Baptism of The Lord 8/1/23
Today Christmas season where we celebrate God showing himself to us through Jesus comes to an end today with the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord.
We had God showing forth his son at his birth in a manger. Then he was shown to the world by the visit of the magi and now God shines forth in his baptism.
Notice please the murky places where God shows himself most brilliantly.
In a stinky poo cave at the back of a pub. In the middle of a very dark night with some perfect but exotic strangers. Today, at his baptism in a grubby little river where the water is not exactly pristine and sparkling. That's me dressing it up and trying to be polite.
Isn’t it great that we love a God who comes to us, not in our shiny, respectable, immaculate manners and spotless places, but rather seeks us out in those places, those lives and those people who are "less than"? Those people who in that lovely, classic turn of phrase, ‘Are no better than they ought to be’.
In our slime and rubbish, God shines forth with his dazzling love. He makes our icky places and dark nights radiant and beautiful
And this in part begins to answer the age-old quandary of what Jesus was doing when he was being baptised.
The chestnut goes like this.
If Jesus is God and perfect and sinless, how come he needs to be baptised?
Answer: In the grungy river Jordan the Master is saying very clearly to us.
“I want to identify with you. I want to be one with you. You are important to me. By being baptised I will join myself to you so that there can never be any question of us ever being separated in any way whatsoever.”
But there’s more.
Matthew, Mark and Luke all have accounts of Jesus’ baptism and this year we are reading through Matthew’s gospel.
What sets Matthew apart from his colleagues is this curious exchange.
Jesus came to John at the Jordan, to be baptised by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptised 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 fulfil all righteousness.’
When John consents, the baptism happens and three Big ticket events occur.
- “…the heavens were opened…”
- The Spirit of God descended “like a dove…”
- The Voice of the Father spoke: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.
And I wonder what the folk on the shore of the river must have thought of it all. Certainly, it would have been quite a different day for them. A day they could never forget. A life changer for everyone. For Jesus, for John and the motley crew on the river bank.
A few things to draw out of all this.
Playing the ‘I’m not worthy card’ with God doesn’t work. God seeks us out and chooses us. You’re exactly the person he has in mind. You are unique and he has equipped you with everything you need to do his will, even when and especially when it doesn’t feel like it. It makes you realise who it is really all about.
Scratch around a little deeper.
If I read it right, these amazing cataclysmic events, the heaven opening, the spirit descending and the voice of the Father, would not have happened unless John had been obedient to the Master. There is a sense in which John enabled these things to happen and I can’t help but wonder what might happen if John had not demurred. What if he said “Nope… sorry, I don’t know who you think you are, but the deals off” and shut up the baptism shop for the rest of the day.
Now usually we think of God pulling the levers, us doing his bidding and we are just the obedient puppets. But what if God actually needs us to carry his master plan just as he needed John to do the baptism?
It all must have seemed strange, wrong and upside down to John, but what if, on that day, in that place, at that time, John is the key to inaugurating the kingdom?
And it certainly seems strange, wrong and upside down to us, but what if you and I are pivotal and essential to bringing about God’s Kingdom in 2023 here in Western Victoria? What if Our Lord needs us and calls us to do simple things so that outrageous things can happen? Like the heavens can be opened, the spirit can descend so that all may hear the voice of the Father.
St. Theresa Avila understood this perplexing but exciting reality. She knew just how important we are to God’s mission. She put it beautifully and exquisitely in these words.
“Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.