Powerful Beginnings

Well, I've decided to have a blog. I have been pondering this for some time and have decided that one of the most difficult things to do was to figure out how to start. This past Sunday was the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord. In preparation for communion and personal baptism renewals, I shared a sermon from a rather unique perspective. So, here goes...

I am a drop of water. And boy do I have a story to tell.

My journey began far beneath the earth, but moved along pretty quickly from that underground spring to the base of the Mount Hermon. After that, I was moving along my way into the Sea of Galilee and down toward the Dead Sea when something incredible happened.

As I was flowing along, I noticed a large crowd of people gathered near the bank. A man named John was in the river. He had picked up a seashell and was pouring many of my water-droplet friends over the heads of people. One after another, people were being dowsed with the waters in which I ran.

I wondered why all of those people were there and what it meant. I knew I was just a drop of water that really, in the great scheme of things, didn't have much significance. So, I just flowed on down the river, not thinking too much about what I saw.

Suddenly, I got stuck in one of those little swirling eddies in the river near where all of the commotion was taking place. Because I got stuck in this little whirlpool of turbulence, I was able to see what was going on. Person after person was coming into the river, and water was being poured over their heads. John was telling them that they needed to repent of their sins. It seemed to be very important because there were so many people present and they were only coming in the water one at a time to John.

Suddenly, a man who looked no different than most of the others came down into the water. Although this fellow didn't look much different than everybody else, something about him must have been different. John, who had been pouring water over people non-stop, one right after the other, for as long as I had had him in my sight had stopped and didn't want to pour water over this one. They were calling the water pouring baptism. John didn't want to baptize this man that had now come into the water named Jesus.

However, Jesus insisted that it was important to "fulfill all righteousness." That really didn't make much sense to me, but it must have made sense to John because it convinced him that he should go ahead and do it.

The crowds who had been standing by the river bank rather casually suddenly began to watch closely. Right about the time Jesus got out in the water to John, I was suddenly freed from the small whirlpool I had been trapped in and I found myself flowing directly toward the place in the water where John was about to dip the seashell.

Sure enough, I was caught in the shell and held high above the head of Jesus. John, deep in prayer and concentration, poured the water over the head of Jesus. After all of this excitement, I had really sort of hoped that I might get this over with quickly and get back down into the river to go on about my way. But instead, I got caught on one of Jesus' hairs near one of his ears. Not quite sure what I was going to do, I just held on for all I was worth. And then, as if my day hadn't been interesting enough, something incredible happened!

Suddenly, a dove appeared - almost out of nowhere. It reminded me a bit of a dove I'd seen once before when I was out on the face of the floodwaters near the ark that Noah had built. It was a special dove that he had let out to check for dry land. I remember seeing it pass. It's an odd thing to mention maybe, but for some reason, seeing this dove made me think about that.

But what happened next was unexplainable in any other way than that it was the voice of the one who made me. Suddenly, I heard the words - and they were so clear - "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. - Listen to him!"

In all of my time as a drop of water, moving from cloud to sea to river to stream to lake to sky and cloud again - never had I actually heard the voice of God. But on that day, I heard the voice of God. And that dove seemed to be the Spirit of God right there near us - me and Jesus - on that powerful day.

As Jesus stepped out of the water, he worked his hands through his hair once and I was freed and fell back into the river. And so I continued to flow on toward the dead sea. But I was different now.

Until that moment came, I was moving along in the stream, just doing my thing and being a drop of water. But then, I ran into Jesus and heard the voice of God. Somehow, on that day, my little existence seemed important. It almost felt like something in me carried part of God's presence. I felt really important. I was still water, but on that day, I felt like I meant a whole lot more than a drop of water could have ever meant.

You see, I have been the raindrop that gave life to the flower. I have been pulled up in the well bucket and passed around the human body as nourishment and sustenance. I have been the drop of water that flowed from the eye in tears of sadness. I have been everywhere and done all kind of different things that we water droplets are supposed to do.

But on that day, I was part of a new beginning. It was powerful and it changed me forever.

I can change you to. Many of you have possibly received me and my water-droplet friends poured over your head in baptism. I moved over some of your heads when you were only tiny babies as we all remembered together that God made you and has done everything he can through Jesus to save you. Perhaps seeing me again today will help you to remember that moment in some mysterious way and be thankful. Maybe you haven't been baptized yet. That's OK for now. Oh, don't get me wrong - I want to fall all over your head just like I did over the head of Jesus because it is a powerful beginning place for your faith. I want you to be saved.

So, today, I am in the bowl at the front of the church in your baptismal fountain. I have been pumped up from your well, but I have been all around this world from the clouds to the seas to the polar ice to the tropical sands. So I am here today. I want to remind you of how important and powerful the new beginning that we get in baptism is all about. So, if you have already been baptized, I want you to touch me again today and feel my wetness on your hand and head again. If you want to be baptized, talk to your pastor. He will make it happen and I will be here when you are ready.

You see, there is power in the beginning. And there is power in the continuing. There is power in the water and there is power in the blood.

Come today, and touch and taste the power of God for your life.