Baptism Brings New Reality

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church

Baptism of Our Lord, 2025

Text: Luke 3:15–22

In the name of Jesus, Amen!

Sometimes, people are confused with facts and realities, especially when we are living in such an interesting time, to say the least, that people are arguing with each other about what is the fact and truth about certain matters. People who are used to watching mainstream media find themselves arguing with those who start to follow the news in social media. They believe the “official” version of the news is the truth while discrediting the alternative news and comments as conspiracy theories… People make decisions based on what they perceive as fact. Unfortunately, news can be fake whether it be from legacy media or social media. With AI technology and deep fake videos and pictures, people can be even more confused about what’s true and what is not real. Meanwhile, reality is a totally different thing. A reality is the night before you argued with your mom about tomorrow’s weather because you don’t want to wear that coat, and then you find yourself freezing the next day. When you are freezing, you don’t argue about it, you bear it. A reality is when I open my wallet to buy groceries and I find myself having to pay more for the same amount of food than four years ago, or you find out your favorite birthday cake has less chocolate now than your last birthday. At that moment, you don’t argue about this reality. You eat it, or you don’t.

Today, we celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord because He brings us a new reality, the new reality, unfortunately, that not many people realize. People intentionally or unintentionally ignore it, don’t believe it, and even try to argue about it. However, when Jesus was baptized, our Gospel reading says, “the heavens were opened.” Actually, the Gospel of Mark says, “the heavens were torn open”. There is a certain sense of forcefulness here, even violence. Christ’s Baptism forcefully brings the new reality of heaven into the earth. Why is it so violent, you may ask? Isn’t Christ supposed to be peaceful and bring Peace on earth? Yes. Christ brings heavenly Peace to the world by reconciling men and God through the forgiveness of sins on the Cross. The problem is that the world does not receive it. The prince of this sinful world, the devil, would not allow it to happen because we were his slaves, as Jesus says, “everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.”. Therefore, Christ has to beat the enemies of humanity, namely, sin, death and the devil in order to free us from their power. This Freedom is accomplished by the victory of Jesus’ decisive battle on the Cross through His death and the resurrection. In the Name of Triune God, Christian Baptism incorporates Christ’s incarnation, His Baptism and His Cross into the person of the baptized, and brings us a new reality of peace with God and new life in Christ.

In Christ, we have this victorious new reality for humanity. Unfortunately, not many people consciously realize it, let-alone live in it. Even some baptized Christians may still live in the old reality of sin and death as if the new reality has no effect on them. Most Christians, however, do realize this reality, but have constant struggles living in it because of our sinful body’s enticement and the sinful world’s attacks. We often find ourselves having to choose whether we live in Christ’s baptismal reality or whether we don’t. Some Christians even compartmentalize their living into two realities. They live in the reality of heaven on Sunday, but still live in the reality of drugs, partying, and casual sex on week days. It should Not be so! In today’s Epistle reading, St. Paul says, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who Died to Sin still Live In it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” – To walk in the Newness of life is to walk in the reality of New Life in Christ.

Therefore, let’s renounce and decisively leave behind the old reality, whatever it may be, and embrace the new reality of an opened heaven and of being the children of God in the kingdom of heaven through Christ Jesus. In Christ’s Baptism, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him; and the voice of God the Father came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” In Christ and being baptized into Him, we are also Father’s beloved children. So, let us choose to live in the reality of this new life – the eternal life in Christ Jesus. With this sure confidence, we step out into the future by faith knowing that when Jesus comes again, you go to heaven or you don’t. If you die in Christ with all sins forgiven, you will live in the reality of new heavens and new earth. If you die without Christ, you will live in the reality of weeping and gnashing of teeth in the fiery furnace where “their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched”. You don’t argue about it. And you Can’t argue about it. Remember the story of the rich man and Lazarus? The rich man in Hades tried to argue with Abraham far off in heaven that he might send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool the rich man’s tongue for he was in anguish in the flame. However, Abraham replies, “Between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.” So, the future reality is that you live in a blissful reality of heaven, or you don’t but live in agony instead.

May the Holy Spirit move us and the gracious Gospel empower us to always remember we are baptized into Christ’s Baptism and His Cross, uniting with Christ in His death and His resurrection. Let us leave behind the old way, and live and walk in the newness of life, considering ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus for in Christ’s Baptism the heavens were already torn open, and Christ brings a new reality of eternal life and the kingdom of heaven into this world by winning the victory over sin, death and the devil on the cross! Thanks be God! In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen!