CREDIT: James Tissot

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

When something breaks, we try to fix it. For example, if one of our Christmas ornaments broke – say a reindeer’s antler snapped off – we’ll try to repair it with super glue to rejoin the pieces to form a whole again.

We’re in the middle of a church season called Epiphany, a season of growing lights – bookended by the distant star in the night sky leading the Magi to Jesus and the glorious light of Jesus’ Transfiguration the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. Epiphany continues with Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River. There, the Holy Spirit comes to rest on Jesus as His Father proclaims, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) We might ask, “Why does sinless Jesus need to be baptized?”

The eternal Son of God was born of a woman to bring to fruition His Father’s plan to repair the damage sin had done to break His good and perfect creation. And to repair this brokenness, Jesus not only had to enter our world, but join with it … and join it to Himself. In His baptism, Jesus – who is indeed sinless and not at all in need of salvation – joins Himself to us in the same waters of baptism we receive. In this shared experience, though sinless Himself, our sins become a part of Him so He can carry them to His cross. There He pays the price of death and is buried with them in the grave … where they will stay forever when He rose to new life on that first Easter. And, when we are baptized, something of Jesus is joined to us – His righteousness. (Romans 6:3-5)

In the great exchange, our sin is joined to Jesus and His righteousness is joined to us. We are joined together as His brothers and sisters. It is the waters of baptism, Jesus’ and ours, that join us together with Him to begin repairing the brokenness sin causes, restoring God’s creation to the whole goodness He intended from the beginning.

Grace be with You,

                                                                                                Pastor Jim