again God reminds the people that God has claimed them and named them and so they have nothing to fear. The prophet Isaiah writes, “Thus says the Lord, Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” The message of scripture is clear – once God has made a claim on you, once God has named you God’s beloved child, there is nothing that will keep God from you – there is nothing that will keep you from the freedom and abundant life that God has promised. Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

Today we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord. It’s traditional, in Lutheran churches, anyway, to use this festival not only to remember Jesus’ baptism by John in the Jordan, but also to remember our own baptism. We hear once again the story of the moment Jesus stepped out of the water and the heavens were opened – a new way being created where there hadn’t been one before – and we are reminded of the day we were baptized; how in those waters a new way was opened for us between earth and heaven. As we hear, once again, the voice of God coming through that channel between heaven and earth, claiming and naming Jesus as the beloved son, we are reminded how in our own baptism God laid a claim on us, how in those waters God renamed us God’s beloved son, God’s beloved daughter. We are reminded that the message God gave to Israel is the same message God gives to all the baptized: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine.” When we find ourselves caught between the devil and the deep blue sea – as we so often do – we can remember and rely on this promise. When you pass through the waters I will be with you through the rivers they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. I have called you by name, you are mine.

Throughout this season of Epiphany we will be focusing on baptism – on what it means to be a baptized child of God. On what it means to live as someone who has been claimed and named by our loving, gracious and faithful God. Often this means living without fear – it means trusting God and stepping out with faith into the way God has created where there had not been one before. Often it means listening to the gentle voice of God calling us out of slavery and into freedom.

But water is also dangerous stuff. This substance that we need to survive – this same substance that cleans and renews and refreshes also has the power to destroy – the same water that gives life can kill. Just ask the Egyptians who were driving those chariots. And if you listen to the words of John the Baptist they sound nothing like the comforting words of Isaiah. Instead of waters that will not destroy John talks about an ax lying at the root of the trees. Rather than fires that cannot consume, John predicts a winnowing fork and unquenchable fire. It seems that sometimes living as a baptized child of God doesn’t look like safe passage – sometimes living as claimed, named and baptized child of God means to drown, to be burned, to die. Because sometimes dying is exactly what we need.

The baptism by John in the Jordan was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin. Humans have always had a funny relationship with sin. There’s always been this part of us that has thought if we just tried hard enough, had just enough will power, just enough knowledge, we could control our sin. Yes, with enough prayer, the right goals and objectives and a clear set of new year’s resolutions, we can whip ourselves into shape, bring our unholy desires under control, make ourselves acceptable and righteous and – dare I say it – perfect. We keep trying. And we keep failing. And the more we fail, the more our life can begin to spin out of control – the more we see our brokenness, the more we wonder how on earth we are going to put ourselves back together again. We cannot seem to separate the good kernels of wheat in our humanity from the useless, annoying, spirit-stealing chaff. And, so, unable to keep a strong rein on certain things, we maybe refuse to do anything. If we cannot get our lives together, if we cannot be the person we thought we should be, if we cannot manage to get our relationship with God and others in order, well, then, maybe we shouldn’t try at all. Let the devil take it.

And so there we stand, broken, unable to heal ourselves, unable to loose the bonds of sin that have us so firmly enslaved, trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea. And there is no wall of water this time. There is nothing to it but to wade – no, to jump into that water and drown. To allow those baptismal waters to do what we could not – to allow God’s claim and God’s name to separate the wheat from the chaff and burn that useless stuff right up. To allow God’s love for us as beloved children to drown out all that needs to die in us. To trust that God, who for some reason has chosen to claim us and name us as God’s own, will make us rise again – rise again as new creations. To be baptized is to know that this is what happens every single day.

In the Small Catechism, Martin Luther wrote about baptism that “the old person in us with all sins and evil desires is to be drowned and die through daily sorrow for sin and through repentance, and on the other hand…daily a new person is to come forth and rise up to live before God in righteousness forever.” We need not fear the waters of baptism and their ability to drown that old person in us. Because we have a God with the power to raise the dead. Because these are the same waters through which God has said to each of us, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” And it is true. So whenever you find yourself caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, step into the water. Because these waters will lead you into freedom every single time. Amen.