11 Jan 2026
Standing in Line: Jesus Chooses Proximity Over Purity
Scripture: Matthew 3:13-17Date: January 11, 2026Preached at: Messiah Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, IN
Episode Description:
What does a concert ticket line have to do with Jesus’ baptism? More than you might think.
In this sermon, Pastor Brian shares a moment of humbling self-awareness while waiting in the wrong line at a Lainey Wilson concert—and how it connects to one of the most profound truths about who God is: Jesus didn’t need to be baptized, but he got in line anyway. He stepped into the muddy water with sinners, tax collectors, and ordinary people like us.
This is a story about the God who chooses proximity over purity, who loves us dripping wet and messy, who declares “You are my beloved” before we accomplish anything.
And it challenges us to ask: Where are we standing on the shore when Jesus is calling us into the water?
In This Episode:
* A concert parking lot confession about privilege and proximity
* Why Jesus got in line when he didn’t have to
* What it means that God declared Jesus “beloved” while he was still in the water
* Wrestling with a grandmother’s conditional approval vs. God’s unconditional love
* How fear of “the other” keeps us from seeing belovedness in everyone
* An invitation to choose solidarity over separation this week
Key Themes:
* Proximity over purity: God doesn’t love us from a distance
* Belovedness before accomplishment: God’s pleasure isn’t earned
* Standing in line together: We’re all beloved, even the strangers beside us
* The gift of getting muddy: Meeting God in the mess, not on the shore
Scripture Reading
Matthew 3:13-17
“Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from the heavens said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’”
Questions for Reflection
* Where am I standing on the shore when Jesus is calling me into the water?
* How am I keeping my distance when God is asking me to step closer?
* Where am I grumbling about having to stand in line with “all those people”—as if proximity to strangers or struggle is beneath me?
This Week’s Invitation
* Pay attention to one moment where you have a choice to stay separate or step into solidarity.
* Maybe it’s showing up somewhere you don’t have to be—for people whose struggles aren’t your own
* Maybe it’s asking a question instead of giving advice or making demands
* Maybe it’s literally choosing the longer line—the one with “all those people”—and recognizing that maybe that’s exactly where you’re supposed to be
Connect
Website: www.messiahlc.com (http://www.messiahlc.com)Instagram: @messiahfwChurch: Messiah Lutheran Church (ELCA), Fort Wayne, IN
A Word of Grace
God doesn’t love you from the shore. God doesn’t wait until you’re dried off and respectable. God loves you dripping wet, muddy, standing right beside you in the mess, saying: “You are my beloved. And I am well pleased.”
Not because of what you’ve accomplished. Not because you finally got your act together. But because you belong to God.
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