St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen, Jersey City NJ
The Church of the
Incarnation, Jersey City Nj
January 12, 2014
Year A: The First
Sunday after Epiphany
Isaiah 42:1-9
Psalm 29
Acts 10:34-43
Matthew 3:13-17
The Great Epiphany of
Baptism
We
are now into the Season of Epiphany – a season that unfortunately sometimes
gets lost in the shuffle – a season that sometimes gets overshadowed by
Christmas at the start and Lent at the end.
But,
Epiphany is a beautiful season – a season when we hear stories of God’s power
and love manifested in and trough Jesus.
Epiphany
is an important season when we are called to remember the ways that God’s power
and love has been manifested in our
lives – and we’re challenged to consider how God’s power and love might be
manifested in the way we live our lives right here and now.
Epiphany
began last week when we remembered the wonderful story of the Magi – the wise
men from the East – visiting the newborn Jesus.
In
that story told by the Evangelist Matthew, Jesus is made manifest as the light
of God who has entered an often shadowy world – a shadowy world that, in the person
of King Herod, immediately sets out to overcome the light – immediately plots to
kill Jesus.
In
Jesus the light enters a shadowy world that will in fact eventually kill Jesus.
It’s no coincidence that the myrrh that was presented by the Magi to the
newborn Jesus is used to embalm dead bodies.
But,
thanks to the empty tomb on Easter Day, we know that despite its best efforts
the shadowy and evil powers of the world ultimately will not be able to
overcome the light.
And
now today we come to the second epiphany of the season: the Baptism of Jesus.
John the Baptist baptizes Jesus.
You
know, even the most skeptical scholars agree that Jesus really was baptized.
It’s
a story told, with minor variations, in the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke.
But,
that’s not why even the most skeptical scholars are sure that it really
happened.
They
are sure that Jesus was baptized because, if you stop and think about it, it’s
more than a little weird that Jesus was baptized. It’s almost embarrassing, isn’t it?
Think
about it. First, the gospels go to great lengths to insist that Jesus was far superior
to John the Baptist. We’re told that there were more than a few people who
thought that John was the messiah. But the gospels insist that John
wasn’t the messiah but he was the one who was sent to prepare the way for the
true messiah, Jesus.
And,
remember what John’s baptism was all about. John preached and proclaimed a
baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins.
Yet,
the sinless Jesus – the One who had no sin to repent – the One who needed no
forgiveness comes to be baptized by John.
It’s
awkward. And we hear some of that awkwardness in the gospel don’t we? When
Jesus presents himself to be baptized, John says, “I need to be baptized by
you, and do you come to me.”
Now,
if I were writing the gospels, I think I would just delete this scene, skip
over the story of Jesus’ baptism. It’s hard to explain so I would just avoid
the issue completely.
But,
fortunately, it’s Mark, Matthew and Luke who tell us the story.
Why
do they tell it?
Well,
Jesus’ baptism was probably something that many of Jesus’ early followers had
seen or heard about from eyewitnesses. So, those early Jesus’ followers would
have insisted that the story needed to be in there.
And,
then, there’s divine inspiration. God wants us to know the story of Jesus’
baptism.
Why?
The
Baptism of Jesus is about an epiphany – it’s about the manifestation of who
Jesus really is.
That
day in the River Jordan God reveals Jesus’ identity. That day in the River
Jordan God announces to the world – and maybe even to Jesus himself – who Jesus
really is.
Matthew
tells us, “And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from out of the
water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said,
‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
In
the water of Baptism, God reveals – God announces – God’s relationship with
Jesus.
“This
is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
And,
once Jesus is baptized, he leaves John behind and sets out on his mission to
teach and to heal, to give away his life for others, to bring the light of God
into an often shadowy and evil world.
It’s
a life-changing moment for Jesus.
And,
actually, what happens at our baptism is not so different from what happened
long ago when Jesus was baptized.
In
the water of Baptism, God reveals – God announces – God’s relationship with us.
In
the water of baptism God reveals – God announces – an unbreakable bond with us.
And,
like Jesus, our mission begins at baptism. It’s at our baptism that we promise
to serve and love God and to serve and love our fellow human beings – to give
away our lives for others, to bring the light of God into an often shadowy and
evil world.
Now,
of course, God remained well pleased with Jesus throughout his earthly life.
But,
speaking just for myself, I’m pretty sure that God has not always been well
pleased with me – not well pleased with all the choices I’ve made, with the
times I’ve hurt people, when I’ve let them down and let myself down.
I
won’t ask for a show of hands but I bet we all feel the same way.
Yet,
the power of baptism – the beauty of baptism – the promise of baptism – is that
there is nothing we can ever do or not do that will break the bond that exists
between God and us in baptism.
In
the words of the prayer book: “The bond which God establishes in Baptism is indissoluble.”
God
remained bonded with Jesus throughout his earthly life – through it all –
through betrayal, through rejection and through death on the Cross.
And,
in and through our baptism, God remains bonded with us no matter what – bonded
with us through it all – through all the ups and downs of our lives – through
life and through death and beyond.
In
the water of baptism God reveals – God announces – an unbreakable bond with
Jesus.
In
the water of baptism God reveals – God announces – an unbreakable bond with us.
That’s
the great epiphany of Baptism.
Amen.
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