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Pastor Tom Johnson, January 8, 2023
Water is one of the most common elements on our planet. 71% of the earth’s surface is water. Without water, life would be impossible. 60% of the human body is water. Water is abundant and common. And yet, water plays a central role in creation and redemptive history. Our psalm—Psalm 29—invites us into the glory and beauty of how God who uses ordinary water to accomplish great things. “The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders; the Lord is upon the mighty waters.” The psalm writer invites us into his prophetic vision of the partnership between our God and water throughout the Bible.
You’ll remember that “in the beginning,” the Spirit of God hovered and swept over the waters. His voice thundered out, “Let there be light.” “In the beginning,” John’s Gospel says, “was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…All things came into being through him.” The Voice over the waters, the eternal Word, the Christ—breathes and speaks us into being. We are all born of water. We are all reborn of water, the same Voice, and the Holy Spirit. You’ll remember how God’s voice spoke over the rain and flood waters in Noah’s day. He delivers Noah, his family, and all living things through the water. “The Lord sits enthroned above the flood” and re-creates and promises a better world. You’ll remember how God’s voice spoke over the Red Sea. Pharaoh’s army hotly pursued them. Their path came to a dead end at the waters. But the Voice spoke over the waters. The waters washed away the aggressors and those who would kill them. The waters became a gate to freedom and life for the people of God. You’ll remember how God’s voice spoke over the river Jordan. Joshua led God’s people to the Promised Land. The voice spoke over the river. The water rose up in a heap so they could cross over into the land flowing with milk and honey.
And so today we hear God’s voice speak over the river Jordan again. The Lord Jesus is now upon the mighty waters. John the Baptist would have prevented Jesus’ baptism. Jesus needs no cleansing. It is not the water that has something to bring to Jesus. It is Jesus who has something to bring to the water. Jesus speaks over the waters. He speaks fulfillment of all righteousness. He brings cleansing and healing to the water. He will cleanse and heal those united in his baptism. The Holy Spirit descends upon the river Jordan—gracefully like a dove on Jesus in the waters. The voice of God the Father is upon the waters. His voice lifts Jesus up as his Son, the Beloved, with whom he is well pleased. Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are upon the mighty waters in Jesus’ baptism.
The voice of God calls you and me into the same waters. The voice invites us be washed and healed by the righteousness Jesus brings to the waters. The voice invites us to join the Holy Spirit in the waters. The voice thunders in resounding love for us in the waters: “You are my beloved daughter. You are my beloved son.” The same water, the same Word, the same Holy Spirit washes away the stain and burden of sin. The same Baptism assures us that we are his precious and royal children.
Over 160 years ago—just before the civil war—a mighty voice spoke over the tidal wetlands of Maryland. Someone was leading slaves to freedom. Slaves escaped slavery through marshes and crossed rivers to the northern United States. This train of slaves to freedom was called the Underground Railroad. Slaveholders and slave masters called the mysterious person who led them “Moses.” This new Moses was Harriet Tubman. At 5 feet 2 inches tall, she had a towering spirit and a mighty voice that spoke over the waters. Many people thought she was insane because heard the voice of God speak over the waters.
As she led the slaves, they heard the dogs coming after them—closing in—like pharaoh’s army behind them. Before them were miles of dark swamps and marsh like the Red Sea. Many of them did not know how to swim. Like a lullaby to her children, she sang her directions and assurance that the water was not too deep. Her music called them into the waters that would wash away their scent in order to throw the dogs off their trail. “Wade in the water, wade in the water, children, wade in the water, God’s agoin’ a trouble the water.” And so she led the captives out of their captivity. Harriet’s Christian faith gave her courage and a greater vision of herself. She was not a slave of men—but a servant of God. She also had an enlarged heart toward those who were still being held as prisoners of a broken and wicked system. The voice over the waters was there to elevate people—to give them a new vision of themselves—and to actually accomplish their emancipation. So the voice of the waters calls you—and me.
Wade in the water that cleanses you—wade in the water that frees you and me from captivity—the voice above the waters that calls you royal children—wade in the water of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You are God’s beloved. You and I are drenched in his lavish love.
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