The Voice Over the Waters

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January 12, 2014 - Baptism of the Lord

Matthew 3:13-17

¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ¹⁵But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. ¹⁶And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Psalm 29

1       Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, 
          

2       ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. 
²   

3       Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name; 
          

4       worship the LORD in holy splendor.

³   The voice of the LORD is over the waters; 
          

the God of glory thunders, 
          

the LORD, over mighty waters. 


5       The voice of the LORD is powerful; 
         

6        the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

⁵   The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; 
          

the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.


⁶   He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, 
        

  and Sirion like a young wild ox.

7       The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.

8       
⁸   The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; 
          

9       the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
     The voice of the LORD causes the oaks to whirl, 
         

       and strips the forest bare; 
          

1      and in his temple all say, “Glory!”

¹⁰  The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; 
         

 the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.


¹¹   May the LORD give strength to his people! 
         

 May the LORD bless his people with peace!

Sermon: The Voice Over the Waters

Before we are born, there is one voice we already recognize.  This has been scientifically proven – Chinese and Canadian researchers measured the heart rates of babies nearing the end of their term, and when they heard one particular voice, their heart rate quickened, every time.  Whose voice is it you think they heard?

Their mother’s, of course.  When another woman read to them, their heart rate actually decreased as they tuned out!  But, when their mother would start speaking again, their hearts started listening intently, and pitter-patter they went.

Life, it seems, begins with a voice.  Genesis agrees, as God’s spirit hovered over the watery chaos of creation and decided to make something that had never been made before, not with thoughts, not with hands, but with a word: “Light.”  And however we understand that to have happened, from one moment to millions of years of evolution, the point is: light did happen, creation did happen….because God spoke over the waters.  Life began with a voice.

And all of creation seems to recognize this voice of its Creator.  Psalm 29 says the voice of the Lord, of I AM, is over the waters, powerful and full of majesty.  Trees crash in response, flames rage, the wilderness quakes, the oaks whirl and the forest is stripped bare.  God speaks, and creation responds in radical ways.  God speaks, and all of us can only respond with, “Glory!”

And later, once again over waters, as Jesus is baptized in the River Jordan by John, the heavens open and that same Spirit of God who hovered over the chaotic waters of creation speaks again.  That word is not light this time, but instead, “Beloved.”  “Beloved, this is my son, and I am so proud of him.”  What is baptism if not God hovering over those ordinary waters saying such an extraordinary thing as, “Beloved, You!  My child.  And I am so proud of you.”?

Like a mother speaking tenderly to her child, over and over again, God never tires of speaking to us.  Sometimes, it can be really hard to listen, though.  Especially when we find ourselves in the watery chaos of grief, as we are this week at the loss of Margaret and Isabel.

Salty waters well up within us, and around us, and they can make it seem all but impossible to hear the voice of God.  But you see, God has always hovered over the waters.  God has always spoken over the waters.  And God always will. 

What God says to us in those watery moments is not “hate”, “fear” or “forget.”  No, the God spoken of in Psalm 29 says, “Strength!” and “Peace!”  The oaks may whirl, the thunder may crash, the things we thought would never break might fracture, all may seem a wilderness, but God still speaks above it all, not in anger, but in shalom, in peace.  Reminding us of the strength within us, from our mother’s womb, a strength we never even realize we have until we desperately need it.

Life begins with a voice.  And life continues with a voice.  Those of us still here with work to do on earth are forced to somehow put one foot in front of the other, and one breath after the other, and one word after another and live.  Some days this is easier than others.  But on those most sad, difficult days and on those days of joyful remembering, God speaks life into us with a few words from a loving parent: “Beloved.  My child.  I am so proud of you.”

If there is anything to be learned in our baptism, it is this: God speaks to us in that moment, not because we deserve it or because we are prepared to speak back, but because God chooses to claim us.  And we spend the rest of our lives desperately trying to keep hearing that voice. 

Psalm 29 reminds us that God’s voice is always speaking, whether we can hear it or not, whether we feel we are worthy of it or not.  The sad truth is, we waste so much of our too-short lives telling ourselves we are not worth God’s words.  Our baptism argues with our sense of guilt with that most powerful of words: grace.  God talks through all of creation to us, because we are God’s beloved.  And those waters of grace never run dry.  Annie Dillard captures this well in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek:

“It has always been a happy thought to me that the creek runs on all night, new every minute, whether I wish it or know it or care, as a closed book on a shelf continues to whisper to itself its own inexhaustible tale. So many things have been shown to me on these banks, so much light has illumined me by reflection here where the water comes down, that I can hardly believe that this grace never flags, that the pouring from ever-renewable sources is endless, impartial, and free.”

So, do not fear the waters, whether life feels like a flood of raging change or like a slow sinking into salty tears, do not fear.  God’s voice is over the waters – and through them, even.  Before we were born, God spoke to us, desperate for us to recognize the voice of our Creator.  When we enter into a life that will never end, as Isabel and Margaret have, we will hear that voice we have always known, face to face. 

And in the meantime, the One who claimed us in waters of baptism, who feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation, who calls us to Live, still speaks, saying, “Beloved, be at peace.  Be strong. You are mine.”

Amen.