The Voice
This is the sermon I preached last Sunday, Baptism of Our Lord, Jan. 13 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The gospel was Luke 3:15-17, 21-22. You are probably familiar with the TV show, “The Voice.,” Unknown amateur artists have the chance to wow the judges and viewers. The winner receives $100,000 and a recording contract. Even those that haven’t won have often gone on to have successful careers because of their exposure on the show. Listeners have heard some amazing voices and some not so amazing. In today’s gospel for the Baptism of Our Lord, author Luke spends little time writing about the actual baptism, but rather concentrates on the aftermath, speaking of yet another Voice, that of the Father. It is after Jesus’ baptism, while he was praying that the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended that things started to happen. The closing of heaven brought drought (Luke 4:25), while the opening of heaven would bring God’s blessings. God’s power and mercy were about