Baptism of Jesus
01/08/2008
This second week of Epiphany week we remember the Baptism of Jesus. It is difficult (maybe impossible) to try and
apply any sort of chronological coherence to the lectionary readings—last week
Jesus was a toddler and in three weeks he begins his journey toward Jerusalem
and his crucifixion! Nevertheless, this
week we find John Baptizing Jesus.
Now, you don’t need us to emphasize that this is an Important
Moment. As we read the scripture in
Matthew (and even if we compare it to how the story unfolds in the other
gospels)
we can see that this is the event that propels Jesus in to his
official public ministry. Before this
all we really know of him through the scripture is that (assuming you
were
listening to Heather’s Story for All Ages last Sunday) Jesus was
growing up and
had been found in the temple impressing rabbis. His Baptism is the
moment that it all begins. Before there was a lot of rumor and
assumption and conjecture, but this is where Jesus is Affirmed and
Named and Ordained
by God.
There is a lot of potency in this moment.
Even within this scene of Baptism expectation continues to
mount as the water rushes by John and Jesus (and whomever else might be
standing around).
John had been publicly talking and dreaming about Jesus. He had been laying the path for Jesus--Preparing
the Way. Today the Eastern Orthodox
Church still refers to John as St. John the Forerunner —he was the one who came before the One who was to come. We do not know from this text if Jesus and
John knew one another before hand. It is
fun to assume that they did since their mothers were relatives and both boys
were the result of some Divine Intervetion. It is fun to assume they grew up together and learned Torah together and
knew which one ran the fastest and which one sung the best.
But when Jesus shows up at the
Why would he think this? What was he expecting? Well, as
we look at the passages this week in Isaiah and the Psalm we are reminded of
the high standards and expectations folks had for what qualities and abilities
the messiah would possess.
In Isaiah, we see described a leader that brings justice to
the nations, has great endurance to accomplish these tasks, and is gentle and
humble as he accomplishes these things.
In response to John’s protest, Jesus even answers, “Let it
be so for now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness
(NRSV).” Isaiah describes a just leader,
one whom God has called in righteousness.
And what else is special about this moment in the
river? After the Baptism the Heavens Opened
and the Spirit of God descended on him and a Voice from Heaven said, “This is
my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
Again, this is not a Small Moment.
In our culture it is easy for us to become calloused to
hearing accounts of people with whom God has spoken. Any of us can quickly find a book or a
television show where someone relates a personal interaction with God. And this causes a primary difficulty in our
understanding of scripture today. In our
view, we have become too familiar and friendly and flippant about God and our
possible interaction with the Creator of All that Is.
In Matthew it says the Spirit of God descended on Jesus and
a Voice from Heaven claimed Jesus as The Beloved.
Wow.
Look at the respect for God that is shown in Isaiah. Look at the respect for God shown in the
Psalm this week. We see the Lord
described as powerful and glorious and full of majesty and ruling over the
waters and breaking the cedars and flashing forth fire and shaking the
wilderness and stripping the forest bare and ruling over the flood and ruling
as king forever. Throughout the Hebrew scripture and the New Testament, God’s
appearances are accompanied by lighting, thunder, wind, and earthquakes.
This is no Small God.
The Acts passage reinforces the importance of God’s presence
and intention in Jesus’ ministry. Because
God ordained Jesus, because God chose certain people to witness the
resurrection, those people are charged with going and teaching about Jesus’
purpose, “that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins
through his name.” This sort of turns
John’s Baptism of Repentance on its ear…forgiveness is through Jesus and his
teachings and is available to anyone (not just the Jews) who believe in him--covenant
is recovered and restored and made whole through Jesus.
Those who stood in the river and witnessed this Baptism Witnessed
a Sea Change.
Jesus was called, responded, was baptized, was blessed /
ordained, and then went forward with his ministry from that place. To our knowledge, he did not have to finish a
class or fill out a workbook to qualify to be Baptized. To our knowledge, he did not have to fill out
any sort of form guaranteeing what he would accomplish after his Baptism. He was Called and he Responded.
At his response he was affirmed in who he was and what he
was doing. Then he launched out in to the world to do the work that he felt called
to do. Did he know that after this he
would be sent in to the wilderness and tempted? Did
he know at this time that it would all end up in brutal death and crucifixion? According to scripture there is no way we can
be certain. However, we do know that he
felt a Calling on his life, he Responded, and his Response was met with Love
and Affirmation.
+As Ada asked us in worship this past Sunday, what event or moment in time did you know
you were Loved by God?
+What call has God placed on your life? How have you received that call?
+Where are you met with love and affirmation? How do you respond?
“MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do
not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor
do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to
please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I
am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I
know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know
nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be
lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and
you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”
- Thomas Merton, "Thoughts in Solitude"
© Abbey of Gethsemani
Dear Laura and Matt,
I was looking for images of Jesus in Google and happened upon this one. While it was not exactly the image I wanted on looking at it in full view, I found this reflection by Thomas Merton, who I deeply respect and am trying my best to re-enter into Contemplative Prayer and meditation with sessions by James Finley. Thank you so much for posting the above. My, how the ever-present God leads us to unexpected moments. Bless you.
Beverly
Posted by: Beverly | 02/09/2008 at 09:50 PM