In today’s gospel lesson, John is out of the edge on the Judean wilderness at the Jordan River calling people to repentance and baptizing them. This is the ritual of purification. It is an act taken on by two kinds of people – those who are new converts to the Jewish faith, and those who have been separated by reason of great sin or wrongdoing. The problem of Jesus coming for baptism is that he doesn’t fit the mold. He is neither new to the faith nor does he have great sin to atone for.
When John sees him coming, he recognizes that. We are given to understand from the gospel of Luke that Jesus and John are cousins – connected from the womb – for when Mary came to Elizabeth and told her that she was with child, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leapt for joy. And when John sees Jesus come down for baptism, he would have “prevented him.”
Actually this is a perfect example of perfect humility. John sees Jesus and recognizes that he is without sin – he has no need to be baptized. John has been talking and preaching about one who will come after him, one who will baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit. And when John sees Jesus, he knows that he is the one.
Imagine for a moment if you were John and you saw Jesus coming, and in that moment of recognition that God often blesses us with, you know who and what Jesus is. Would you be ready and willing to baptize Jesus, or would you join the protest that John makes? “I need to be baptized by you.” John in that instant recognizes his own unworthiness and protests.
John is not a bad person. He is not all that sinful – if we were to develop a measure for such things. But he has already proclaimed, one is coming whose sandals I am not worthy to untie – and here he is – faced with that same one – and that same one is wanting baptism. And the world seems somewhat skewed to John – "wait," he thinks, "it needs to be the other way around." This is true humility.
Jesus also displays his own humbleness – in obedience to the Father’s will – by subjecting himself to ritual of purification at the beginning of his ministry. This baptism serves two purposes.
Two days ago, January 6, was Epiphany Day when we remember the coming of the Magi to seek "the king of the Jews." Matthew’s gospel proclaims from the very beginning the kingship of Jesus. So the first purpose of this baptism is the anointing of a monarch.
Jewish monarchs had to be anointed before they could speak or act as royal figures. The one we probably remember best is the anointing of David the shepherd boy. In today’s lesson, this is Jesus’ ceremonial anointing. First he goes through the ritual of purification (baptism) and then he is anointed by God's own Spirit. In early Jewish writings, to receive the spirit is to gain wisdom. Jesus’ anointing comes not with oil, but by the Holy Spirit itself.
This was the official anointing of the king, the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry in Israel. The Holy Spirit descends on him and the voice from heaven is heard, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” He began his ministry in the humbleness and obedience to God’s purpose.
But I want to propose that there is more going on here. Matthew doesn’t come out and say it the way he does in other places – but he includes this as an associative link with Genesis. Jesus is out in the water of the Jordan River and the Holy Spirit hovering over him – not unlike the Spirit of God hovering over the waters of chaos in the beginning – in the first verses of the Bible.
For the Jewish reader, this is intended to call up that image. In Genesis God brought order out of chaos – the beginning of creation. In today’s lesson, we have a new creation – a re-creation – God’s hand at work in the world in a new way. In walking down into that river, God, in the person of Jesus Christ, shows his willingness to go down into the mess of the world and experience what we are going through.
When Jesus steps down into that water and allows John to baptize him, he demonstrates that he is not only able but willing to receive the ministry of imperfect people. By receiving baptism from John, Jesus reminds us that our unworthiness, our imperfect nature, is no excuse for refusing to offer the ministries of redemption that others may seek from us.
We might ask ourselves, when is the time that we put aside our unworthiness, our insecurities, our hesitations, and like John step out to minister to those in need – even to Jesus himself.
Today we are going to baptize two young children. Scout and Gideon are too young to realize the extent of what is happening today. But the seed of the Holy Spirit will be planted in them today and will have time to grow and eventually blossom into mature faith. Regardless of what else happens in their life, they have been adopted into the household of God and made heirs of the kingdom of heaven.
God’s faithfulness in being with us, and our obedience in responding to his leading, is indeed the gift of life, both here on earth, and in heaven above. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment