The Voice of God Still Speaks - January 10, 2009

The story of the drunk man and the plunge
A church is at a river, some of its members are being baptized. Along walks a drunk man, which disturbs the pastor. The irritated pastor grabs the man and tells him he needs to find Jesus. He dunks him in the water, and asks if he has found Jesus. No replies the man, so the pastor dunks him again. Have you found Jesus the pastor Asks. At no, the man is dunked again and gives the same no answer. Upset, the pastor dunks him again and leaves him down there for almost a minute. Have you found Jesus yet? Asks the pastor. No says that man, are you sure this is where he fell in?

Sometimes I feel like I am like the man dunked looking for Jesus but never finding anything.


That is the concept of baptism for us – taking the plunge into the same waters that Jesus plunged into

Ministry and work begins with baptism,

But why John? Why did Jesus come to John to be baptized? John baptism was a forgiveness ritual calling people to repent – if Jesus never sinned why was he baptized?

Was Jesus being An example for us? Or did he Want to be a part of John’s ministry. And was he surprised by the voice which called him from above?

This was an important event for all gospel writers, but only Mark was this a personal event, a time when God speaks only to Jesus. And affirms him an calls him to go forward.

Perhaps he knew that God was there all along, but was not expecting to meet God in the water. Not expecting what would come later in his life. Not really expecting the change.

Good morning America has this program – the year that changed your life. The one event in your life that made all of the difference. Each host is looking back at their lives, but perhaps God calls us to look forward.

Baptism is a change, a new way of thinking, a break with the past.

The story says that the voice broke through the firmaments. The Jews believed that there was a dome around the world separating the heavens and the earth. Keeping God in his place – and God broke through that firmament. In a violent way.

That is how God works in our lives, not in what we are expecting, but in what we are not expecting. Not in entrances that we prepare for him, but in openings that he has forced in our lives. Circumstances that are hard and difficult and sometimes even violent.

Psalm 29 compares the voice of God to the violent thunder of a storm. Thunder which creates rain and a whole new earth. Creation depends on that thunder to grow and become. In the psalm, the voice of God speaks 7 times.

I think that our lesson is that the thunder can be loud and scary and that our natural tendency is to run and to be afraid. And yet God calls us not to run from the thunderstorm, but to learn to stay in it, to hear the voice and the expect to be changed, because we are getting stronger.

There is a saying, that life is not about running for cover in the storm, but in learning to dance in the rain. One of my favorite portraits is a picture of a young girl, dancing in a thunder storm, saying that there is no rain like a holy ghost rain.

We may never really know what baptism was for Jesus – but the point is that we know what it is for us. Baptism is our invitation to dance in the holy ghost rain with Jesus.

Our chance to realize that we don’t have to be afraid of the storm – it is only God talking to us. And if we are willing to respond – then we will be given affirmation of who we are, a sense of belonging into God’s family and an open road to continue on the journey of life, even in times when we are afraid and not certain of what to do next. Have you heard the thunder of storms in your life? How did you hear God speak to you – How did you get encouragement to go to the next step?

The voice of God still speaks to us through the events in out lives, baptism is our chance to not only listen, but to be willing to respond. The voice of God still created, not only our lives, but nature. The voice of God still leads us into unexpected pathways ahead. Let us remember our baptism and be thankful.

In a recent Olympics, and American runner was determined to win the 400 meter relay. Even though he had only trained for the 100 meter relay. But he knew he was up to the challenge. Until the day of the race, he started out okay, but he realized that he had this great pain in his ankle, he was only half way through the race. This was his chance in history to shine, and he did not want a little pain to stop him. He kept running, and his condition was getting worse with each step. All of a sudden there was a commotion with the police on the sidelines – his father was trying to get to his son. You don’t have to do this you know – you don’t have to finish, in tears, his son said but dad you don’t understand but I do. The father tore through the crowd onto the field and said that if it was something that had to do done, then they would do it together. And he held his son and they ran to the finish line together. The crowd roared with approval.

Who know why Jesus went to the water that day, who knows why he felt that he had to go through with that act, who knows why he spent the rest of his life giving us lessons to lives by, or why he loved us so that he had to go to the cross for us. We may never understand the mysteries of Christ’s love.

But what we do know is that God was there for him that day. God broke through all of the securities of life to ge with him that day. And when we are baptized – we join Jesus in those waters, in that moment. And that is the moment which makes all of the difference in our lives – and in the lives of those we touch and serve. Remember your baptism and be thankful.