January 8 NOTES FOR REFLECTION The Baptism of the Lord

January 8                                NOTES FOR REFLECTION                   The Baptism of the Lord

Texts:   Genesis 1:1-5; Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11

Theme:  I'm tempted to suggest "How Time Flies!", as two weeks after celebrating Christ's birth, we meet him as a thirty-year-old.  However, I suggest we stick with "Revelation in Baptism", to stress that our readings between Christmas and Candlemas are primarily about the revelation of Christ.

Introduction.  For Mark, Jesus' story begins with his baptism.  He has no birth narrative, and nothing like the wonder of John's Prologue revealing the eternal existence of Christ.  For this reason, perhaps, our first lesson comprises the opening few verses of Genesis.  The beginning of the old creation forms the background to the beginning of the new.  The common element is the creative power of the Holy Spirit, brooding over the primal waters and bringing order out of chaos; and descending like a dove on to Jesus as he emerges from the new waters of baptism.  Our second lesson, from the Book of Acts puts even greater emphasis on the creative work of the Holy Spirit, bringing the gift of speaking in new languages, and separating it from the immersion in water that is the symbolic act of baptism.

Background.    Advent-Candlemas can be a confusing period for those of us who are used to stories with a strict chronology.  Advent begins with a focus on the return of Christ at the end of the age.  Then we "walk backwards to Christmas", in the words of the famous song. We focus on John the Baptist, and then on the Annunciation.  The prophet of Isaiah is the other great character of Advent, some 700 years before the time of Mary, John and Jesus.

Now we celebrate the Epiphany on 6 January when the magi bring their strange prophetic gifts to the infant child; and two days later we witness Jesus' baptism at the age of 30.  Which reminds me: our Lectionary is very clear about the equal importance of both these events.  In each case we are told: "This is a principal feast and should not be displaced by any other celebration."  Quite how we are to do due honour to two major feats two days apart is not explained (yes, I know we could have weekday services, but let's be practical here!)  The task is, perhaps, to find a way of celebrating both feasts together.  Part of my solution at St John's, Waikouaiti this year is to choose all the hymns with an Epiphany flavour, while sticking to the Baptism for the readings and preaching.

Back to the issue of chronological time.  One thought is that the creators of our church year are deliberately disregarding the principles of chronology to stress that, when the eternal decides to invade the temporal, chronology flies out the window.  More theologically, for the eternal God there is only the eternal NOW.  (All things 'happen' for God simultaneously.)  No, this doesn't make immediate sense to us because we are inescapably children of the time-space continuum.   The challenge is to accept that God is free of all that – that is what we mean when we say God is e-ternal (outside of time.)

So back to the idea of "revelation" as the central theme of this period of our church year. That motif, of course, begins with the birth announcement by the angel (and backing singers) to the shepherds.  What, exactly, is revealed to them?  In the end, I suspect, very little.  When they hurry off to Bethlehem to see for themselves, they find Mary, Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.   According to the angel, the sign to them was to be precisely that: they would find a baby (wrapped in cloths) and lying in a manger.  As we read St Luke's account of all this, it's hard to avoid the suspicion that what really amazed the shepherds is that they found things exactly as the angel had foreseen.  It is the marvel of a man who has just seen a magician perform the very trick he said he would do.  But beyond that, is there any real evidence that the shepherds comprehended the enormity of this birth?  Had they any real grasp of who this child really is?

Something similar may be going on with the strange story we know as the Epiphany.  The psalmist talks of the heavens proclaiming the glory of God; and St Paul makes much (in the early stages of his Letter to the Romans) about creation revealing God's existence to those who had not yet heard the message of salvation.  So part of this story may be drawing on that idea, that the heavens (through this one itinerant star) are proclaiming the glory of Christ.  A further idea is that it may have been aimed at those who believed in what we  today know as astrology: that whatever power and authority heavenly bodies may be thought to have, they are mere pointers to the one who is higher than them all.

Coming to the baptism, a good question to ask is not so much, what was revealed, but to whom?  This is one of those rare cases where it really is helpful to compare the different versions in the 4 gospels, and to note the subtle and not so subtle differences.  In particular, who (besides Jesus, of course, saw or heard anything out of the ordinary?  Was it an objective event, which could have been witnessed by anyone who happened to be there at the time; or was it a purely subjective experience for Jesus alone?  St Matthew splits his vote two to one.  "At that moment heaven was opened" (objective); "he saw the Spirit of God descending" (subjective); and "a voice from heaven said, 'this is my Son" (objective).

Mark is almost wholly in the subjective camp.  "...he saw heaven being torn open" (subjective) "and the Spirit descending on him" (subjective); "and a voice came from heaven" (objective); "You are my Son" (subjective").  St Luke leans the other way. "...heaven was opened" (objective); "the Holy Spirit descended on him" (objective); "a voice came from heaven" (objective); "you are my Son" (subjective).

Then there is St John.  He does not directly report Jesus' baptism.  Instead, he has John the Baptist say of Jesus: "I saw the Holy Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.  I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptise with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptise with the Holy Spirit."  So John the Baptist saw what was happening, but whether or not he heard the voice from heaven, we do not know.

Where does all this get us?  For my money the revelation through baptism was primarily for Jesus: a precious confirmation that he is whom he had come to believe himself to be, the Messiah, the beloved Son of God.

Genesis.  The opening chapter of Genesis is in the form of a hymn of praise.  It has a wonderful depth and richness to it that can only be cheapened by silly arguments about creation and evolution.   The truth with which we are concerned here is not the "what" but the "by whom" question.  And, perhaps, also the "why" question.  Later theologians insisted that God created all things "ex nihilo".  This indicates that the second verse must succeed the first in time, not expand it.  First, God created the heavens and the earth.  When first created the earth was formless and empty.  When first created the earth had areas of water (or, perhaps, the whole earth was covered with water); there was only darkness (no light); and the Spirit of God was hovering (or brooding) over the waters.  The image suggests a hen incubating her eggs – the symbol of the beginning of life.  The next thing that God did was to create light.  Without light there could be no life.  (Recall how St John explores this idea in the Prologue to his gospel.)  God saw that the light was good, and he separated it from darkness.  [Light is good, darkness is not.]  Notice that for the Hebrews the day started with evening: darkness is overcome by the dawn.  We tend to think in the reverse: we start with dawn, and the light gives way to darkness.

Taking It Personally.

• Can you recall a time of emptiness, chaos and darkness in your life?  Can you now imagine the Spirit of God hovering over that situation, seeking to bring light and life into it?
• Can you draw on this idea next time you find yourself in troubling circumstances?  Try a simple prayer of invocation such as, "Spirit of God, hover over this situation now and bring light and life into it, I pray."
• Sit in a dark room for a little while.  Then turn on a light.  Appreciate the difference between the light and darkness.  Give thanks to God for light, and for the gift of sight.

Acts.  This is an intriguing little story that may have all sorts of political sub-plots.  We know from the gospels that the relationship between Jesus' disciples and those of John the Baptist was sometimes tense.  This episode may be designed by the early church to make it clear that John's ministry in itself was not sufficient: his baptism was likewise only half what was required.  It needed to be completed by Jesus' ministry.  Or it may have something to do with the argument that "real" Christians spoke in tongues or uttered words of prophesy – an argument that was sometimes heard during the heyday of the Charismatic Renewal in the seventies and eighties.  Two points here.  First, in separating the water baptism from the laying on of hands and the anointing with the Spirit, the way was cleared (no doubt, inadvertently) for the development of the idea of Confirmation.  Secondly, the suggestion that they were then baptised into the name of the Lord Jesus would seem to be at odds with the very clear instruction in St Matthew's gospel to baptise in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Taking It Personally.

• Never let a chance go by to reflect on your own baptism.  Read the liturgy in the prayer book.  Notice the invocation of the Holy Spirit over the waters of the font.  Notice, too, St Peter's promise that all who are baptised will receive the Holy Spirit.  That includes you!
• In what way would your life have been different if you had not been baptised?

Mark.  A couple of Old Testament echoes strike me here.  First, the idea of heaven being torn open seems to hark back to the plaintive cry of Isaiah (64:1).  Secondly, the dove brings to mind the one released by Noah from the ark, which returned with an olive leaf in its mouth.  The baptism of the earth for the removal of sin was over: a symbol of peace symbolised a new start.  See also 1 Peter 3:18-22.

Taking It Personally.

• Imagine that this is your baptism.  The Holy Spirit descends on you and remains.  And you hear words spoken to you from heaven: "You are my son/daughter, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."  Repeat those words to yourself over and over again until you begin to believe them.  Then rejoice and give thanks.