“Beloved, Just Like Jesus”

The Baptism of our Lord – January 13, 2008 - Matthew 3: 13-17 & Acts 10: 34-43

Most of us cannot remember our baptism because we were baptized as infants. But if we could, what do you suppose would be worth remembering? Would it be the cherished baptismal gown that was passed down through many generations and symbolized unity of faith nourished within family? Would it be the joy and smiles as family gather around the font to take a picture to memorialize this special event? Or would it be the Christ candle that was lit or the verse that was spoken to remind us that Jesus Christ, the light of the world has come into our hearts and changed us forever? Whatever it is that you remember about your baptism, nothing is more important to remember than the fact that we, like Jesus, are God’s beloved...His sons and daughters with whom He is pleased to dwell and conform into the likeness of His Son! So, you see, Baptism isn’t just a one time ritual event...it is the beginning of a new life of change...and growth...and redemption!

In Max Lucado’s book, “Just Like Jesus,” the reader is challenged to imagine what it would be life if, for just one day, Jesus’ Spirit were to take over your heart and you became just like him.

What if Jesus were to wake up in your bed, walk in your shoes, live in your house, assume your schedule, and your life became his for a day? Nothing else in your life changes...and yet, everything changes. Your health, your job, your circumstances all stay the same except for one thing…your heart takes a holiday and Jesus’ heart takes over. His priorities govern your actions. His passions drive your decisions. His love directs your behavior!

What would you be like on that day? Would others notice a difference in you? Would YOU notice a difference in you? Would you be kinder, more compassionate, and more merciful with Jesus’ heart? How would you feel? Would you be less stressed? Would you sleep better? Feel more joy? See sunsets and mountains and this world’s problems differently? Would you still dread what you are dreading? Would you still be doing whatever you had planned on doing that day?

These are challenging questions. For if we were to adjust the lenses of our imagination just long enough to bring our lives, governed by Jesus’ heart into focus, and then snap a picture of our life lived “JUST LIKE JESUS,” the image of holiness and beloved ness before our Heavenly Father might be quite overwhelming!

But, whatever that “snapshot” might look like for you, I want to tell you right now that that image of holiness is just what God wants to give you as a remembrance of YOUR baptism, and that’s just what you are CALLED by the Spirit to claim and celebrate each and every day of life on this earth.

Sometimes, my friends, it is easy for us to forget that in our baptism, God claims us, loves us, and accepts us into his kingdom JUST AS WE ARE! His intent is to make us a new creation, to conform us into his eternal children, and to make us just like Jesus through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit’s movement over and in our lives.

Max Lucado also tells a story about when his little daughter, Jenna, was a toddler. Jenna was playing in the back yard sandbox one day when the ice cream truck came into the neighborhood. Max heard the familiar bell and decided to treat his little girl to an ice cream. He purchased the treat and when he went to give it to her, he realized that she had filled her mouth with sand. Where he had wanted to give her the gift of a delicious treat, she had put dirt!

Isn’t that what it must be like for God? He offers us in our baptism a treasure of eternal holiness that will shine beyond any dreams of this world, and he finds that we have already grabbed our fill of this limited life of sin and selfishness.

Now did Max still love Jenna even though her mouth was filled with dirt? Of course he did! Was Max going to leave all that dirt in her mouth? Of course not! Being a father who loves his child and wants her to eat good things, he loved her just as she was and yet refused to leave her there chewing on sand. Instead, he gently carried her over to the water fountain and rinsed out her mouth so that she could truly enjoy the goodness of the ice cream.

And so it is with OUR Heavenly Father. God takes us just as we are…vulnerable, helpless, trapped into mortal sin and death, and in the waters of baptism, he gently washes the sin and darkness from our soul and pours his Holy Spirit upon us that faith and newness of life might be born and flourish in each heart. In our baptism, just as in Jesus’ baptism, the heavens of God’s grace open and pour upon us the good news that in Christ, we too are beloved. We too are precious! We too are made new so that we CAN become JUST LIKE JESUS!

So what then IS the “snapshot” image of a moment in time when we become, …JUST LIKE JESUS?

Jesus’ heart was pure. He was adored by thousands and had the power to rule over anyone, yet he found contentment living a simple life loving and caring for ALL people, especially those who carried heavy burdens. I am one of those privileged to leave this week on a three week life-changing trip to Tanzania! Here, I will meet lives that have been touched and shaped by the joy of Christ in ways very different from my own. I am told that the purity of heart...the depth of faith...and the power of joy that radiates from these children of God, who have so little materialistically, yet have everything spiritually, is an overwhelming testimony to what it means to BE LIKE CHRIST. But we need not all go to Tanzania to experience just purity of faith. About once a month, some young Hmong youth get up about 4 in the morning to make fresh egg rolls which they then make available to us in our narthex. Why do they do this? Not just to make money, but because they have hearts set on fire and eager to help other brothers and sisters know Jesus as they have come to know him.

Jesus’ heart was peaceful. While his disciples worried and fretted over the logistics of feeding the 5000, Jesus just gave thanks for the problem and took what was available and multiplied it with faith. His disciples cried out in fear during a storm on the sea, Jesus calmly slept in his Father’s care. Peter drew a sword to fight the soldiers, but Jesus merely raised his hand to heal. Jesus’ heart was at peace even when his disciples abandoned him, and sinners angrily nailed him to a cross.

A couple of years ago, I was asked to go over to San _______, our Latino congregation mission partner, and preach for their Sunday services while there pastor came here to CtK to preach. It was a humbling experience for me. I wasn’t sure how to prepare and I was told that a translator wanted a written copy of my sermon so that he could translate as I spoke. Well...I am a bit more “in the moment” than that, and it didn’t take much time for me to realize that the translator was having a very difficult time with my complex sentence structure, not to mention the length of my sermon! So, I decided to ask him to stop looking at the script, and just translate what I said. Immediately, we both became more peaceful when I could simply speak from my heart to their hearts. Christ’s peace came, but only when I gave over the need to control so tightly.

Jesus’ heart was also purposeful. Only a heart filled with perfect love and purpose could forgive, but that is what Jesus did from a cross. He refused to be guided by anything other than his high calling to save humanity from its sin. Jesus is always purposeful in our world...always acting to change lives and hearts. One way this has happened here is through the amazing power of alternative Christmas gifts which members of CtK have purchased as a gift of love and empowerment for families in Tanzania. I can’t wait to deliver some of the goats and sewing machines, netting, desks and books and witness God’s heart in action. Or, if you go down to the Chinese Hospitality Center in Mpls., you would also be amazed at how many bright, educationally driven young students from China are coming to seek a community where the Love of Christ can be experienced.

And finally, Jesus’ heart was Spirit-filled. His thoughts, words, actions and touch echo the intimate relationship he shared in prayer with His Father. Children couldn’t resist him, the lepers and outcasts of the world sought his mercy, people clung to his every word, and even the rocks were ready to cry out that Jesus is Lord! Our Lord Jesus was led by the Spirit, full of the Spirit, and brought healing and life in the power of the Spirit.

Our hearts, by contrast, may seem so far from his. His is pure; our’s greedy. His is peaceful, our’s hassled and afraid. His spirit-filled; and our’s earth bound. How could we possibly have the heart of Jesus? How can we possibly, even for just one day, be just like Jesus?

There was a young mother and daughter who entered a hospital one day to make a visit. As they approached the nursing station, a tired and distraught nurse grabbed them by the hand saying, “Thank goodness you are here!” She led them down the hall to the bedside of an elderly man and said with great relief to the man, “Your family is here.” She had to repeat the words several times before the patient’s eyes opened. He was heavily sedated because of the pain from his heart attack and he dimly saw the young woman standing beside the heart monitor and ventilation machine. He reached out and grabbed her hand with great relief, and the young woman wrapped her fingers around the gnarled hand squeezing a message of encouragement. The nurse brought a chair next to the bedside and all through the night, the young woman sat holding the old man’s hand and offered words of comfort as the man peacefully let go. Saying nothing, but hanging on tightly to his daughter, the old man died as dawn was approaching.

After the old man died, the young woman quietly placed the lifeless hand on the bed and went to notify the nurse. The nurse began to offer words of sympathy to her, but she interrupted her. “Who was that man?” she asked. The startled nurse replied, “I thought he was your father!” “No,” she replied, “he wasn’t my father, I never saw him before in my life, we just came to the hospital to visit a friend.” “Then why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?” asked the nurse. “Because I sensed that he needed his family, and his daughter wasn’t here,” said the young woman. “And when I realized he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his real daughter, I knew how much he needed me, and so I stayed and did what I could.”

Having the heart of Jesus…being JUST LIKE JESUS, may not be as hard as we imagine. Perhaps it is merely living each moment attentive to the Spirit’s presence within that prompts us to do whatever we can in whatever moment or circumstance we find ourselves in.

The good news for today and every day is that in our baptism, the heart of Jesus has been put within us through the gift of His Holy Spirit. One of the most under-realized and under-utilized promises of God is simply this: If you have given your life to Jesus, Jesus has given himself to you! He has made your heart his home! He HAS moved in, unpacked his bags and he’s ready to change your heart from one degree of glory into another!

May you leave here today knowing that you do have the heart of Christ to share with those God gives you to love in this world. And may you also realize the gift of our baptism…that we are beloved, just like Jesus. Amen.

GUIDED BY THE GOSPEL: GATHERING • GROWING • GIVING