MATTHEW 3:13-17 NRSV
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan,
to be baptized by him.
14 have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by
you, and do you come to me?”
15But Jesus answered him, John would “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in
this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.
16And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from
the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and alighting on him.
17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the
Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
***
I look at this text and I see the divinity of Christ. I see
a Jesus who knows he must fulfill a prophesy written ages prior. I see the
heavens opening up, and God reaching down, and a dove of the Spirit, and a
voice from heaven calling Jesus his son. It is all so wondrous, so ethereal, so
far beyond this human world, and yet, somehow baptism is one of our two
sacraments, somehow this divine story comes to us, and in this little
sanctuary, we repeat this story in our own lives and the life of our church.
This is Baptism of the Lord Sunday, and we are asked to
relate to Jesus coming to John, but most of the time, we relate to John. John
would have said, “I need to be baptized by you Jesus,” and likewise, we would
have said, “We are also unworthy to baptize you Jesus. You need to baptize us.”
But perhaps, we miss the humanity of Jesus, who was a follower of John, who
didn’t just show up in the wilderness at 30, and become the preacher, the
teacher, the Son of the God. He was
always these lofty things, but he was not yet prepared before then. There is a
lot of time we miss in Jesus’ life, and like us, Jesus had to prepare. The
other day, over lunch, I was picking the brains of Nannette and Molly, and a
woman came in, and noted that there were two amazing teachers sitting at one
table. Nannette and Molly did not just show up in the classroom at thirty as
the teachers they are today. There was a lot of schooling and training prior.
Likewise, I listen to Annalea speak about horses, and though she is not yet
even thirty, there is so much she has learned from a life of preparing, growing
up with animals, going to school to care for animals, taking every opportunity
to house sit for those with animals. Annalea didn't just show up at the barn at
30 and know all she knows now.
Jesus was likewise, he was been preparing for 30 years, many
of which have been spent looking up to his cousin John. We can relate to this
Jesus, this human one. Who comes to be baptized by someone he respects, and has
followed. When we come to the font, or bring our children, we likewise come,
asking the community believers to guide, and to lead, and to teach us, and our
children, in the way of the Lord. We come to those who have been teaching us.
Likewise, Jesus came to John, and Jesus comes to us. Jesus includes us, and
asks us to be a part of this most divine story, this transcendent sacrament.
The Son of Man, Son of God, fully human, and fully divine, would have come to
John asking to be baptized, and likewise comes to us, and includes us in his
ministry. He told John, “Let it be so
now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” This
line too, holds such divinity, of Jesus seeking to fulfill the ancient
scriptures, and of Jesus knowing the future. He is referring to lines in Isaiah
which foretell,
Isa. 42.1, “Here
is my servant,
whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom
my soul delights;
I have put
my spirit upon
him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.”
Isa. 61.1, “The
spirit of the
Lord God is
upon me, because
the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to
bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the
prisoners;”
Jesus knows these scriptures. He knows he must be baptized.
He knows the Spirit of God is upon him, and that he is anointed. He knows he is
to bring forth justice to the nations. He knows he was sent to bring good news
to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives, and release to the prisoners. Only the Son of God could do all this.
Only the Son of God would dare to fulfill the scriptures, and claim to know the
future, and to be the future.
It is hard to relate in to this superhero, special power
kind of Jesus. Yet only the Son of
God, with all God's powers came to earth to be The Son of
Man, for all our humanness. In fulfilling the scriptures we are also welcomed
in. Jesus does not say, ‘It is proper for me …to fulfill all righteousness.’
Instead he says to John, and I believe to us as well, “It is proper for us to
fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus includes John with the word, ‘us,’ and with
that word us, we are also included. We are also a part of fulfilling the
prophesy of the past, and given a glimpse into the future. Perhaps it is
because Jesus said, ‘us,’ that John consented. Perhaps, because Jesus did not
merely speak of his divinity, and of his ministry, and of his charge, but
welcomed John into God's divine ministry and God's charge, John was part of the
baptism of Jesus. And I wonder, have we consented to be a part of the baptism
of Jesus? Have we understood that the charge is to us, not only to him? Along
with Jesus, we too, through our baptism, are anointed by God to bring forth
justice to the nations, to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to
the captives, and release to the prisoners. As lofty and overwhelming as this
charge sounds, have we accepted it, included ourselves in it, and do we know
the blessing of it. That while we too, are included in this divine prophesy, we
also are included in the divine blessing.
“When Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the
water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said,
“This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
