The Baptism of the Lord C– 2022- St. Mark’s- Charleston- JTCO
I have to confess…..I am finding it difficult to put away the Christmas tree this year. It’s still up at my house. I think this is probably because there is a light and warmth to it that I need right now as we make our way through the fog of yet another year of Covid and national disintegration. Maybe you do too. Permission granted.
There are two parts to the sermon this morning. The first is a little bit of teaching about the season of Epiphany, and the second part is a look at our Gospel reading to see how it might be speaking to us today.
We marked the beginning of the season on the Day of Epiphany – January 6th – this past week. That day celebrates the arrival of the Magi, who following a pinpoint star light, finally arrived to worship the newborn king. The Greek behind the English is epiphania – which means revelation. So, we have just entered a season in the Church of revelation in which each week we have the unfolding of the particular mystery of who that baby born at Bethlehem was and is for us. And, we are invited to ponder what difference will Christmas make for us this year? What difference the incarnation of our Lord can make. What child is this?
George Herbert – English priest and poet of the seventeenth century addresses that little one in his poem “Christmas” -He writes -
O Thou, whose glorious, yet contracted light,
Wrapt in night's mantle, stole into a manger
The Word of God – the Christ - came to us in an almost laser like beam – glorious yet very narrowly focused. During the season of Epiphany, each week we will get a glimpse as that beam of light expands and gets wider and wider. This week we see our Lord at his Baptism in which he is proclaimed as the Beloved as he identifies with us and his mission is inaugurated. In the following weeks, as we walk the year, we see the miracle worker, the one in whom the prophecies are being fulfilled. We encounter Jesus the teller of truth to the religious power of the day, and the caller of disciples – then and now, Jesus the teacher who discloses the way of true discipleship, and finally , on the Mount of Transfiguration – the one in whom the law and prophets are fulfilled and once again, he is revealed to be the Beloved. Each of these Sundays we walk is a step along the path to be able to understand more deeply who this Jesus is for us and for the world.
So, may the season of Epiphany this year – which takes us to the end of February when we enter Lent.- may this season be a time of revelation for each of you. So that - to paraphrase what St. Paul says in Ephesians - (my paraphrase) the eyes of your heart might be filled with the light of understanding – of revelation - so that you might know deep down in your bones, the hope which is yours and to which you have been called. (Eph. 1.18)
And now, to the gospel for today in which Luke tells us about the Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan.
John the Baptist had been preaching and baptizing for a while in the region around the Jordan River and people really responded to him – wondering if he were the messiah. He straightened them out pretty quickly – I baptize with water for repentance but, one is coming who will baptize with the Holy Sprit and fire… NO I am not the Messiah but he is close at hand…
John’s baptism was a baptism of cleansing and repentance and getting ready – he was cleaning house and none too gently.
Now, if you look at your readings leaflet, you will see that some verses have been left out. These are an aside from Luke which tell us about how John had publicly called out King Herod for taking and marrying his brother’s wife – while the brother was still alive! This was something that scandalized people then and probably still would. Herod responded by arresting John and tossing him in prison. Then, Luke brings us back to Jesus and tells us about a particular time when many people had been baptized, presumably by John, and Jesus was also baptized. Notice, after his baptism, Jesus was praying – and three things happened.
First, the heavens were opened. Secondly, the Holy Spirit descended upon him in a bodily form – something looking like a dove. And, third, and a voice came from heaven which said “You are my Son – the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.”
What can we make of Jesus’ baptism? Why did he do it? The sinless one did not need cleansing from sin and did not need to repent. Luke doesn’t give us clues about his motivation which is probably good thing . It seems to me that if we want to try to get at this, it might be fruitful to work backwards – that is, whatever the reason was– that action gave the Father great joy – “with you I am well pleased.”
The act of being baptized also resulted in the pouring out of the Holy Spirit – in the form of something that looked like a dove.. Now recall- the witness of the Bible and the Church down through time is that the Holy Spirit is always given for a purpose, if you will, to empower a mission. So, Jesus in his baptism – going down into the waters of the Jordan River – embraced his mission to humankind- indeed to the entire creation.
The dove is a detail we don’t want to miss either- think about where else we have seen a dove – do you remember? Noah’s ark which floated over the waters. And, the signal that the new beginning was at hand was the dove which had been sent out and returned with a olive twig in its beak. The dove represented a new beginning.. peace between God and humankind – and a new covenant with Noah that God would never again destroy the inhabitants of the earth. So, don’t; miss the dove.
Continuing back – the heavens opened. What did Jesus see?
The heavenly throne room? Angels and archangels? Or, was it an outside-of-time glimpse of his role in bringing about shalom- his great mission of redemption and reconciliation . This moment foreshadows what will happen on the Mount of Transfiguration.
I wonder if you’ve every had a glimpse like this. Recently daughter Ana and I, on a little pre-Christmas trip, visited a place in the mountains which had a very low lying cloud cover. It was gray, drizzly, foggy and a little depressing… and then we took a train ride up the side of a mountain. At one point, we emerged above the cloud cover and the fog and sky was suddenly brilliant cobalt blue, the sun was shining, the colors were vivid and we all simultaneously said “ahhhhh.” Yes, life below was one reality but the true reality could be glimpsed with a higher perspective. Now we did have to come back down the mountain – back down in to the fog and rain – but somehow it was much more bearable because we had seen the reality of what lay just above. Perhaps, something like this was Jesus’ experience as well.
Now to his Baptism in the waters of the River Jordan…
For ancient peoples (as well as for many contemporary folk), water represented primordial chaos and death. In dreams and art, it may represent the subconscious life we and all of creation live. It was thought that its depths were inhabited by evil spirits, and it represented the very real possibility of death. Remember in the creation account, we hear ”In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.”
Anyone who spends time on the water knows that it requires respect. The Jordan is clear, it’s not just a shallow trickle. In some places, it reaches a width of over sixty feet and a depth of nearly seventeen feet. It is thought that Jesus was baptized near the place where the Jordan flows out from Bethany into the Sea of Galilee. So, at that place, it would have been quite deep with a very strong current.
When Jesus went down into the water of Baptism, he was voluntarily, symbolically giving himself over to death in total identification with our human experience. And instead of emerging cleansed from sin, the sinless one emerged carrying the full weight of the broken beauty of being human and estranged from God.
When you and I were baptized, we were joined to him in the fullness of his death and life. Remember, St Paul says - in the 6th chapter of Romans - “do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too, might walk in newness of life. For, if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”
The baptismal call is to die to our former life and to no longer live as “casually connected consumers ” of the product called Church or the product called Life but rather that we might become resilient disciples transformed by the grace and mercy of the cross - so that whether we are in fog or above the clouds, we might know the truth of who Jesus Christ is and who we are.
and also, that we might live forever with him and living in him and he in us… so that we might receive the same Holy Spirit - both for guidance and for empowerment to carry on God’s mighty mission and so that we too might realize -deeply- that each of us is God’s beloved – you are, you know- Beloved. Try looking the mirror tonight and saying that to yourself- God loves me and I am his Beloved.
In just a moment, we will affirm our Baptismal Covenant. Listen deeply as you do this and, when we finish, hear the word of the Lord to you today. You are my Beloved… In you I am well pleased. AMEN.
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