Psalm 29 (New Jerusalem Bible)

Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22 (Common English Bible)

Well, Christmas is over, the decorations are down and we’re trying to get back to normal despite having the biggest dose of snowy weather in our area since 2004. When it comes to Jesus’ ministry the gospel writer Luke wants to move-on, unlike the gospels of Matthew, Mark and John.  

But Luke does highlight Jesus’ experience while praying and the familiar scene of the heavens being opened up and the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus as he hears God saying, “You are my Son, whom I dearly love, in you I find happiness.”

In effect, Luke gives all the same details as the other three three gospels, but in a more condensed version. And in other accounts, we are still unsure of who hears God’s pronouncement from the heavens. Some thought that God was referring to John the Baptizer as the Messiah.

What can we make of the fact that God could have allowed the crowds to hear God’s proclamation without mentioning Jesus? Perhaps it was a reminder the gospel story is for us, just as the earliest Christians read it.

The Holy Spirit through Mark’s gospel gives us “privileged information” the 1st century people didn’t have. If there was anything to make of the fact that God wanted later believers to know, was the interchange between the divine beings within the Trinity was the Messiah had arrived as a peasant and not someone famous.

As we look back at this metaphorical exchange, we should reflect on these questions. And like John the Baptizer, we find ourselves expressing our failure to understand God’s wisdom and purpose.

We are often filled with expectation that something is in the hand of God, but only find out we were wrong what we expected. The Jewish believers were wrong to believe that John the Baptizer was the Messiah. And sometimes we can look back and realize there are things that God has done on our behalf that we have missed. And God’s revelation can be hidden in good things in our lives until the Holy Spirit decides to reveal it to us.  

Given the fact that God is an omnipotent force of power and is still creating, it makes sense there is much activity from God we haven’t seen yet. Luke is basically showing it’s time to keep going, even if we encounter difficult times in the present.

And the proof of being the wheat and not the chaff (the outer covering husks of wheat), means living our faith and the faith of our baptism. We might not always know what God has done, but we can realize the mission of God will always be accomplished. Like the Holy Spirit that came down upon Jesus, the Spirit with refining invisible fire will wash over us with God’s story for our lives.

Like Jesus, we are the children of God, God’s beloved ones, able to bring pleasure to God by our own existence in the world that God created. In everything in our lives, God will show his mercy through our actions and throughout our lives.  

God will and has done great things we have not given our Creator due credit. God’s way of existing around us has the ability to fill our hearts with expectation and questions. Will we ignore this idea and just get back to the daily tasks at home and work that dominates our calendars? Or will we open our hearts and minds and see the heavens open and God’s goodness come down around us?

This New Year will continue to reveal the impact of political polarization and the ongoing oppression of people of color and different genders. And most churches will continue to ignore this problem. The continued genocide against the Palestninan people in Gaza will continue because both political parties in America continue to fund the Israeli war machine. And there will be a reckoning for this evil, just like the German citizens faced after WW II.  Christians should not leave it solely to politicians to deal with this problem, they’re part of the problem being funded by AIPAC millions of dollars being used to fund the Netanyahu Regime. If we are to really follow Jesus, these issues should be front and center in every church. We need to be more proactive and invite people to speak about these issues and it can be nonpartisan because both major political parties are guilty of this genocide.

Christians can still be an example of what it means to belong in a faith community in which people really care for one another and all humanity. The Salem Presbyterian Church, despite our small numbers, is a good example of that. It’s doubtful you will see that in a Mega Church with 2,000 attendees where people are lost in the crowd. God doesn’t care about quantity. Instead God praises quality even with just limited members.  

But we cannot ignore that during the past decade or so, how social media has revolutionized how people relate to one another, some good and some bad. Most are searching for a place to belong and how they decide to commit to a community, especially a community of faith. We need to concentrate not so much on the famous but those who have been ignored in the past, the forgotten, the poor and even the skeptic to join our messianic community on earth that Jesus came to establish for all humanity.

The last Hebrew word of Psalm 29, is “shalom” in most translations it says “peace.” This does not mean peace and quiet but rather the peace that passes all understanding. This is the inner peace you receive when you know that all is OK with yourself. This is the kind of peace that descends on your soul after a wonderful evening with your family. All is well. And that is the Shalom that God gives us.

As so often we’ve noted throughout history, everyone tends to worship somebody or something. Psalm 29, like the rest of Scriptures, suggests we look at the grandeur of creation for our first primary source of inspiring experiences. But on a deeper, more profound level. Psalm 129 calls us to bring those experiences into conversation with God. This helps us to be whole with God. This not only makes us closer to God, but removes any fear of our eternal Creator.

AMEN