The Power of Water

The Rev. Joseph Winston

January 13, 2008

Sermon

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.1
Here along the Gulf Coast we know the power of water. The sheer force of the
Gulf’s currents moves all the debris deposited by the mighty Mississippi along
with all the smaller rivers and streams into different places. Flotsam, jetsam, and
all types of trash now end up on our beaches because the water has moved them
there. The silt carried by these many rivers now finds new homes along the sea
floor. The waves generated by the wind and the moon pound everything they con-
tact. Over time, the water transforms all the solids that it encounters into smaller
and smaller pieces of material until nothing is larger than a grain of beach sand.
The sun warms the Gulf’s waters and causes the moisture to rise in the air.
As it goes higher and higher into the atmosphere, the water changes into clouds.
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3

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Breezes carry these clouds laden with water to different parts of the world. Some-
times the conditions are just right and the water returns to us in the form of precip-
itation. Normally along the Gulf, we only see rainfall but if the conditions are just
perfect, as they were a few years ago, we might see the rare case of snowfall. The
rain that we experience could be a light refreshing shower that brings the earth
the water that it desires or it might be a torrential rainfall from a thunderstorm.
When that happens and the land does not have a chance to absorb the water, we
get flooding and all the problems associated with water in the wrong places. Roads
are washed out. Property is destroyed. People die.
The same heat provided by the sun along with the winds that are generated by
the planet’s differing rates of heating and cooling cause hurricanes. These mix-
tures of water and wind have amazing amounts of power. The great storm of 1900
that almost wiped Galveston off the face of the earth, Camille in 1969 with sus-
tained winds of 190 miles per hour, and Katrina in 2005 are but three examples of
hurricanes that people still remember today. Tidal surges, water pushed by the hur-
ricane’s winds, can cover huge amounts of real estate and totally destroy anything
in their path. Camille’s winds whipped up the largest tidal surge ever measured
in the United States: 22.6 feet. The rain contained in these huge storms can cause
widespread flooding along with death and destruction. In 1983, Alicia dropped
9.5 inches of rain in Liberty.
Today’s Gospel lesson is about the power of water.
But before we turn our attention to today’s lesson, it is good to review what
came just before today’s Gospel because it has been over one month since we

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heard this reading on Sunday, December 9. The setting for the entire account is
in the wilderness of Judea, in the area where the Dead Sea Scrolls where found
in 1947 through 1956.2 John the Baptizer is preaching an controversial message
to the people, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 3:2).
This news shakes up everyone including the religious establishment because they
all expect God to remain in His Temple in Jerusalem. John the Baptizer’s message
clearly says, “No.” God is out surveying the entire kingdom.
In order to be ready for the King’s visit, the people need to prepare. The first
action, in fact the first verb that John speaks in Matthew is, “Repent.” John is com-
manding the people to stop their old behaviors. This is what repentance means.
Stop running away from God. Next, John expects the people to follow God’s Law
because what good is it to have a King in your home if you do not respect Him
and His Law? This is why John tells everyone that they must “Bear fruit worthy of
repentance” (Matthew 3:8). This is what naturally happens when you follow the
commandments of loving God and your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:34-40).
Around the first of the year, most people still remember their New Year’s reso-
lutions. These are items that people want to work on during the year. Psychologists
who study human behavior tell us that you will be more successful in keeping your
resolutions if you have some sign that indicates your willingness to change. Keep-
ing track of your weight everyday shows your commitment to loosing a few extra
pounds. Likewise, a washing in the Jordan River along with a confession of fail-
2
S.J. Daniel J. Harrington; Idem, editor, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1, Sacra Pagina Se-
ries, (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1991), p. 50.

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ures, showed that these Jews were attempting to prepare for the eventual arrival of
the King (Matthew 3:6).
John the Baptizer knew that his baptism was a temporary measure that would
only last until the King arrived. He told the people this, “I baptize you with water
for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not
worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”
(Matthew 3:11).
Finally, the time is right. Jesus is ready to visit the people.
This brings us back to today’s lesson. Jesus comes to John for baptism. Im-
mediately, John protests, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
(Matthew 3:14). John is correct. Jesus should be baptizing John. Jesus is the King
that John spoke of. He is the One who will be stopping at every house to see
how everyone is doing. He is God. However, Jesus tells John to proceed with the
baptism since it is right (Matthew 3:15).3
This washing of God by Jordan’s waters shows us the power of water. Jesus has
humbled Himself and become our servant (Matthew 23:11-12). We have become
so used to hearing this Good News, it no longer has any impact on us. Let me
repeat this one more time. In Christ’s baptism, God has decided to come serve
you exclusively.
Not only has Jesus chosen to come and see what is happening in His Kingdom
but He also plans to work for you. This devotion of God to His people is something
3
Harrington argues that this phrase should be read as the baptism of John and this is not ful-
filling the Old Testament in nay way nor should the baptism be thought of as a Christian baptism.
Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Matthew, p. 62.

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like the president of the United States allocating all of this country’s resources on
you. It is similar to the richest person in the world giving you every cent that they
own. This action resembles the most popular person of all time deciding to only
associate with you. God has done all of this and more because God loves you.
There is one more thing that the water does to Jesus. It shows us the destructive
force of water. Jesus becomes a marked man and all those around Him share in
that mark. After being baptized by John, the entire world can clearly see who Jesus
is. He is God. And this God is not like other gods that you might have worshipped
in the past. The true God wants nothing from you. Instead, Jesus wants to help
you so much that He will come and live you with you.
People and forces that want you to serve them do not like this type of God
and they will do whatever it takes to stop Jesus and His associates. This becomes
readily apparent in a few more verses. Satan tests Jesus to see if Jesus really wants
to go through with His plan of helping each of us (Matthew 4:1-10). Herod kills
the one who announced to the world God’s radical plan of establishing His cap-
ital in our hearts (Matthew 14:10). See how far the world’s forces will go when
they have some competition to their insatiable desire for our attention. They start
persecuting Christ’s followers (Matthew 10:23, 23:33). Finally, the world cannot
take it any longer. They kill Jesus. None of this stops Him. Jesus is raised from
the dead to be your slave.
The problem is that our tradition has forgotten the destructive power of water.
Listen to the prayer that Martin Luther wrote for use during baptism,

Almighty, eternal God, who according to your strict judgment con-

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 demned the unbelieving world through the flood and according to
your great mercy preserved believing Noah and the seven members
of his family, and who drowned Pharaoh with his army in the Red
Sea and led your people Israel through the same sea on dry ground,
thereby prefiguring this bath of your Holy Baptism, and who through
the baptism of your dear child, our LORD Jesus Christ, hallowed and
set apart the Jordan and all water to be a blessed flood and a rich
washing away of sins: we ask for the sake of this very same bound-
less mercy of yours that you would look graciously upon N. and bless
him/her with true faith in the Holy Spirit so that through this same
saving flood all that has been born in him/her from Adam and what-
ever he/she has added thereto may be drowned in him/her and sink,
and that he/she, separated from the number of the unbelieving, may
be preserved dry and secure in the holy ark of the Christian church
and may at all times fervent in spirit and joyful in hope serve your
name, so that with all believers in your promise he/she may become
worthy to attain eternal life through Jesus Christ our LORD. Amen.4

Hear how God drowned the unbelieving world in the flood, drowned Pharaoh and
his army as they chased the Israelites, and how we pray that the child’s wrong
actions may drown and sink.
Now, take a look at almost any Lutheran baptismal liturgy that has been pro-
4
This is taken from Martin Luther’s The Baptismal Booklet., found in The Book of Con-
cord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church edited by Robert Kolb and Timothy
J. Wengert.

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duced in the last thirty years or so and see if you can find any words about the
destructive force that water brings. What you will find instead are words that de-
scribe the positive attributes of water like cleansing and washing.
By leaving out all the images of water’s terrible actions in our baptisms, we
are fooling ourselves. We obviously think that our stains are only skin deep and
they can be removed with a light sprinkling of water. We are deceiving ourselves.
The marks that we have made in our lives are permanent. There is not enough
soap and water in the world to remove them. The only way that they can be taken
from us is through our deaths. We must die in the waters of baptism before we can
live.5
Fortunately for us, we also know the power of water. We have been perma-
nently marked by it. In your baptism, God came to you, drowned you in the water,
and gave you a new life. This mark of Christ is on you forever. You have been
freely given the forgiveness of your sins, at no cost to you, you have been deliv-
ered from death and the devil, and because of His love for you, Jesus has given
you the present of eternal salvation.6
We live on the Gulf Coast and have firsthand knowledge of the power that wa-
ter has to both bring life and to destroy it. Here by the Trinity River, we also know
how the water’s force changes its environment. On July 20, a one hundred year
old Union Pacific Railroad bridge about four miles north of Highway 90 buckled.
One of it piers gave way under the relentless pounding of the Trinity River. That
5
Mark 10:38-40; Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:12-14, 3:1; Ephesians 2:5-6.
6
The Small Catechism, T HE S ACRAMENT OF H OLY BAPTISM, IV, 6; Theodore G. Tap-
pert et al., editors, The Book of Concord, (Fortress Press, 1959), p. 348-349.

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is what happens when the water’s flow rate is almost sixty one thousand cubit feet
per second. Thankfully, the river is back to its normal levels. But even there, it is
slowly carving out a new path and sending its silt to the Gulf.
We at Trinity Lutheran are also experiencing a small change in our environ-
ment. Today we will be installing our new church council. Every one of these
individuals has been shaped by the waters of baptism and their leadership in the
next year will move us in new areas.
Today’s Gospel reading ends with the words, “This is my Son, the Beloved,
with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17b). This sentence tells us that God
agrees with the power of water that has transformed Jesus into our servant. God is
pleased that He can help you.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”7

References

Daniel J. Harrington, S.J.; Idem, editor, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1, Sacra
Pagina Series, (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1991).

Tappert, Theodore G., editors, The Book of Concord, (Fortress Press, 1959).

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Philippians 4:7.