Sunday, January 09, 2005

Sun, Jan 9, 2005 - Who Are You?

Isaiah 42:1-9
http://bible.oremus.org/browser.cgi?passage=isaiah+42%3A1-9

Acts 10:34-43
http://bible.oremus.org/browser.cgi?passage=acts+10%3A34-43

Matthew 3:13-17
http://bible.oremus.org/browser.cgi?passage=matthew+3%3A13-17

Who are you?

Really. Who are you? It’s a fair question, I think - one that other people ask us, one that sometimes we ask ourselves. Who are you? It’s an interesting question, especially since it seems that the answer changes depending on who’s doing the asking. For instance, if someone church related asks me who I am, I say, "I’m Kayko Driedger Hesslein, I’m the pastor of Emmanuel in Toronto." If someone from Lethbridge, Alberta, where my grandparents live, asks me who I am, I say, "I’m Kayko Driedger Hesslein, I’m Dr. Driedger’s granddaughter." If somebody from my husband’s work asks me who I am, I say, "I’m Kayko Hesslein, I’m Josh’s wife." The answer changes, depending on who’s doing the asking. If someone asks you who you are, you might define yourself in terms of your job; "I’m so-and-so, I’m the fill-in-the-blank at this company." You might define yourself in terms of your family; "I’m so-and-so, I’m the mother/grandfather/ cousin of that person." Depending on the situation, you might say who you are in relation to something that you own; "I’m so-and-so; I own the grey Toyota." Or, the broken TV, or the gas lawnmower. You get the idea. And all of these different answers mean different things to different people. Saying I’m the pastor of Emmanuel means something to people who go to church, and something less to people who don’t. Some people respect me more because of it, and some people less. Saying I’m the granddaughter of Dr. Driedger changes people’s perceptions of me if they know who he is, and does absolutely nothing if they don’t. How we define ourselves does change how people see us.

Likewise, how others define us changes the way we see ourselves. Little Gabriella who is being baptized this morning is the daughter of Ken and Maple Kyriacou, and the little sister of Anna Rose. That probably doesn’t mean anything to Gabriella right now, but one day, that definition will. Hopefully it will help her to see herself as part of a rich heritage of Filipino and Greek culture, hopefully it will help her to see herself as a valuable member of an extended family.
Each of you has, no doubt, been described in different ways by different people throughout your lives, and some of these descriptions have probably made a difference in your life - to how you think of yourself and to who you think you are.

For instance, if you have older siblings, you’ll know what it’s like, and how it’s affected your life, to be known as their younger brother or sister. If you’re the youngest in the family, being known as "the baby of the family" has probably helped shape your self-identity. If you’re the oldest, being defined as "the one in charge" has probably had an effect on who you are. If you’re the middle child, well, those who are named as "middle children" grow up with their own set of unique characteristics.

Our definitions of ourselves, and other people’s answers to the question of who we are can build us up, or bring us down. They shape us, for good or evil, throughout our lives. I’m sure that each one of you can remember someone describing you in a way that led you to be a better person. I’m also sure that each one of you can remember someone describing you in a way that made you a little less secure about yourself. Who we say we are, and who others say we are, has a great impact on the people we come to be.

And so we come to today - the day we celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord. Now, baptism is many things. It is the forgiveness of sins, the promise of salvation, the sealing of the covenant between God and us, the gift of unconditional grace in the form of water. But it is also a time when we are given a new way of describing ourselves. It is a time when we are given a new identity, a new answer to the question, "Who are you?"

It all starts with Jesus. According to the Gospel of Matthew - and it’s different in every Gospel, Jesus’ baptism by John led to a new definition of who he was. When the heavens opened and the Spirit of God descended on him, the voice of heaven described him as "my Son, the Beloved." Now that’s a title - that’s a description that’s going to change your life. You can’t go back to being plain old Jesus from Galilee when you’ve just been proclaimed as the Beloved Son of God. Who are you? I’m Jesus, the Son of God, but really I just run a carpentry business in Nazareth. Uh uh - no way. You have a new identity. You’re on a new path after that. Jesus’ path led him away from being a carpenter in Galilee to being a healer who wandered through Israel, a Messiah who proclaimed God’s love to all, and ultimately, to being a Saviour whose death and resurrection redeemed the world. Jesus’ life was completely changed from what he thought it might have been, growing up, all because he had been baptized and received a new identity, all because he was now known as God’s Son.

But Jesus isn’t the only one given a new identity - he’s just the first. When you were baptized, you, too, were given a new identity, a new way of describing yourself: Who are you? You’re a child of God. Right now, little Gabriella is just Gabriella, daughter of Maple and Ken. But in about ten minutes, after she’s been baptized, she’s going to be Gabriella, child of God.

And this new description changes things, it changes who you are. You are no longer just your job description, or who you are in relation to your genetic family - you are a child of God. You are a sister or brother of Jesus Christ. You are a sister or brother to every other Christian in the world. You are a sinner who has been transformed into a saint.

When you were washed in the waters of baptism, the same water used for those who live in royalty and those in poverty, the same water for those who become Saviours of the world and for those who struggle in sin, when you were washed in those waters, you became the equal of every single other person in the world. You aren’t any greater than anybody else - being a child of God doesn’t make you superior to anybody, but, you aren’t any less than anybody else, either. There is nobody in the world who is more valuable than you, because you are God’s child. You are deeply loved and made new in Christ.

And this means that it doesn’t matter who you or other people say you are, or how they describe you. Whether you are the president of the organization or the one who’s never going to get a promotion, whether you are the person who has what it takes or the one who can’t get it together, whether you are the best parent in the world or the one whose kids have no respect for anybody, whether you’re a saint or a sinner, it’s totally irrelevant. Take the best description of yourself and the worst and throw them both away. If you’ve been baptized, none of those things make any difference to who you are. You are a child of God, and that’s all that people need to know about you. It’s all you need to know about yourself.

Who are you? Today as we celebrate the baptism of Our Lord, and baby Gabriella’s baptism, we are reminded of our own baptism, and who we have become through that. And as you go through your week, as you define yourself and are defined by others, keep this first and foremost in your thoughts: Who are you? You’re a baptized child of God, beloved. Amen.

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