In the act of baptism we are putting our bodies on the line.
Isaiah 42:1-4,6-7
Acts 10:34-38
Matthew 3:13-17
Can’t you picture God on the seventh day of creation looking at all that had been shaped and formed, including the highlight of creation Adam and Eve, and thinking “I love it when a plan comes together.” Of course, the plan went awry and there was world-wide sin provoking a great flood and two-by-two animals in the Ark, and the eventual new beginning with Noah and his family. God thought after all that, “I love it when a plan comes together.” Until it didn’t and the nations were divided and violence and strife increased so God chose one family, as the chosen people to embody the promised goodness of creation that was meant from the beginning. When God saw Abraham and Sarah and their children he doubtless thought, “I love it when a plan comes together.” However, the chosen people through a series of unfortunate incidents ended up in slavery and God had to lead them through the Red Sea and forty years in the desert into the promised land. When they arrived at the Jordan River God gave a sigh, “I love it when a plan comes together.” But the new nation in the promised land were surrounded by hostile neighbors so God approved the establishment of a king to keep the people safe. “I love it when a plan comes together.” But the kings proved less than virtuous and soon the people lost their identity, their homeland, the temple. God had to bring them back from exile before saying, “I love it when a plan comes together.” And in today’s gospel we overhear the conversation between John the Baptist and Jesus which concludes with the Lord saying, “it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Which translates as: I love it when a plan comes together. The plan of God was coming together when Jesus began his mission to the world after his baptism. Like all those other plans there were bumps and obstacles – opposition, suffering, the cross, the tomb – but the plan proved to work at last when Jesus rose from the dead and gave us the divine promise of life.
That brief summary of salvation history is a reminder that the will of God is not set in stone. When we try to discern God’s will in our own lives we should not imagine that there is one pre-determined thing we must fit into. History proves the will of God bobs and weaves, goes up and down, has dips and curves. What is constant, though, is that the will of God always is leading us toward becoming more loving, more compassionate, more forgiving, more generous. All of which serves as an introduction to the feast of the Baptism of the Lord which we celebrate today. The before of Jesus’ baptism is the story of a mild-mannered carpenter in a small, village shop who was only known and loved by family and friends. After Jesus’ baptism he is on a mission to bring good news to the poor, to bring healing and wholeness to a hurting world, to live and promote peace. Baptism was the moment a pivotal turn took place for Jesus. What about for us? There is something about the very physical act of entering into the water and having it wash over you that mattered to Jesus and matters to us. In fact, we are at the heart of what it means to be a Christian here. All religious people of whatever persuasion know that prayer is important, that having the right thinking is important, that faith is important. But for us as Christians, the importance of a life in God must take physical form. If God loved humanity enough to share body-ness with us, then being a body, having a body, how we treat other bodies matters to God. In the act of baptism we are putting our bodies on the line. By presenting ourselves for the ritual entry into the water we are saying that God is more than an idea, that prayer is more than talking to myself, that faith is something that involves all that I am. The physical action of baptism is making God as concrete and as real as bathing, as drinking, as washing, as sweating. According to our creeds, salvation for Christians does not talk about immortal souls but the resurrection of the body. Jesus was baptized because it would be with his body hung upon the cross that redemption would be won. We are baptized because in our flesh we too will embody what it means to be the people of God. And, of course, that means that our faith as baptized people will take concrete, physical shape in our lives just as it did in the life of Jesus. Faith is more than an idea or a feeling. It is embodied.
The will of God for a Christian, therefore, is not a concept, a notion, a catechism answer. God’s will is concrete, tangible, solid as the bodies which make us who we are. At his baptism Jesus heard the heavenly voice say, “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.” At our baptism we too are claimed for God. We are given the name of Christian, other Christ, beloved child. God is well pleased in having us as his own. What Jesus was by nature, we become by adoption – children of God, part of the family of God. And every other member of the family of God is connected to us. Love of neighbor embodies, concretizes, the life of a Christian because each person we encounter is also beloved of God and pleasing to God. No matter what country you come from, no matter your skin color, no matter your gender, no matter your age, no matter which church you attend it is God’s will that we share a life of loving regard as one people. As we renew our baptismal vows today we are singing – we’re all in this together.
