Matthew 3:13-17
On Christmas, we celebrated, the
nativity of Jesus, the birth of our Lord. Today we celebrate His baptism. Ever
since people began reading the gospel accounts, the baptism of Jesus has stood
as an enigmatic, and difficult to understand event. John, the voice in the
wilderness, the one who was proclaiming the coming of the kingdom, was calling
sinners to repent and be baptized. Sinners were called by John to the river
Jordan. Sinners. Why then would Jesus,
who was without sin, go down to be baptized? Some have argued that it was
to please his family. But this is hardly a convincing argument.
In
order to understand the baptism of Jesus, we need to look at why all of these
people were getting baptized in the first place. The first important fact,
which stands out is that baptism, this ritual washing, was not something which
Jewish people had traditionally taken part in. Baptism was for those who were
converting to Judaism. Baptism was reserved for proselytes--those entering the
faith--becoming part of God’s chosen people. So something was happening that
was well and truly different. For the first time in history, Jews were being
voluntarily getting baptized. Gnerations earlier this would have been
unthinkable. It would have been unthinkable because no Jewish person would ever
have thought of him or herself being in need of such cleansing.The sons and
daughters of Abraham would have seen no no reason to be washed in the waters
reserved for sinners. But something
had changed, something had shifted.
There was a
great awakening to the need for repentance, and a deep soul hunger for new life
and the fulfillment of God’s promise.. John was a very busy man, baptizing a
lot of people. The banks of the Jordan were crowded. But with his baptizing work
came a proclamation. And that proclamation was that the kingdom of heaven was
at hand, that God was coming into the world, that the Messiah, the prophesized
saviour was going to be on the scene. That the hunger for God which gnarled in
the stomachs of the Jewish people was about to be satisfied. New life was about
to begin. Spiritual rebirth was about to occur.
Sinners
hungered for forgiveness and crowded the shores of the river Jordan. But what
was Jesus doing there? What brought the sinless Son of God down to the river to
be baptized by John?
Last week
the Christmas celebration concluded, and a central spect of the Christmas story
is the nativity story, where we read and hear the story of how Jesus came into
the world as a human being. We read about the infant Jesus lying in the manger.
In Luke, we read about the boy Jesus, and his fateful trip to the temple with
his parents. But about that in
between time, the time between his
boyhood and his baptism, the gospel account says nothing. We have no substantial information about the life of Jesus between
the ages of about twelve until thirty. That’s a substantial gap in a person’s
life.. Did Jesus know who he was during those years. Did he know that he was
the Messiah? Did he know that he was sent to save the world from its sin, and
bring in the kingdom of God over which he would rule? The text doesn’t tell
us. But what the text does tell, what today’s Gospel reading tells us, is that
on that day Jesus would know. You, see, when Jesus went to John to be baptized
it was not to have his sin forgiven, because he had no sin. John knew who Jesus
was, but didn’t understand, didn’t
know why, Jesus would come down to be baptized. But Jesus knew—Jesus knew why
he was sent into the world, Jesus
knew what his mission was: “ to fulfill all righteousness”. Jesus did
not step into the baptismal waters to have his sin forgiven. The baptism of Jesus was all about his
identity and his mission.
When Jesus stood in the baptismal water
his feet sank into the mud in which all humans stand. Jesus stood in the position
of the sinner, even though he was not one.
When Jesus
went down into the baptismal water, he was plunged into the reality of his fate,
his destiny, his mission. His future would be the cross. His future would be death. His fate
would be to suffer the fate of all sinners. His death would be to suffer death
for us. Jesus went down into the water as he would go up on the cross and into
the tomb. Jesus would suffer the penalty for all sinners, and thereby fulfill
all righteousness.
But the
water did not hold him down. Death would not defeat him. He would emerge from
the depth. He would emerge from
the depth and defeat death. The water nor the tomb could contain him. When Jesus came out of the water that day,
he did so as a prophetic testimony as to what would happen—of what his ultimate
destiny would be. This was a preview of Easter morning. And when Jesus emerged,
his identity was confirmed by the voice of his heavenly Father, and the
descending dove sent by the Holy Spirit.
The mission
of Christ is to save sinners, to reconcile us to our creator, to make us free
to be children of God. This saving work is communicated to us through Baptism.
Through Baptism God communicates to us the forgiveness of sin, and—just as it
did to Jesus-- also confirms our identity,
and clarifies our mission.
Identity is
a very important thing in this world. A moments reflection shows that it is very difficult, if not
impossible, to get along in the
world without formal identification—impossible to hold down a job, impossible
to find permanent residence. Identity theft has become a serious concern in the last few years. And
identity is complex. Most of us have multiple sources of identity. Male,
female, child spouse, sister,
brother, cousin, citizen—and all of these and many other sources of
identification are important. They are meaningful. They can be a source of
pride. Last winter, during the
Olympics, most folks were proud to identify themselves as Canadians. Identity
can be positive, but it can also be negative. Such as when we are slotted or
categorized. People have suffered as a consequence of the negative identities
assigned to them by society or the wider culture.
Many work
very hard not to be defined by these negative identities. Many work hard to
hide them.
Some become
so attached to a particular identity, that they develop a one dimensional, limited perspective
of themselves. A defining feature of anorexia nervosa is the inability to see
oneself as being anything other than an overweight person. This identification
is so strong that even when looking into a mirror a dangerously thin woman will
see herself as obese. The sense of professional identification is so
strong in some people that some have contemplated or committed suicide as a
consequence of professional failure.
People of who have suffered abuse struggle with a positive sense of
identity.
People
spend their whole lives trying to make a name for themselves. But the fact of the matter is that no source
of identity the world gives can ever tell you what you really need to know
about yourself. Yes you may be a highly successful business person, or
skilled surgeon, or a good looking young woman or man, or a good athlete. But
none of these sources of identity can ever tell you what you really want to
know about yourself. And that’s
because they are all conditional, all based against standards established by culture
and society and ourselves. The
lasting enduring identity which we
hunger for at the depth of our being can come from only one place—and that is
from God. And it is not based on anything we have or have not done, but it is
based on everything Christ has done.
Through
Jesus Christ, God has reconciled humanity to God and given humanity the
identity of blessed children. And it is through baptism that this identity is
confirmed. We need look nowhere
else to confirm who we are. God’s Word with Water tells us. God’s Word with Water told Jesus who he
is, and God’s Word with Water tells us who we are. You are God’s blessed child.
Other identities as important as they may seem from a worldly perspective, can
never usurp or remove that identity, can never rise above it. You are God’s blessed child, and
nothing can change that—not even death. If you ever wonder about or doubt your
worth as a person, as many often do, remind yourself of Christ’s work for you,
and remember what Martin Luther did whenever he experienced moments of doubt.
He made the sign of the cross upon his forehead and said aloud, “ I am
baptized”. We began today’s
worship service with a thanksgiving for baptism. In this order of thanksgiving
we are reminded of God’s mighty saving work, through history. But the most
important sentence we must always keep in our hearts and minds is: “ By Water
and your Word, you God, claim us as daughters and sons.”
And this
identity—this central most important identity—also confers to us our mission.
Our baptismal identity tells us what we are to do. The work of Christ has been
done, we are not called as he was, to die for the sins if humanity. But we are
called to be part of God’s ongoing work in the world. We are called to proclaim
and live out the Gospel—the Good News, the good News of God’s free gift of
salvation to all. We are an Easter people, called to proclaim the truth of
Easter, the truth of resurrection.
Baptism automatically calls us to discipleship and to the work of
proclamation. So let us do as we are called to do—let us proclaim this
wonderful thing which God has done. Let us share the gift we have been given,
by proclaiming to toehrs what God has done for them.
Last week,
if you have been following the news, you will know that a good story emerged
amidst all of the troubling news. This was the case of Ted Williams, a middle aged American Man who lived
homeless on the streets of Ohio. Yet this man had a tremendous gift, an
incredible radio voice. A Utube
video featuring his incredible voice has gone viral—in other words has been seen
by millions around the world. The job offers have since flooded in, and Mr
Williams’ life has changed dramatically. And he gives all the credit to God.
When you hear Ted’s story note
carefully, that he credits God for being with him, and blessing him all along,
and not just since this incredible reversal of fortune in his life. The real
transformation in Ted’s life came when he overcame addiction, and to overcome
addiction required him to recognize who he really is—a loved and blessed child
of God. It is only when we make that identification in our own lives that real
change can occur. It is only when we come to the realization that there is
nothing that we have done to detirmine our status as beloved children. We have
done nothing, but God has done everything. Now, may the peace which surpasses
all understanding guard your hearts and kinds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
