The Acceptable Son
THE 2ND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
"And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him: and there came a voice from Heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (St. Mark 1.1).
This morning, Mark's Gospel invites us to consider the baptism of Jesus, baptized as he was by his cousin John in the River Jordan. Now John's baptism itself is a bit of a puzzle. While there were many differing purification rites and ceremonies in Judaism and within the sects springing from it, like the Essenes, it is hard to find a direct precedent.
What we do know is that as the Jews looked forward to the coming of Messiah, there was a sense that the messianic age would be accompanied with God's purifying judgment; a future day when God would fulfill his promise to the prophet Ezekiel saying, "I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness."
John the Baptist was most certainly the prophet spoken of by Malachi, the one Crying in the wilderness "prepare ye the way of the Lord," for the dawning of the messianic age had come in the birth of Jesus Christ. He came preaching repentance to Israel, saying, "come and be washed, come and repent, come and be forgiven - prepare your hearts and amend your lives for the Day of God's visitation is at hand." You see, John's was a ministry of grace, a pre-emptive movement of Divine mercy, giving Israel time to prepare for the visitation of God in the person of Jesus Christ.
Thus, John called Israel to a baptismal washing to clean and consecrate their hearts to meet their God. A similar thing happened on Mt. Sinai when the Lord said to Moses, "Go unto the people, and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day, the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people" (Ex 19:10).
In the same way, John's baptism was given to prepare Israel to receive the Lord Jesus Christ, who would come down to earth in the sight of all the people. This is precisely what St. John confesses in the opening of his Gospel, that "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14)
And I want to make another important point about John's baptism. Now we read about him baptizing in the Judean desert and think nothing of it. But you have to understand just how radical and subversive his baptismal ministry was. Atonement and cleansing were ministries of the Temple, available through the priestly sacrifices, NOT out in the backwaters of the Jordan.
Furthermore, this hairy-shirted zealot is calling out God's covenant people: their sins have made them dirty, and they need washing. They needed to get their spiritual act together, repent, make amends, get right with God and neighbor. Now that's how you build a fruitful ministry!
Every sermon, every baptism, every exhortation of John's striking at the very root of what the religious cult of Israel stood for. The Gentiles were dirty; tax collectors, sinners, prostitutes, Roman guards, they were unclean; not the people of the Temple and the Law - NO, they were clean! But NOT SO, says John, as if he knew that a New Torah was coming down from the mountain of Heaven; that the true Temple was about to manifest itself, a Temple not made of stone but flesh and blood, wherein the divine Presence would rest itself on earth, mediating salvation unto the world.
"Behold," cries John, "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world." Jesus Christ, God in the flesh: The True Torah; The True Temple; The True Font of Cleansing and Forgiveness. And for the religious of John's day, this was strong medicine, indeed! In fact, having arrived at their wit's end, we see in John's Gospel the Sadducees and Pharisees sending messengers to the Baptist asking, "who are you?" To which he replies, "I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
You see, John's baptism was limited. It was preparatory; it was concerned solely with immediate cleansing and pardon. His baptism was pointing forward as if John with Moses had climbed the mountain and seen the Promised Land from afar- while fulfillment was still to come. That is why John's baptism is not Christian baptism. John's baptism bound its subjects to repentance and not to the faith of Christ; neither was it administered in the name of the Trinity, which is why in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, we see St. Paul rebaptizing disciples who had previously received John's baptism. (Acts 18:24; 19:7).
The public baptism of Jesus by John is of great significance as it marks the beginning of our Lord's public ministry. His baptism encapsulates the entire purpose of the Epiphany: that Jesus revealed himself as the savior and redeemer of the world. In submitting to a baptism of repentance, Jesus provides a sign of his Messianic vocation to bring reconciliation between God and Israel, in fact, to reconcile the whole world to his Father. At the river Jordan, Jesus accepted the Father's mission to be the suffering servant, to be numbered among sinners (though himself sinless), already showing himself to be "the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."
In His baptism, Jesus gladly identified and entered into the frailty of the human condition, aligning with our needs though he was without sin. The writer of Hebrews says that "he had to be made like his brothers in every respect so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people" (Heb 2:17).
Through John's baptism, Jesus is already anticipating the "baptism" of his bloody death; already, he is "fulfilling all righteousness." He is the dutiful Son found in the Temple, being about his Father's business. He is the obedient Son in Gethsemane, already subordinating his will to Father's. Out of great love, Jesus consents to and signifies his willingness to endure a baptism of death to save sinners in which "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed" (1 Pt 2:24).
From Heaven, the Father's voice rings out, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." The Father is pleased because in consenting to the Baptist's washing, Jesus gladly accepts the Divine purpose of his birth and Epiphany: the Son of Man has come to serve, not to be served; the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost; the Son of man has come to atone for the sins of the world; he has come bringing life eternal to any who believe. "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." Thus, the Heavenly Father affirms Jesus as the acceptable Son.
And, my beloved, we are made acceptable to the Father through Holy Baptism by the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit (Tit 3:8). Cleansed of original sin, forgiven, removing impurities and any impediment to entering the Kingdom of God. Being purified from sin, we arise from the waters a new creation in Christ, "The old has passed away; behold, the new has come," becoming a partaker in the Divine nature and co-heirs with Christ. All is given unto the children of God.
In Holy Baptism, God names and claims us as his own, sealing us with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it. Dying to sin and arising in Christ, clothed in him, we arise and are found acceptable to the Father who says to each of us - because of my One and only Son - I call you beloved: I call you daughter; I call you Son. The good news, the glory of the Gospel, and the reality of your salvation are confirmed by a heavenly declaration: "Thou are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Holy Scripture speaks of baptismal regeneration as being clothed with Christ. And scripture provides so many baptismal motifs for our comfort. For example, being born again; our receiving the new spiritual birth from above; in baptism, we are brought from darkness into light; we are illuminated both the soul and mind and forever sealed by the Holy Spirit.
And, even more radically, St. Paul says that in baptism, we are somehow united with Christ; made one with Him in such a mystical way that his death becomes our death, his burial, our burial, his ascension becomes our ascension. In other words, Christ's story becomes our story, so much so that in Him, we are re-created and joined to him both in body and soul by grace through faith in baptism. We are born, betrothed, and wedded to Christ, who is the living water: the font of eternal salvation.
Friends understand what gifts the Lord has showered upon those who have been washed by the mercy of God. New birth; the forgiveness of sins; receiving the Holy Spirit; made sons and daughters; inheritors of the Kingdom, and union with Christ by his death and resurrection. You see, if John's baptism pointed forward to the in-breaking of the Kingdom- the messianic age- then Christian baptism celebrates our incorporation into that new age, into a world being reformed and re-fashioned back to its original state of beauty and tranquility.
At the incarnation, the Kingdom of Heaven was manifested on earth, the beauty of Heaven fell to earth. The blind received their sight, the lame walked, lepers were cleansed, and the good news of the Gospel resounded in the ears of the poor. And even now, Christ, through his church, is bringing the Gospel to bear upon the tragedy of our age.
There is a new age on the horizon, an age when the Lord will reign, and all the ugliness of this world will cease to cause injustice and sorrow. And yet, the problem is, we live in a state of liminality, in between the ages, an age which is dying and an age to come. But that to come has already broken into reality; the Kingdom is at hand.
So let us then live our lives becoming of those who belong to this new age, let us presently participate in its Divine economy and live by its standards, not by the standards of what is fading away. Shall we then continue in sin? - No, says the Apostle, for "in baptism, you died to sin - so that as Christ was raised from the dead, so you too should walk in newness of life." St. Paul exhorts us to "Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good." And why? Because the business and distractions of this modern age are all too often detrimental to the soul. In the demands and day-to-day barrage of life, we quickly lose sight of the faith we professed at our baptism; slide on the duties we vowed to uphold; fudge on the promise to denounce and reject all that is wicked and evil.
This is why the Gospel of our Lord's baptism is a much-needed occasion to return to our own. To reembrace the font of salvation where we were clothed in Christ and accepted by the Father. So, friends, let us consider our baptism. Let all of its imagery and emotion provoke us to walk in the newness of life, remembering that in the water, you received the Spirit of holiness and made citizens of a new age. Reborn to walk as citizens of a new Kingdom.
In light of this, I with St. Paul exhort you to, "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in Spirit; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind, one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men" (Romans 12:10-18)
Never forget, in your daily pursuit of righteousness, that the words spoken of Jesus at the River Jordan are true of you: You are my beloved Son... you are my beloved daughter. So let us "press on," working and praying together for the Kingdom of God. And let the remembering of your baptism be a reminder of joy, a sign of hope, a celebration of life: for in Christ the old has passed away- the new age is here of which we are Ambassadors of reconciliation until the Kingdom of God comes in the fullness of its glory and Christ is all and in all, world without end. Amen+
