With Us, God is Well Pleased
praying for the alignment of our identity and calling
January 9, 2022
First Sunday after the Epiphany | Baptism of the Lord | Year C
Luke 3:15–17, 21–22 (NRSV)
TL;DR
- The Great Resignation is about figuring out identity & calling
- John the Baptist, Jesus, and Spider-Man are great examples
- Prayer is a good way to begin when figuring things out
- And when figuring things out, remember that you are God’s beloved
Are you currently figuring out what you want to do in life?
Are you unsure of what you want to do next in life?
Are you still trying to decide your new year's resolutions?
Whether are you in school, in the middle of your career, or well into your retirement, I believe we always wrestle with these questions one way or another. This has been especially true during the past two years of the pandemic. People have been pondering these questions more seriously, wondering about who they really are, what they really want to do in life, what they value in life, and how they really want to spend their life. Questions like these have led to what we now called “the Great Resignation,” as millions of people are quitting their jobs each month.
Last week, a new report came out that a record-high 4.5 million American workers left their jobs in November 2021. What we do not see behind these numbers are, perhaps, countless hours people spend pondering these questions of who they are and what they want to do in life.
I believe there is a correlation between identity and calling. When we know who we truly are, then that is when we have some clues to understand what we want to do in life. Suppose our identity and calling are not aligned with our work. In that case, we will eventually feel this sense of emptiness and fulfillment in some shape or form. And many times, we are just caught up in the everyday rhythm of doing work that we completely forget about our own identity and calling — we are just stuck in this hamster wheel of the 9–5 for the sake of paying bills. What this pandemic has done to our lives is to throw a wrench and stop our hamster wheel by force. Our daily rhythm has been interrupted and everyone has now gotten a chance to stop and think… What is the point of being on this wheel if I feel no sense of joy and fulfillment? What is the point of being on this wheel if it prevents me from living my life with a purpose? This phenomenon may be seen as a great resignation from the perspective of businesses and institutions, but it is also a great reassessment from the perspective of everyday people.
In today’s scripture reading, we see two examples of our identity is tied to our calling. The first example is John the Baptist. What is so admirable about John is that he was always very clear about who he was, and therefore he always knew what his calling was. Sometimes the success and failure of life prevent us from knowing our identity. John had been baptizing crowds of people and impressing them with his teaching. And this caused them to start wondering whether John was the messiah. We are familiar with stories of pastors and worship leaders drinking the Kool-aids off their growing fame and starting to think themselves superior to others. I imagine John could have also faced similar temptations.
But John remained clear about who he was. This is what he told to those who thought of him very highly (v. 16):
“I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Instead of being blinded by his growing popularity, John the Baptist was steadfast on his identity and therefore his calling. He knew he was to prepare the way of the Lord.
The second example is Jesus. Outside of his temple story from when he was twelve years old, we have very little information on how he spent his first thirty years of life. I wonder if his life was something like that of a superhero. Let’s use Spider-Man’s story as an example since No Way Home is in theatres. Peter Parker, as a teen, got bit by a spider. And then he found out that he gained some weird powers. He learned how to use his powers as he played with them. Until this moment, he was just a kid with special powers. The story we are told from the classic Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man is that Peter Parker becomes a superhero when he finally comes to understand the words of his beloved Uncle Ben: “With great power comes great responsibility.” That is when his identity and calling align together.
Jesus was also unlike any other kid. He was fully divine and fully human from his birth. And he certainly had special gifts. Maybe he also played with his powers as he learned how to use them (The Gospel of Thomas has some fun stories). But for most of his youth and young adulthood, I wonder if Jesus was still unsure what he was supposed to do with his superpowers. Or maybe he was just waiting for the right moment, an epiphany and a turning point that would launch him to live out his true calling. And we can see how today’s scripture reading is that moment that marks the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry as the Messiah, the Savior.
By humbling himself to be baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus willingly committed himself to God’s promise from the past and God’s plan for the future. He submitted to his identity and calling as both the promised Messiah for Israel and the Savior of all humanity. There was no need for Jesus to participate in John the Baptist’s “repentance for the forgiveness of sins” for he was the sinless one. Yet, he humbled himself so that he may align himself with the new realities God envisions, that his life and ministry may bring salvation to all people.
I like how Saint Maximus of Turin tries to make sense of Jesus’ baptism. He writes,
Christ is baptized, not to be made holy by the water, but to make the water holy, and by his cleansing to purify the waters which he touched. For the consecration of Christ involves a more significant consecration of the water.
By being baptized with water, it was not Jesus who was purified, but it was the water that was purified through Jesus. So that all of us and our sins may also be washed away through our baptisms.
And what follows Jesus’ radical commitment to God’s plan through his baptism is the Holy Spirit’s empowerment and God’s acknowledgment. Heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, saying, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased” (v. 22). And at that very moment, Jesus’ public ministry officially began — his identity and calling as God’s Son aligned together.
What can these two examples teach us as we ponder our identity and calling? What can today’s story teach all of us — both young and old — as we contemplate what we want to do and how we want to live out our lives?
One practical takeaway is the significance of prayer. In the middle of Jesus’ baptism story, we learn how Jesus was praying, how he was in prayer as the heavens opened, the Spirit landed, and God announced him to be God’s Son. In prayer, Jesus received both acknowledgment and empowerment. And we see this pattern throughout his life. The extraordinary moments in his life are always coupled with prayers. And this is also what Jesus taught his disciples and followers to do, emphasizing the importance of praying continuously (Luke 18:1).
So let us pray. Pray as we ponder on our future. Pray as we wrestle with our identity and calling. Pray as we made important life decisions. Pray as we live our lives as followers of Christ. And this does not only pertain to our individual lives but also the life of our church. I know we have been asking questions regarding our church’s future. And it essentially boils down to our church’s identity and calling.
Who are we and what is God calling us to become?
What gets in our way to answer these questions are perhaps our own memories of success and failure. It is important to know who we were in the past. Yet, it is also important to align ourselves with the new realities God envisions, committing ourselves to what God has in store. Again, who are we and what are we called to do? To answer this question, we must acknowledge the significance of our corporate prayer.
Lastly, I want to remind ourselves of one theological truth: that we, too, are God’s beloved children. This truth makes our prayer so significant — it is our way of finding out the will of the heavenly Father through our obedience and submission. No matter what, the very basis of our identity and calling is that we are God’s beloved children, and with us God is well pleased. So whatever questions we are pondering, whatever life decisions we are contemplating, and whatever future we are facing, let us remember this truth and celebrate this truth that we are God’s beloved. It is written in Isaiah 43,
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
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.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…
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.
Do not fear, for I am with you…
In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Rev. Minoo Kim is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, currently serving in the Virginia Annual Conference. He will very much appreciate it if you like and follow his Medium profile. Peace!
