"O that Thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down..."

At the Jordan River, you can see where this happened. God the Father did rend the heavens, and looked down upon His Beloved, God the Son. And the Third Person of the Trinity did come down in the form of a dove to mark Christ at His baptism. Here, the Father says too all history, to all doubters, to all Jews, Muslims, Hindus, believers and unbelievers:

"This is My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased"

"But Jesus was just a good man, a great teacher, an example for us". No, the Almighty Creator of the universe tells all of us here that this is His Beloved Son, in Whom He is well-pleased.

Well, what comfort do these words, spoken directly to Christ nearly 2000 years ago, have for us? The comfort for us lies in that they were NOT spoken directly to US. Those two little words "In Whom" should ring joyfully in our ears. Because we clothe ourselves with Christ in our Baptism, God the Father sees only Christ when He looks at us, and God Himself has just told us that He is well-pleased with His Beloved Son.

When the judgement comes, as John the Baptist has just told us it surely will (and soon), we will be counted, not with the chaff, but with the good grain because we are in Christ in our Baptism. That is where our hope lies.

When we read "In Whom", we should hear "For You". That promise is for you and it is for me.

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This is part of the tail end of my Sunday School lesson for today. The text was Matthew 3:13-17

We can and should, not unlike the founders of this state, shout "Remember the Jordan"!