Never Fear, God Is With those who Belong to God—Lectionary Reflection for Baptism of Jesus Sunday (Isaiah 43:1-7)

 

Isaiah 43:1-7 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

43 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.
² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you,
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.
³ For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
    Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
⁴ Because you are precious in my sight
    and honored and I love you,
I give people in return for you,
    nations in exchange for your life.
⁵ Do not fear, for I am with you;
    I will bring your offspring from the east,
    and from the west I will gather you;
⁶ I will say to the north, “Give them up,”
    and to the south, “Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away
    and my daughters from the end of the earth—
⁷ everyone who is called by my name,
    whom I created for my glory,
    whom I formed and made.”

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                The Sunday after the Day of Epiphany celebrates the Baptism of Jesus. Jesus goes down to the Jordan, where John is baptizing people for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus gets in line, gets baptized, and then receives a message from God, who speaks from the clouds, declaring: “You are my son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased!” (Lk. 3: 21-22). This declaration parallels one given in Isaiah 43, where God speaks to the people of Judah: “I have called you by name, you are mine!” These words, heard on Baptism of Jesus Sunday, were delivered to exiles by a prophet we call Second Isaiah. The prophet speaks to people who may have felt abandoned and forgotten by God, but Isaiah wants them to know that God will redeem them. Therefore, there is no need to be afraid. As Ron Allen and Clark Williamson state: “Today’s reading is as pure a statement of God’s unconditional love for Israel and all people as can be found in the Scriptures” [Preaching the Old Testament, p. 219].

                Baptism of Jesus Sunday involves water since John’s ministry of baptism took place in the Jordan River. Water also functions prominently in the larger Biblical story, starting with the creation story, with the Wind/Spirit (ruach) of God sweeping over the face of the waters, which is followed by God separating the land from the waters in the second act of creation (Gen. 1:1-13). Of course, there is the story of the Flood, which involved the redemption of Noah and his family. Then there is the crossing of the Sea and the Jordan. The exiles found themselves in Babylon, which sat on the Euphrates River.

                The word we hear from the Old Testament on Baptism of Jesus Sunday comes from Isaiah 43, which begins with a word of assurance, as God says to Israel, which God formed. The prophet tells the people not to fear because God called them by name (Jacob/Israel). Therefore, they belong to God, who named the people. Then comes the word about water. God assures the people that when they pass through the waters, God will be with them. Therefore, when they pass through the rivers, the waters will not overwhelm them. Then Isaiah makes use of another image, that of fire, such that when the people walk through the flame, they won’t be consumed. Neither water nor fire can harm them because God is with them. While the mention of water and fire connects this reading with our observance of Baptism of Jesus Sunday, this word about God calling Israel by name parallels God’s claim on Jesus, who is revealed in Luke to be God’s Beloved Son. Might we say the same about our baptisms? Might we hear this reading as a word of assurance that since God calls us by name in baptism, we have no need to fear?  

                Second Isaiah speaks here to a people that has on numerous occasions faced challenges from stronger nations. Israel was a small nation that lay between competing superpowers, including Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon. The conquest by Babylon that led to the demise of the Temple in Jerusalem, was only the latest such challenge. Nevertheless, God promises to ransom them from their oppressors because, as Isaiah puts it: “You are precious in my sight and honored and I love you.” Therefore, they need not fear because God is with them. Indeed, God will gather up the offspring of Israel that is scattered across the world, from east to west, north to south. God will demand that the powers north and south (Babylon and Egypt?) give up their claims on Israel. Ultimately, God will ransom all those who are “called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made” (Is. 43:7). While this word is spoken first of all to Israel, might we hear it in a more universal voice, such that God has put a claim on all creation?

                On Baptism of Jesus Sunday, as we gather to hear this word about John’s ministry of baptism that calls for repentance upon which baptism is granted for the forgiveness of sins, as well as hear God’s message to Jesus, that Jesus is God’s beloved Son, with whom God is well pleased (Lk. 2:15-22), might we hear this word from Isaiah as a word of assurance to us as well? As Allen and Williamson note, while sometimes the message of the Old Testament suggests that Israel alone is the “apple of God’s eye,” there are other broader messages in the Old Testament. Thus, “the prophetic axion, that we are to love and do justice to all our neighbors for they, too, are God’s children, is equally important . . . God loves each and all of us as if we were the apple of God’s eye. And we are to love and serve one another because the neighbor is the one whom God gives us to love” [Preaching the Old Testament, p. 220].

                As we begin a new year that is filled with uncertainty due to economic challenges, changes in political leadership, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, along with a sense of malaise in North America and Western Europe that is making many open to authoritarianism, that is, promises made by political figures that they can make our lives better if only we give them our allegiance. It is a fleeting message that is rooted in fear. Yet, here in Isaiah 43, we hear God say to the people, don’t be afraid, for I love you and I am with you. This is a message we should take to heart as we remember and reaffirm our baptismal vows, whether we made them in person or they were made on our behalf, vows that we may have reaffirmed in a later rite such as Confirmation. Now, this doesn’t mean we ignore the challenges of the day, for they are many and they are great. For some, they are more fear-inducing, especially if you are an immigrant, poor, gay, lesbian, or transgender. As a relatively affluent white, straight, male, I have less to fear. So, I offer this message with a certain amount of circumspection. But I do believe God is with us. Since God places a claim not just on individuals but on communities of people, might we hear as a community our call to solidarity with those who are threatened?   

                As we ponder this passage on Baptism of Jesus Sunday, how might this word speak to our own sense of identity? How might we hear this, as Second Isaiah intended Israel to hear this, as we celebrate this event in Jesus’ life? As we seek answers to these questions, David Schlafer writes:

On this day, it is worth noting that he who went through fire and water for us began his ministry in a baptism of blessing—being named as cherished by the one from whom he came. The Gospel writer employs Isaiah’s words to describe, not the inoculation of Jesus from all possible fears, but the available antidote to them. For those “named as Christ’s own forever” in baptism on this day, in the presence of a faith family all bearing God’s name, this can be a tangible act of being identified and strengthened for going “through” fear.   [Connections, p. 164].

Even as God declared of Jesus at his baptism, that he is God’s beloved, might we also hear God say to us, you are my beloved child, with whom I am well pleased? As we hear this word that is an expression of God’s love, might we be released from fear so we can share the good news of God’s love for the world, even as we stand in solidarity with those who are threatened by outside forces, even as ancient Israel faced threats from outside? Yes, might we hear God say to us: “You are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you,” for even as was true of Israel, so we too have been created for God’s glory!