Baptism of the Lord
The Rev’d Nell Whiscombe, Chaplain at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge
Isaiah 42:1-9
Acts 10:34-43
Matthew 3:13-17
‘Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’
‘There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the Light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the Light, but he came to testify to the Light.’
At Christmas, we began telling a story: the story of Jesus Christ, God incarnate. We began with his birth in a stable in Bethlehem; we continued through the visit of the Wise Men and the flight into Egypt; and today we encounter a change, as we begin the part of the story that deals with Jesus’ adult life.
John the Baptist has a purpose. He is there to testify to the Light; to act as a herald, announcing the coming of the Messiah according to Isaiah’s prophecy. And John is also there to make sure things happen properly, in the way that they should. It is John who sets up Jesus’ disciples: Andrew, Peter’s brother, was first a disciple of John. It is John who begins baptising in Jesus’ name, before Jesus’ ministry even begins, and it is John who baptises Jesus, just as Neo will be baptised today.
As we heard in our gospel reading, John is at first a bit wobbly about baptising Jesus (and Matthew’s gospel is the only one in which this question appears.) Now why should that be? He is John the Baptist, after all. Baptising people is what he does. There is of course the issue of Jesus being the Son of God, the One in Whose name John is baptising. It may just be that he doesn’t feel worthy, righteous enough; he doesn’t think this is how things should be done. After all, John seems to understand who Jesus is and what a momentous thing is taking place here.
But I wonder also whether part of John’s reluctance to baptise his cousin is to do with how he perceives the change in their relationship. Baptism is a time of change. And despite the difference in their adult lives – a prophet in the wilderness and a carpenter – we know that Jesus’ and John’s mothers were cousins, and were close. We know too that the two men were not six months apart in age. It’s not a stretch to imagine that, as young boys and teenagers, Jesus and John had spent a lot of time together: playing, working, perhaps even the first-century equivalent of going out on the town. They were likely close themselves. But the baptism changes everything. It signals the start of Jesus’ ministry, and the end of what John has been preparing for all his adult life. Their relationship is changing.
It's understandable that John should feel nervous at this point. With the benefit of hindsight, we know that this change in relationship is a good thing, something to rejoice in; and that it will bring John, and all of us, closer to God than he could ever have imagined possible. And Jesus knows this too: his response to John is reassuring. ‘Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’
It is proper. God, who has become incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ, now walks through everything we do, as a human being, and this must include baptism. Jesus may be without sin, but he is fully human even as he is fully God. He identifies fully with us by experiencing everything we do, including this first sacrament of baptism by water and the Spirit. When we are baptised into the Body of Christ, it means Christ is right here with us, as one with us, now and forever, whether we can see Him or not. It is not just a ritual, a sign of a new way of life. It is a sacrament: an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. It is a promise made by a person, or on their behalf if they are very young, to walk in the light of God all the days of their life, and to enter into all the joys and responsibilities that that brings. By water and the Spirit, all sin is washed away, and the fullness of God’s grace is received.
And what about ‘to fulfil all righteousness’? For this we might turn back to our Old Testament reading from Isaiah. ‘I have put my spirit upon him’, says the Lord of his servant; ‘he will bring forth justice to the nations.’ John baptised with water, but Jesus is baptised and will baptise with water and the Spirit. Our passage from Isaiah goes on to say that ‘he will not faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth and the coastlands wait for his teaching.’ We might hear echoes here of Jesus’ earthly ministry, teaching around the Sea of Galilee, and as the bringer of justice: ‘he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed.’ The Son of God comes not to judge and condemn, but to heal and forgive, and show the way to a renewed and joyful way of life. This is what He offers us in baptism.
And the descent of the Holy Spirit but also opens the way for a new kind of baptism, as heralded by John: with water and the Spirit. As each of us receives the same baptism as Jesus did, as we enter into the Body of Christ, the whole people of the Church, our relationship with Him is changed, just as John’s was. We accept his offer of unconditional forgiveness and grace. We know ourselves to be beloved children of God, with whom He is well pleased. We are set on the path of righteousness: one-ness with God. We may rejoice in that, and wherever we are on our Christian journey, baptised or not, we may rejoice as well that that offer of forgiveness and grace is ever-present. Part of the promise of baptism is that we walk in the light ‘all the days of our life.’ It’s not a one-time-only deal, but a sacrament, and a promise, that endures forever.
The introduction to the baptismal service asks: ‘As you pray for the candidates, picture them with yourself and the whole Church throughout the ages, journeying into the fullness of God’s love.’ As we pray for Neo and his family and friends today, as he takes his first step on that journey, let’s remember also to pray for ourselves and for one another, as we continue to journey together.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.