Matthew 3.13-17
 |
| Icon from Greek Orthodox Church at Baptismal Site, Jordan |
On this first Sunday after the Epiphany, every year, the Church remembers the baptism of Jesus. Baptism is one of the few things that binds Christians together and it is a pivotal event of the gospel story At the end of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus instructs his disciples to do just a few things. The first of those things is to go forth and baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the years immediately following Jesus’ resurrection in the communities described in the Acts of the Apostles and in Paul’s letters,
baptism marked the initiation of new people into what would become known as the Christian Church. No matter it significance as a transitional ceremony, today, for the most part, baptisms aren’t remembered like weddings, birthdays, and funerals. Although it is unusual, some baptisms can make major headlines.
baptism marked the initiation of new people into what would become known as the Christian Church. No matter it significance as a transitional ceremony, today, for the most part, baptisms aren’t remembered like weddings, birthdays, and funerals. Although it is unusual, some baptisms can make major headlines.
A little over ten years ago, Rocco, the child of musician and celebrity Madonna and Guy Richie was baptized in a ceremony followed by the top in celebrity broadcasting. It occurred in Scotland just before the couple began their eight-year marriage. The talk of the popular magazines was about the christening gown, the flowers, and the guest list. The baptism of Rocco and the baptism of Jesus, described in our gospel lesson today, are quite different. We don’t know about Jesus’ attire, probably not much. Jesus was around 30 years old, certainly not an infant. The setting was not as fashionable. Instead of an architectural gem of a cathedral, Jesus’ baptism was in the sediment rich Jordan River, most likely in present day Jordan. Although both settings are beautiful, they are quite different. I can think of only a few similarities. Both baptisms involved water, were celebrations of God’s love for the children of God, and, most obviously, both Jesus and Rocco are sons of Madonnas.
All joking aside, Baptism is one of those things we do, but don’t truly understand. We can say that about most of the sacraments. Their power to change our lives is mysterious. In the back of the Book of Common Prayer, the catechism states that sacraments are outward and visible signs of inner and spiritual grace. And about Baptism, it says that the outward sign is the water in which someone is cleansed in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The inner spiritual grace taking place is that the baptized are brought into union with Christ, are reborn into the family of the Church, are forgiven of sins, and take on a new life filled with the Holy Spirit. That is quite bit of inner work taking place through the baptismal process, and usually, in the Episcopal and other mainline denominations, this is done during infancy.
It seems almost odd that many of us don’t remember our own baptism, particularly as it was the moment when we were given a new life in the family of God. It seems like it should be something embedded in our memory bank for future reflection. Now that is not to say that one couldn’t be baptized as a more mature person. There have been several adult baptisms here at St. Patrick’s over the past year. My experience with adult baptisms are extremely powerful.
I do believe that the problem with baptism is that we see the outward sign, enjoy the pageantry, but fail to comprehend the great significance that is inherent within the act. The challenge of baptism is to continue to develop the spiritual grace that provides us new life in Christ. It is something that godparents, parents, and the entire gathered congregation promise to develop in those making a commitment to the Christian faith.
When you read the short account of Jesus’ baptism in the Gospel of Matthew and in the other gospels, we discover that we know much more about Rocco Ritchie’s baptism and, in many cases our own, than we do about the baptism of Jesus. For an event of such important significance (it marked the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry), the gospel writers lack much in the way of details. Herman Melville would no doubt have detailed, explicitly, the crowds of people, the way the water moved, and the more elaborate details alluded to in the preaching and conversations of John. Melville would have described, exactly, how Jesus came to be on the bank of Jordan on that day. Instead, the gospel boils down the details to the bare minimum.
In the verses immediately preceding today’s gospel lesson, we hear a description of the itinerant prophet named John. He was wearing clothing of camel’s hair tied together with a belt, he ate locusts and wild honey, and proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew doesn’t tell us anything else about how John was able to convince people to follow him. Based on his odd habits, his words must have been profound for people to travel from all over the region to confess their sins and be baptized by him in the Jordan. That was what was happening. Even the most learned religious leaders, the Pharisees and Sadducees, came from Jerusalem to see John and be cleansed of their sins. John’s following grew and grew until the political leaders feared a rebellion in his name. John was Jesus’ cousin and he told these Pharisees and Sadducees that he baptized for repentance but that Jesus would come to baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Matthew doesn’t describe why Jesus decided to travel from Galilee in the north to the banks of the Jordan River in the southern region of Judea. The narrative of chapter three begins by describing John’s mission and then, only a few words later, has Jesus enter it. The writers provide nothing about Jesus’ feelings toward beginning this ministry, nor in what ways, deep down, the experience changed who he was. Upon his arrival, John tells Jesus that Jesus should baptize him. But Jesus turns the tables on John by telling him that this is necessary.
Jesus, the son of God, who Matthew tells us in the previous chapters was the answer to the ancient prophetic message, in a direct line with the great King David, was pointed to by the position of the stars at his birth, and was visited by wealthy and influential wise men from the East. He fled to Egypt to escape the tyrannical Herod and returned, quietly, to the city of Nazareth where he could be raised safely secluded from political forces. In this subsequent chapter, Jesus waded into the murky water of the Jordan River, just like everyone else, and was baptized by someone who admits that he was not worthy.
Upon that event, the heavens opened up and the Spirit of God descended like a dove and alighted on Jesus. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my son with whom I am well pleased.”
Through these very scant details, I do believe we learn a few things, theologically. One, everyone through baptism is on equal footing. Jesus, Rocco, you and me, in baptism we are one in the same in the eyes of God. We all step, metaphorically, into the same water and begin our life in Christ.
Second, even though I have never heard a voice nor seen the heavens open up and the Spirit descending like a dove, we know that Jesus considered this to be an adoption into a new family. God called out his relationship with Jesus, but as we take on baptism, we also become the sons and daughters of God.
But with this adoption, we are asked to be obedient. Jesus was obedient in wading into the water and being baptized by John, he spent the rest of his life sharing God with all sorts of people, he ministered to sinners and outcasts, the educated and the uneducated, the widowed and orphaned, the sick and the suffering. Jesus understood adoption not as an act performed on him, but as a relationship that extends into who we are. Adoption is not a one-way street; it is a mutually symbiotic relationship.
As someone adopted at birth by two loving parents, I know that they have given me a great blessing; I also know that I have given them something in return. It is difficult to describe what is transferred between us, but it is, definitely, present. And Jesus, in his baptism, knew that God blessed him, and that his response was a needed reply that gave back to God. It is hard, if not impossible, to quantify this reality. It is not something we can see or test or, in many ways, understand. That is the challenge that faces us as in our own baptism and as we renew our baptismal covenant when we welcome new people into the family of God.
There is this spiritual grace that exists below the surface, which fills us with God’s Spirit and at the same time calls us to respond in faith. There are some who say that this can’t be true because it is not seen, but in experiencing it, people of faith come to understand its power. They come to realize that growing in the spirit is not a static event, but a skill that requires us to continue to grow and change. It is a skill that begins when we first pray and will always be a practice, never a perfection. If we come to know this Spirit in every part of our lives, we will begin to see things in new ways. We aren’t able to describe it, at least not completely, but we will know that it exists. It will be like that feeling that exists between parent and child, spouses, and fellow pilgrims on the path. Consider your baptism as an unbelievable blessing of adoption, nurture it, practice and practice returning the blessing through obedience, and you will find grace and peace in all that you do.
January 9, 2010
Epiphany IA
No comments:
Post a Comment