The Baptism of the Lord
January 12, 2014
4 PM & 12 Noon Liturgies
J.A. Loftus, S.J.
Believe it or not, it is most unusual that all four gospel
accounts should agree on details of an event in Jesus’ life. All four,
for example, differ significantly as they attempt to describe the last
supper, trial, and subsequent crucifixion of Jesus. And that was
obviously a pivotal moment in his life.
It is also unusual that all four gospels attribute the same
significance to an event. Each evangelist had a particular
perspective or theology he was advancing. But today we have such
a story in the Baptism of the Lord. And all four gospels agree.
There are differences to be sure among the accounts. For
example, only Luke says the dove “descended in bodily form.” Only
Luke has the voice from heaven being heard by everyone present.
Mark and Matthew have only Jesus seeing a dove and hearing the
voice. And John’s gospel, while it does not actually record the
baptism itself, has John the Baptist testifying that he, John, saw the
heavens torn open and saw the Spirit descend upon Jesus.
But all four accounts agree that once upon a time, on one
particular day, the heavens were torn open, and God’s presence
was unmistakably felt. And that Presence communicates quite
clearly: “This is my beloved son or servant, with whom I am
greatly or well pleased.” God says God is delighted! And a new and
definitive stage in Jesus’ life is inaugurated.
There are three great manifestations, or epiphanies, in the
Christmas season. The first comes with angels announcing to
shepherds the birth of this child. The second comes when several
strange people from the East follow a star to find a king. And the
king is given to all the nations of the earth. And today is the third
and final manifestation when God confirms what the shepherds
and Magi saw and heard: “This is my beloved, listen to him.”
The first two manifestations of the Christ come in highly
imaginative and poetic creations. They are from the infancy
narratives of Sts. Matthew and Luke. This third manifestation,
attested by all four evangelists, is about as close to historical fact as
we ever get in the gospels.
Most of us probably are used to thinking of this event as
unique, unique in time and place, and unique to one Jesus of
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Nazareth. After all, the heavens do not normally get torn open at
other baptisms, do they? Or perhaps they do! And we just miss the
doves and the voice. What do you think? Is that possible? Maybe?
If, for example, you are Irish, you have a wealth of spiritual
tradition that suggests it may not be unique at all, at all. Celtic
peoples have for centuries cherished and revered the so-called
“thin-spaces” in our world. Spaces where heaven and earth have
only the thinnest of veils separating them from each other. In
these places, heaven breaks in easily and frequently. And doves
and voices are often quite magically seen and heard.
For the Celts, these places were often secret groves, or still
wells, or high mountains. But they could be anywhere. I wonder if
the thinnest of spaces was in that muddy Jordan river that day we
remember today. And I wonder further whether because of what
we remember today, because of his baptism, his life, his death, and
his rising, every baptism becomes a thin space forevermore.
I do not remember any birds flying in at my baptism. I was an
infant and I suspect, quite out of it at the time. But as I get older I
do wonder if perhaps at some deep level of my consciousness I
could have heard a voice, or could have seen a beautiful bird. The
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voice might have said of me just what it said of Jesus: This is my
beloved, too. “And in him I take great delight.”
What a shame that I might have forgotten the most precious
thing I could ever have heard. God whispering in the thinnest of
spaces: “I love you and always will.” What if each of us at our own
baptism could remember that Voice!
It is worth spending a lifetime trying just to remember God’s
love for each and every one of us. Heaven has already been opened
for each and every one of us in our own baptism. Listen for the
Voice! Watch for the dove! They may have been there; they may
still be here.
As we end this Christmas season, remember what Christmas
is really all about. God’s Word is already spoken throughout all
creation. Remember that thin-space, and smile with God’s delight
in you.
For the last time this season, Merry Christmas to you all!
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