The Baptism of our Lord
(Free Version) First Sunday After the Epiphany- Isaiah 42:1-9; Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17
Image: Mosaic in the Cathedral of San Marco, 13th c., Venice.
This Sunday is the First Sunday After the Epiphany. You can find the readings here. Last year, I explored the Feast of the Epiphany itself. You can find the free version of that here. I also have Deep Dive versions of both of these if you want to check out that subscription.
The season of Epiphany is a season of recognizing the revelation of God to all people, everywhere. Over the course of this season, our readings focus on the manifestations of God: the epiphanies and theophanies—God revealed in Christ to the world.
This is the season of God’s light which shines in the darkness. On the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6th), we hear the story of the Magi, and the star which they followed. The reminder is that God is always drawing his people, even those who are far away; and the reminder that God is always drawing us.
It may seem like Herod is in charge of the world. It may seem that oppression and violence rules things. That is holding one set of facts: the world is dark, scary, broken, not as it should be. But the incarnation of Jesus says that there is another set of facts: God did not give up on this world. He is the God who draws near. There is a new king who has been born, on the underside of power, a true Prince of Peace and Savior of the world.
Today, in our world, we stand with those same two set of facts. In the midst of all the chaos, we must never forget that God is still near. That hasn’t changed.
But how does this kingdom overcome the kingdoms of the world? How is true peace waged? It is through something very different from the ways of the world. Our readings today, and the scriptural story more broadly, reveal that it is through humble identification and self-giving love that the kingdom advances and the world is made right.
This week, we are challenged to remember our story and our identity as people of God. Our hope for the world is defined by how we are oriented towards God, our perception of God, what stories we are living into and how we understand our identity. What is your hope for your life? Is it that…if you can just get this one thing under control everything will be better? Is it…if I can just hide enough, maybe no one will find out who I am and therefore reject me? We are invited into a better story.
In a world of selfishness, domination and violence, the prophet Isaiah declares that God works, and the world is rightly ordered, through a Servant (Isaiah 42:1-9). This Servant is the embodiment of God’s covenant promise, but not just with a few. This covenant is a light to the nations. No one is left out.
This is reinforced in our Acts reading (Acts 10:34-43). “God shows no favoritism.” In the language of Isaiah, the Servant has done and is doing his work: doing good and healing all those oppressed. God is with him. This is how God works. He is the one who draws near, who gives him for the world. This good news is for everybody.
In our gospel reading we hear that Jesus himself was baptized (Matthew 3:13-17). This was confusing to the Baptizer. Perhaps he expected a fiery figure full of power (as the world defines it), an evident authority. Instead, Jesus humbly requests to be baptized, not because he has any sin of which he needs to repent, but in solidarity with humanity and participation with story of Israel. In the ancient world, water often represents chaos. Jesus steps into the chaos for us, and the baptized are plunged into the world’s chaos with Him.
The first thing I want my congregation to hear: you are loved by God! He has called you his beloved! If you are baptized, you are a person of new creation. If you are not-yet baptized, that has always been God’s heart for his people. He loves his creation and he desires for us to join in his new creation.
What is our hope for the world? Do we hope in political ideologies? Do we hope in achievement, progress, or our own ability to get our act together? There is a way better story for our world. The light has come. Yes, it is still dark. Yes, it is still murky and messy. But God has joined us in mess, in the chaos hovering over and within the waters bringing about new creation.
May we turn the light and away from the shadows. May we know the God who has joined us in the waters, and who has brought about new creation. And may we stand with a grieving world that has forgotten its hope and when we do so we are also standing in the middle of the heart of God: the ecstatic joy of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.