Psalm 2:7-9 (ESV)
“I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Devotional Mediation
We don't like to imagine Christ wielding a rod of iron against the nations and smashing them into pieces. What does this mean? One way to understand this image is through distinguishing between God's proper and alien work. God's proper work--the work that is most central to his nature--is life and salvation. Yet, God will exercise his wrath and vengeance--his alien work--to bring about his proper work. Psalm 2 speaks of the day when Christ will come to rule over the nations as his rightful heritage, but first he will judge. Christ will break every idol and smash every lie with his Word of Truth.
We can understand our baptism in the same way. Through baptism, the old man with its lust, greed, pride, and rebellion is drowned--God's killing work. Yet, in those same waters the word and promise of God brings forth a new man--a creature enlivened by the Holy Spirit--a new man with a new heart that is loyal to the Word of God. This is God's proper work: making us new, making us whole, making us alive. That's what "walking in our baptism" (as Luther describes it in his Large Catechism) is all about. It is a daily life of repentance. A daily process by which God's Word kills the old man who still clings to us, and strengthens the new man that he has brought to life.
Image Description (AI Prompt)
In this surrealistic reinterpretation, the scene becomes even more dramatic with the old man appearing as though he's drowning in the magical, freeform wall of water. The water wall swirls and flows with exaggerated, surreal intensity around him. His posture is no longer just hunched; it's contorted in a struggle, with his hands reaching out, seemingly trying to grasp something for support. His expression is one of desperation and fear, contrasting sharply with the serene emergence of the handsome, strong, young man on the other side. This young man steps out with confidence, unaffected by the turmoil behind him, symbolizing a transformation that is both a liberation and a rebirth. The surroundings are filled with surreal elements, highlighting the dramatic and mystical nature of the transformation, where one man's struggle in the water becomes a metaphor for change and renewal.