With the Holy Spirit and Fire

​The Baptism of Our Lord – C                                                                      LSB #’s 405, 498:1-2, 4-5; 399
Text – Luke 3:16
 
John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but He who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit & fire.” 
 
WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT & FIRE
 
 
As the saying goes, “You have to be living under a rock” if you have not heard about the fires in Los Angeles.   Having served on a fire department  I experienced firsthand  the speed & ferocity  with which a fire can spread.   I’ve seen families standing in their yard at midnight  watching their earthly possessions go up in flames  as we fought the fire. 
Those examples are miniscule  in the face of what’s happened this past week in LA.  Several of the fires are still spreading  & the devastation,  even apart from human lives,  is apocalyptic.  Tens of thousands of acres of human development  have been utterly obliterated.  And in the face of it all,  whatever the reasons,  human beings have been powerless  to stop it. 
So far, the destruction is limited to parts of one city, albeit  a rather large city.    Last Sunday  the people there  were living their lives as normal  without a clue  as to the unimaginable extent of what was coming.   Jesus reports a similar situation recorded in Matthew 24:
“For as were the days of Noah,  so will be the coming of the Son of Man.  For as in those days before the flood  they were eating & drinking,  marrying & giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, & they were unaware until the flood came & swept them all away,  so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”  (24:37-39 ESV) 
It is horrible what’s happening in Los Angeles,  but the parallels with the flood are there.  God’s grace, mercy & forgiveness are available without cost,  but if they are not taken advantage of in this life  there will be no second chances.   Jesus made clear in His teaching  that the things of this world are not to be the focus of our lives.   The only treasure you can keep  is that which God is storing for you  in heaven.  Since no one knows when the end of the world will come each of us should be constantly ready – ready & watching for the master to return.    This morning, our world  & our lives  may appear to be normal – eating & drinking,  marrying & giving in marriage,  but  what’s instore for anyone of us  tomorrow?    The truth is,  we haven’t a clue! 
The fires of Los Angeles are terrible & horrific,  yet they are nothing compared to the fire that is coming, as St. Peter outlined for us:
“Since all these things will be destroyed in this way,  think  how  holy & godly you should live,  waiting for & earnestly desiring the coming of God’s Day  that will destroy the heavens with fire & melt the elements with heat.  But according to His promise we expect new heavens & a new earth where righteousness dwells.”  (2 Peter 3:11-13 AAT) 
You & I have hope for a much better life to come,  so we refuse to cling to the things of this world.  One day  all of it will be destroyed anyway.   It is our privilege to share the news of the new heavens & a new earth  that are coming  where righteousness dwells.   It is our privilege especially  to share that news with people who are suffering in this life. 
Many people, in the day of John the Baptist, were suffering miserable lives.   It wasn’t from fires or hurricanes, but from oppressive governments that dictated many aspects of their lives.  It was all the wealth being concentrated in the hands of the elite,  while the rest lived in poverty or slavery.  Even the religious leaders were serving themselves  instead of the people.  
Then,  & today,  how many people had become numb to any hope of healing or future?  How many have sought ways to deaden themselves to the pain & tragedy of life in a world that is broken by sin?    How many of us would have been found coming to see John the Baptist, wondering if he had a word of hope  like the earlier OT prophets had? 
All the Gospels clearly indicate that John’s activity caused a sensational stir in Israel. 
Would he cause such a stir today?  John was a powerful preacher who had a great impact on people, but this text also shows the strength of his humility.  He did not exploit the opportunity to his own advantage.  Many times, people in "middle management" positions, or those working in periods of great change, take advantage of the situation for their own enrichment.  Not so John. 
We are living in what is going to be a period of great change  as our federal government transitions from one administration to another.    There will be opportunities for many to take advantage of the situation for their own enrichment.  It will be an exciting time for many  & a difficult one for many others. 
Offering hope, & making promises for change,  is easy during a campaign.  Governing is where the rubber meets the road.   The mayor of Los Angeles has found that out in excruciating detail.   When people felt hopeless during the days of John the Baptist,  some  listened to his preaching & he offered them One greater than himself.  John was the forerunner for Jesus:
“He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit & fire.”  (Luke 3:16b ESV)   Jesus does have the power  to fulfill  all His promises,  but those promises always have an end times goal – eternity in heaven.  Only faith in Jesus  as Lord & Savior  allows anyone to see the fulfillment. 
In this life Jesus gives physical blessings too,  but all will fade or be destroyed  by the effects of sin.  The blessings Jesus offers that are eternal & everlasting  are not so easy to see or identify.  Patience, self-control, faithfulness,  & forgiveness,  are not as readily obvious  as a new car or a successful surgery.  To be “seen” those blessings require faith in Jesus as Lord & Savior. 
A good illustration of that is the last sentence of the sermon text, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit & fire.”   As I read through all the resources I had,  everyone generally agreed on what John meant by “baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”   Where there was no consensus is on the last word “fire.”  Was it a reference to destruction or hell?  Was it a reference to the purifying effect of God’s Word?   Is it simply a reference to the Gospel – that Jesus would pay, with His life, for our sins?  I could not find a definitive answer.  John was clearly talking about blessing in the spiritual realm.   Our lack of understanding highlights the difficulty in appreciating the things & the work of God’s Spirit  in our daily & in our eternal  lives. 
As in the life of Job, God often gives us no direct or specific answers for the suffering we endure.  Why did God allow the fires in LA,  or hurricane Helene in NC,  or the broken relationships we so often see in marriage & in raising children?  Why does God install governments that are incompetent & corrupt?  Why does He allow us to sin as we often do? 
Since we are not God,  & we don’t have the answers we seek,  we are faced with a dilemma.  Do we trust God’s love for us,  or  do we go our own way?  That Jesus came to die for our sins is proof of God’s love & goodness.  Going our own way  eventually brings nothing but helplessness & death.  No matter what you accomplish, every human legacy is erased by time. 
In Jesus’ baptism  God is at work remaking you,  purifying you to be people in whom nothing but righteousness dwells.  That’s why the heavenly Father spoke these words, “You are my beloved Son; with You I am well pleased.”  (Luke 3:22 ESV)   He spoke them of Jesus, & since Jesus was taking your place,  those words now cover you. 
You are righteous because God says so.  That is our Creator’s response to the sin & the resultant suffering we find ourselves in.  Short-term it’s the not the most pleasing answer to our questions of “Why?”.  However, God has an end times view & goal in everything He does.  All of His salvation works are eternal,  & once we are in heaven  we will understand. 
Instead of washing us sinners away, as in the days of Noah,  at the baptism of Jesus, God used water to save, rather than to destroy.  God was still pleased with Jesus when He made His own Son to become the very sin which infects us all.  (2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV)   It did not seem like the Father was pleased with Him at that point, but in hindsight, when the pain was in the past & Jesus was raised from the dead, the pleasure of the Father with His Son was clear.  Now, Jesus is at work baptizing us with the Holy Spirit & fire,  & because of that we can receive the gifts of forgiveness, holiness & righteousness. 
As the Lord spoke in the OT reading from Isaiah, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”  (43:1b ESV)   Paul added to that in the Epistle lesson from Romans:
“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death,  in order that,  just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.  For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.”  (6:3-5 ESV) 
We may not know exactly what God is saying with the words, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit & fire.”  But we do know that our life now exists in the almighty Son of God,  & He loves us with an incomprehensible love.  He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us.  In that, God’s children find peace & rest, no matter what may be burning around us.  Amen.
 
 
 
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest,  & make our hearts Your place of rest;  come with Your grace & heavenly aid,  & fill the hearts which You have made.    Your light to every thought impart,  & shed Your love in every heart;  the weakness of our mortal state  with deathless might invigorate.     Drive far away our wily foe,  & Your abiding peace bestow;  with You as our protecting guide,  no evil can with us abide.  Amen.  LSB 498:2, 4-5.