This is my son, my beloved, in whom I am well pleased
Words of God at Jesus’ Baptism
Its wonderful to be here with you this morning and thank you to Fr Matthew for the invitation. In todays gospel reading, the story has just made a huge jump. Without warning, we have moved from stories about Jesus birth to stories about his adult life. Chronologically, it feels a very strange thing to do. There’s not even one of those signs that you see in films and books ’30 years later’. The jump just happens. But if we see the gospel of Matthew in terms of its themes, what it is telling us about who Jesus is and what that means to us, this makes total sense. The birth stories of Jesus all work together to tell us different things about who Jesus is, that he is the son of God, that he came for Jews and Gentiles alike, that he was born into a human family so that we may know him and love him. The stage is set. And now, Matthew’s gospel moves us on to the beginning of Jesus’ adult ministry and also, poignantly, to the beginning of the end of the ministry of John the Baptist.
Matthew’s gospel is the only one where we have some conversation between Jesus and John at Jesus Baptism and what is said is very interesting and revealing. John is really not sure about Baptising Jesus and we can understand why this might feel wrong to him. Baptism is about repentance and being made clean, and Jesus doesn’t need that. John wants Jesus to Baptise John rather than John Baptise Jesus. But Jesus knows that the purpose of his Baptism is different. This is the handing on of the baton from John to Jesus. This is a new Baptism. It marks a new age.
Even though it is only Matthew who records the conversation between John and Jesus, all the gospels are clear that the Baptism of Jesus marks a turning point. This is the moment where Jesus steps out onto the public stage. He submits himself to his calling and God publicly names him as his son and his beloved.
In being born in a stable in Bethlehem to a poor couple, attended by shepherds, Jesus begins his life as one who identifies with the human condition. In his Baptism he reaffirms that message. He comes alongside us, in our sinfulness and failings and walks with us in all that it means to be human. In Jesus’ Baptism, he sets himself on the road to the cross, identifying himself with our sin in the closest possible way. He shares our reality so that we can share his.
One of the things that we can most helpfully do as human beings is come alongside eachother in empathy and love. I was thinking about that the other day when my son Jack who is 15 was talking about the problems relating to doing GCSEs. There are just so many subjects, he said, and it is very difficult to give proper attention to any of them because of all the others. It threatens to be overwhelming. I have strong memories of that feeling from doing my own GCSEs and for particular personality types its very hard to concentrate on one thing at once, especially when there is a lot to do. I have no idea how much help I was, but I was able to use my own experience of that feeling that boarders on panic of having too many things to do and to think about to help him think about a revision timetable to enable him to focus on the subjects one at a time. Whatever we are doing, whether it is raising children, helping a neighbour or a friend, interacting with other members of the congregation, we use our ability to identify with what others are going through. And one of the most powerful ways to help another person is often just to listen, to come alongside, and to feel with so that we know we are not alone. In his Baptism, Jesus comes alongside us, feels with us, and sets himself to walking along the road alongside us.
Because of the way that Baptism has developed in the church today, the Baptism that Jesus experienced was closer to what we now call confirmation. Infant Baptism is very helpful theologically because it makes it clear that Baptism is something that God does, a gift through grace. A baby is Baptised before she or he has done anything or not done anything to earn it. It is clear that it is a gift. Confirmation is rather different. It is a conscious act of accepting that grace and a commitment to walk in the path of faith. If the story of Jesus conception and birth are a story about what God did, Jesus’ Baptism is the story of Jesus’ response. It is a clear acceptance by Jesus of the task he has been give and his identity as God’s son.
And as Jesus sets out on the journey of his ministry, he is assured of God’s love ‘this is my son, my beloved, in whom I am well pleased’. This is of course a message to all those present at the Baptism, and it is also a message to Jesus. He is beginning this journey of his adult ministry knowing that he is loved by God. In all that he will be asked to give, he is offered the sure foundation of God’s love and his own sonship. It reminds me of something written on a card given to me when one of our children was born. ‘two things we must give our children, roots and wings’. I don’t know where it comes from but I found it very helpful. Children and all of us need to have a sense of where we come from, a foundation of love in which to feel safe, and in that security, in that firm foundation, we can grow and develop into the people we are called to be.
And so today as we celebrate Jesus Baptism by John, we give thanks for the gift of Baptism, that each of us is loved and accepted by God before we have had a chance to do anything to deserve it. We also give thanks to God for the gift of his son, to live and walk amongst us in all that it is to be human so that we may know him and love him too.
Amen