The Incarnation of God’s Love (in us!)
Rev. Erik Swanson
January 12, 2025
Watch the video of this sermon here
About two thousand years ago, Rabbi Akiva, walking home on a dark, foggy night, missed his turn and arrived at a Roman outpost. A guard challenged him from the watchtower, shouting, “Who are you, and what are you doing here?” The rabbi, intrigued, asked the guard how much he was paid, then offered double that pay if the guard would ask him those same questions every morning. These profound questions—“Who are you, and what are you doing here?”—resonate through human existence, shaping how we live, work, and see ourselves.
Jesus’ Baptism: Who We Are
For Christians, the story of Jesus’ baptism offers a foundational answer to the first question: we are the ones God loves. This identity, affirmed in baptism, challenges us to embrace the truth that we are beloved. Yet many struggle to accept this, letting doubt, mistrust, or unworthiness block the transformative power of this truth. By resisting God’s love, we distance ourselves from the richness of life and the deep connection with God intended for us.
Embodying the Incarnation
The Christmas season celebrates the incarnation—Spirit and flesh united in Jesus—and calls us to embody that divine light and love. Baptism, marking the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, reminds us of his solid foundation: he is God’s beloved, and God is pleased with him. This affirmation is not exclusive to Jesus but extends to all of us. Recognizing this identity challenges us to align our lives with love, as exemplified in countless biblical stories: the prodigal son, the good Samaritan, the rich young ruler, and Jesus’ teaching to love God and neighbor.
God is Love
Central to Christian scripture is the truth that God is love, as echoed in 1 Peter and the Gospel of John. Yet, external voices often obscure this truth, leading us to let negative or misguided influences define us. The challenge for believers is to discern and prioritize God’s voice of love over these competing messages. Only by grounding ourselves in this divine voice can we heal, grow, and live authentically in God’s love.
Celebrating the baptism of Jesus each year serves as a vital reminder of this identity. It pushes us to confront and reject the voices that deny our worth and embrace the consistent, affirming heartbeat of God’s love. This truth can feel uncomfortable, but it breaks through the lies we tell ourselves: that we are unworthy, unlovable, or insufficient. God’s proclamation counters these falsehoods, affirming our belovedness and inviting us into a love relationship with the divine.
Living as God’s Beloved
As we begin a new year, we are called to make this understanding of God’s love our foundation. Whether in grand acts or small gestures done with great love, we embody the incarnation when we let God’s love define us. May 2025 be a year of reconnecting with this profound truth and living as God’s beloved, drawing closer to God in love and allowing that love to transform our lives and the world. Amen.