“THE PURE IN HEART BLESSES YOU”
Saint Matthew 3: 13-17
The Baptism of Our Lord: 13 January Anno Domini 2019
Father Jay Watson SSP
“Blessed are the Pure in Heart, for They shall see God.” [Mt. 5.8] “I am baptized!” Not “was,” past tense. “Am,” present tense! Enduring, living, active, ever activating, crackling with Christ’s Presence—the True “perpetual motion/energy machine.” Eternal. “Is means is” spoke the Reformer. And “Am” means “Am”…same word—the “being” verb!
The Reformer also said that every morning when one awakes the very first thing they should say is “I am + baptized.” One of your Confessions, The Small Catechism, says “In the morning when you get up, make the sign of The Holy Cross and say: ‘In The Name of The Father and + of The Son and of The Holy Ghost. Amen.’” [LSB p. 327] Yes, you confess your faith in the Holy Trinity when you make the sign of The Cross, but you’re even more importantly confessing your Holy Baptism—your LIFE IN The Trinity, IN Christ, whenever you make His sign, the identical sign which was traced, not “over” you, but “on” you and “into” you, at your rebirth, your adoption into Jesus. “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?” [Rom 6.3] And, “for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” [Gal. 3.27]
Hell: chaos, disorder, madness, mindless noise—screeching, wailing, gnashing of teeth—to be sure. But also, Hell will be a cloying, growing, dank encrusting of sin’s offal. That is, Hell will be filthy, dirty, stink-filled beyond description. Did I say “dirty?” Dirt, like rust, like putrification and rot, is progressive, foul, infernal, and evil—the opposite of clean, i.e. “Good.” This is spiritual and not so much (at all) physical. Adam’s sin does cause sweat from the brow and dirt under the finger-nails, but that’s not what is meant by the devil’s dirt of damning unbelief; the enemy’s excrement. So, it isn’t the sweat, stains, and dirt of honest vocational work that is cleaned away by God—Ivory soap does just fine. It isn’t the dirt of the farmer, mechanic, day laborer, carpenter, roofer, janitor, cook, housewife, homeowner, or even athlete that is washed away by Jesus. No, it is the filth, dirt, rottenness, and decay of Sin, and unforgiven sins that Holy Baptism cleanses from—That Jesus cleanses from. Satan wants you busy, busy, busy, and confused, so that you are “flighty” rather than faithful to The Word. The devil is delighted when you flit around, like a manure fly, all of the world’s mammon and all of your own “fallen nature’s” desires. Your activities apart from The Word of God only keep you away from Christ and “cleanness.” As there is “no one who does good, no not one” [Mt. 19.17 & Rom. 3.12] apart from The Good Man—The God/Man Christ. So too, there is no one clean and pure other than Jesus. You? “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness, are as filthy rags.” [Is. 64.6] What does John correctly say? He knows, “He that cometh…whose shoes I am not worthy to bear”…I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?” [Mt. 3. 11, 14]
Scripture is replete with examples of sinners who have been convicted of their sin by The Word, The Law, and who acknowledge their filthy condition. Jesus never balks at the dirt, the sin, the shame, but embraces them in His loving and tender forgiveness. For He is The Purity of all Pure…The Cleanness of all Clean. Jesus Who is Holy and Sanctified, God in The Flesh, becomes black filth to make you all resplendent in Righteousness and Shining in Salvation. He Who is light of light. He Who is sinless. He Who shows this immaculate purity in His own Transfiguration (“And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.” [Mk. 9.3] ) This God, takes off his raiment, leaves the Inter-Trinitarian Godhead and comes to a very, very, dirty Earth. He travels with and to very filthy sinners. He touches the foul diseased flesh of sick, dying, and diseased dirty sinners. He steps down into the Jordan River and lets His sinless Body receive the murk of your trespasses so that His Purity sanctifies the wave…the Water in every font of His Church. With King David you sing: “purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean, wash + me and I shall be whiter than snow.” [Ps. 51.7]
The Lord’s Word in Sacramental form—that is—His Word attached to earthly elements give you The Real Forgiveness and Peace of The Real, PURE 100% PURE “Forgiver” (Redeemer) and “Peace-maker.” What you receive in Holy Absolution, What you Receive in Blessed Eucharist, is What Jesus IS, and what He DID at Calvary and all that led up to it and followed from it. But you don’t just receive a divine “what,” you receive THE DIVINE “WHO!” His Ascension yes, But also The Baptism of our Lord.
You are + Baptized.
“Blessed are the Pure in Heart, for they shall see God.” Now, remember and live your Baptism for it is Christ’s own baptism IN you…
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of The Holy Ghost
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