But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine.

Isaiah 43:1

These words from God, through his prophet Isaiah, are really everything that I want to say to you today. Not that I’m going to stop, of course! But these powerful words sum up the gift of this day, and what God wants to say to us this day. This is everything that I need to hear in my life, again and again, so perhaps you do as well. Whatever is happening in this world, or in your lives, this promise remains true. 

We need not fear. For God has redeemed us. God has called us by name. And God has claimed us as his children.

Isaiah shares this threefold promise long before God’s Son walked the Earth. But when Jesus came to dwell among us, this truth became even more real. The promise, you might say, was fulfilled by Jesus. 

This promise is true not just for followers of Jesus, but for everyone on this Earth. All people are created by God, and created in God’s image. All people are loved by God. There is no exception. 

But this truth does find its ultimate meaning, and power, for us in one particular event, and that is in our baptisms. It is by being baptized into Christ, and living in relationship with him, that we come to discover the full meaning of this promise – what it really means that we are redeemed, called by name, and claimed as God’s own children.

And so it is that on this particular day, when we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, we also spend some time exploring the power and meaning of our own baptisms into Christ.

And with all that in mind, I thought I would spend this time with you exploring Isaiah’s threefold promise, in the light of our baptisms. 

How does our baptism, and remembering our baptism, help us to not fear? How does our baptism help us to trust that we are now redeemed, called by name, and claimed as God’s own? That’s what baptism does for us. But what does that mean? That’s what I want to think about with you today. 

Redeemed

First, Isaiah tells us that we are redeemed, for God has redeemed us. Literally, God has set us free. That is what it means to be redeemed in this case, to be set free. 

Just as God rescued God’s people from slavery in Egypt, and set them free, God has rescued us. Our baptisms teach us that in a very powerful way. The water poured over us in baptism reminds us of God’s people journeying to freedom through the Red Sea, and entering the Promised Land by crossing the River Jordan, the very same river in which Jesus himself was baptized. 

Our baptism sets us free, but free from what? Well, what do we need to set free from? Martin Luther would have answered this by saying that we are set free from sin, death, and the devil. But what would you say? How might we answer this today? What do we need to be set free from?  

Let me ask it a little differently: What keeps you up at night? What do you worry about, and just can’t seem to stop? Maybe that is what God wants to set you free from – free from those things that keep you up at night. God’s got this. Turn your worries into prayers, and be at peace. 

Or, let me ask it another way: Where in your life do you feel stuck, or maybe even trapped? Where in your life are you coming up short in how you want to live? God also wants to free you from that. He won’t force you, but he wants to help you. 

God wants to set us free, and has sent his son to bear our sins and to show us how to live. And our baptisms into Christ set us free from our sin and from whatever is separating us from God’s love. 

Do not fear, in other words, for God has redeemed you, God has set you free. Live in the truth and the promise of that freedom, and live free from fear and worry. Trust God. And trust in God’s promise to you. 

Called By Name

But wait, Isaiah says, there’s more: God has also called you by name. Yes, you. The Creator of the universe knows your name. Why? Because God wants to have a personal relationship with you, and doesn’t that start by knowing your name? 

And it is in baptism, of course, where we see this so clearly. Back in Martin Luther’s time, baptism was the occasion when we were first named. Martin Luther was born on November 10th and baptized the next day. November 11th, which happens to be the feast day of St. Martin of Tours, so that is how Martin Luther was named. 

(By the way, St. Martin of Tours is considered the patron saint of soldiers, so that day seemed especially appropriate for Armistice Day or Veterans Day, which is on November 11th.)

Times have changed, of course. Nowadays, we are usually named before our baptisms. But there is still something deeply meaningful about connecting our names to our baptisms. I know that it is always a powerful moment for me when I baptize someone and call them by name. I am acting on God’s behalf, on behalf of the God who knows us by name. 

So, when we remember our baptisms, we are reminding ourselves that God knows us by name. God knows everything about us. Everything we have ever done, our deepest desires, our fears and our dreams, our sorrows and our joys. Everything. And God loves us, completely and unconditionally and perfectly. 

It has been said that there is nothing we can do to make God love us more, and nothing we can do that will cause God to love us less. And that is true. That is the promise that we remember today, and whenever we remember our baptisms. 

Baptism, to put it another way, draws us into a personal, intimate relationship with our Creator. It is the most important relationship in our life. 

It began before we were even born. “It was you,” the psalmist writes in Psalm 139, “who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb … Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.” 

God was there in the beginning, and has been with us ever since. And God promises to be there at the end of this earthly life too, to welcome us into his everlasting arms and into the place that Jesus himself has prepared for each of us. 

It is no wonder that we need not be afraid! We have been redeemed by our loving God, who calls each of us by name, and whose love is with us from before our birth to after our death. 

Claimed as God’s Own

The prophet Isaiah assures us that God has redeemed us. And that God has called us by name. And finally, that God has claimed us as God’s own. This is the last promise from Isaiah, that we are God’s own. 

And again, our baptisms show us in a profound way what exactly this means. When we are baptized, we are made one with Christ. Everything that Christ has from our heavenly Father, we now have, through the Holy Spirit, who unites the Father to the Son and unites us to the Holy Trinity, three-in-one. 

And because of that, the wonderful words that Jesus hears from his heavenly Father in today’s gospel reading (Luke 3:15-17, 21-22) when is baptized are the very same words that we hear today: 

“You are my son, you are my daughter, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Jesus heard these words at the very beginning of his public ministry. Before he earned them, you might say. They are the blessing from our heavenly Father that began his public ministry. 

And that is true for us as well. This is the blessing that begins our ministry. For we all have a ministry, a purpose on this earth. And it begins by being told that we are God’s own sons and daughters. We are God’s beloved. With whom God is well pleased. 

What a wonderful gift this is! The gift that we remember in a special way whenever we remember our baptism into Christ. 

I once read that the most important thing we can give to our children is our blessing. This might be an actual blessing, or it might simply be words from our hearts telling our children how proud we are of them and how much we love them. Every child longs to hear this. And they are blessed when their parents and other adults in their life share it with them. Such a simple thing, but so powerful, to tell someone how proud you are of them, and how much you love them. 

And isn’t that what God is doing for Jesus when he is baptized? “You are my son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Something like that is what every child longs to hear. And what we long to hear as adults too. And these are the words that God speaks to us today, through Jesus: You are my son, my daughter, the beloved; with you I am well pleased. 

Blessed to Be a Blessing

What a blessing it is to remember Isaiah’s words today. That we are redeemed by God, called by name, and claimed as God’s own child. And what a gift it is to remember God’s words to Jesus today, and to realize they are God’s words to us through our baptisms: You are my son, my daughter, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.

But it doesn’t end there. In fact, you might say that it actually begins there. Baptism, after all, begins something important in our life; it doesn’t end it. We are blessed in our baptisms for a reason, and that reason is so what we might be a blessing. 

We are blessed to be a blessing. We are set free from fear to set this world free from fear. We are redeemed by God to work toward the liberation of this world. We are called by name to help this world know that they are called by name too. We have a job to do. This fearful, divided, anxious world needs us. God wants us to do something more for this world. 

Go, Jesus said, in his final words in Matthew’s Gospel, baptize and teach this world all that we have learned. And remember, Jesus concluded, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” That is why this is called “The Great Commission,” not “The Great Mission.” Because we don’t do it alone. Jesus has formed this community called the church, so we can work together in fulfilling his mission. And he promises to be with us as we do this.

The Great Commission, to love and bless this world in Jesus’ name. That is our purpose, as baptized Christians. Blessed we are, but not for ourselves. Blessed to be a blessing. May we love and bless this world together, in Jesus’ name, just as he has done for us. Amen.