The hymnal is not only meant to be used by the family in church before the Lord’s altar. It is also meant for the family to bring the Lord’s altar into the home. The hymns we sing in church are prayers that are set to music. They can be much more memorable than a sermon. As a pastor I know that the people in the pews most likely aren’t going to be talking about my sermon theme or bullet points when they leave church. Instead, they will be singing the familiar refrains from the hymns on their way home from church.
I am encouraging all of you to use the hymnal as part of your personal and family devotions. To assist you in your devotional life, every week I will write and record a devotion on the Hymn of the Day for the upcoming worship service. I’ll be using the hymns in the new blue Christian Worship Hymnal. The Hymn of the Day is the central hymn that we will be using in the majority of our Lutheran churches during the Christian Church Year. It is the hymn that best carries the theme of that particular Sunday’s worship.
This Sunday is the first Sunday after the Epiphany. It is a yearly celebration of Christ’s baptism. This week’s Hymn of the Day is Christian Worship #377 – To Jordan’s River Came Our Lord.
The first verse reads: “To Jordan’s river came our Lord, The Christ, whom heav’nly hosts adored, The God from God, the Light from Light, The Lord of glory, pow’r, and might.”
Jesus began his ministry by coming to the Jordan River to be baptized by John the Baptizer. As we recite in the Nicene Creed, Jesus is “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father.
The second verse: “The Savior came to be baptized—The Son of God in flesh disguised—To stand beneath the Father’s will And all his promises fulfill.” Jesus is God’s Son covered in human flesh and blood. Because Jesus is perfect, he doesn’t need to be baptized. Instead, he submits to his Father’s will by accepting a sinner’s baptism upon the holy Son of God.
The third verse: “As Jesus in the Jordan stood And John baptized the Lamb of God, The Holy Spirit, heav’nly dove, Descended on him from above.” Already in the waters of the Jordan River, Jesus is fulfilling his role as the sacrificial and substitutionary Lamb of God.
The fourth verse: “Then from God’s throne with thund’rous sound Came God’s own voice with words profound: ‘This is my Son,’ was his decree, ‘The one I love, who pleases me.’” Upon Jesus’ baptism, the Father announces for all his heavenly host to hear, “You are my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with you” (Luke 3:22). God the Father is pleased with his Son’s divine vocation as the world’s Redeemer.
The fifth verse: “The Father’s word, the Spirit’s flight Anointed Christ in glorious sight As God’s own choice, from Adam’s fall To save the world and free us all.” It is the mystery of the Triune God that all three persons are present at Jesus’ baptism – yet they remain distinct – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God the Father is speaking from heaven. God the Son is in the water. God the Holy Spirit is hovering over the waters in the form of a dove. All three persons of the Trinity delight in their unity of working to save the world from sin and free us from slavery to the devil.
Then comes our Christian response to Christ in the water. The sixth and final verse: “Now rise, faint hearts: be resolute! This man is Christ, our substitute! He was baptized in Jordan’s stream, Proclaimed Redeemer, Lord supreme.”
Play To Jordan’s River Came Our Lord on YouTube. Then hear it again this Sunday in worship. Allow the music and words of the composer and author move the hearts and minds of God’s people. Let your faint heart be resolute.
To God be the glory!