Baptism of the Lord – Year C
Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7; Psalm 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10; Titus 2:11-14, 3:4-7; Luke 3:15-16, 21-22
Today, the church finds herself in the middle of a trio of epiphanies,
and that’s “epiphanies” with a lowercase “e.”
Last week, we celebrated the Epiphany
– and that’s “epiphany” with an uppercase “e” –
by hearing Matthew’s story of the magi following the star,
following their hearts,
finding the child, and doing him homage by presenting gifts of
gold, frankincense, and myrrh.1
This was an epiphany to the Gentiles,
God’s making manifest that Jesus the Christ is “a light for the nations.”2
Now next week’s gospel sees Jesus attending a wedding in Cana,
which includes the story of his first miracle,
changing water into wine, in order, as Dostoyevsky writes,
“to help men’s gladness.”3
This was an epiphany to his disciples, who,
seeing the great work Jesus performed,
“began to believe in him.”4
Our re-membering of the Baptism of the Lord merits a place alongside these two epiphanies.
For today, the epiphany of who Jesus really is comes
neither to the Gentiles nor to Jesus’ friends;
it comes to Jesus himself.
When “the Holy Spirit descended upon [Jesus] in bodily form like a dove,”5
it did not carry in its beak a blueprint saying,
“Heal here, forgive there, preach these words, then die on this Friday.”
Nor is it likely that Jesus came hardwired with the stage directions for his whole life.
If he had, then why “spend the night in prayer to God” before naming the Twelve;6
why be “amazed” when the centurion’s faith prompts him to say,
“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof”;7
and why sweat “drops of blood” before a death
he would have known would end in resurrection?8
1
Matthew 2:1-12.
Cf., Roman Missal, Preface of the Epiphany of the Lord (no. 38); Lumen Gentium, §1.
3
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov (1880), trans. Constance Garnett (New York:
Norton, 1976), 338.
4
John 2:11.
5
Luke 3:22a.
6
Luke 6:12.
7
Luke 7:9, 6.
8
Luke 22:44.
2
No, if we are serious when we say that Jesus is fully human,
one who “shared our human nature in all things but sin,”9
then he must have learned about himself, he must have become himself,
the same way that we learn about and become ourselves:
by living, loving, making mistakes, laughing, crying, suffering, and overcoming.
Like the rest of us, his questions about himself must have evolved as he aged,
from a child’s, “What am I going to be when I grow up?”,
to a young person’s, “What am I going to do with my life?”,
all the way up to the most personal question of all, an adult’s,
“Who am I?”
“And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’”10
Matthew’s version of this story has the heavenly voice saying something slightly different:
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”11
For him, Jesus’ baptism is an epiphany to Israel, to all those gathered around the Jordan.
They learn who Jesus is and why he is different,
why he is special.
Luke wants to make the same point, only, for him,
the recipient of this message is not just Israel,
it is Jesus too.
That this affirmation of his identity comes to Jesus
in the context of John’s baptism of repentance, of metanoia,
is of profound significance.12
Unlike “the crowds…tax collectors…and soldiers…[who] had been baptized,”13
Jesus, the sinless one, does not need forgiveness.
But like them, Jesus suspects that meatanoia,
a radical re-ordering of his life,
is on the horizon.
Everything is going to change.
And that can be terrifying.
That can bring about sleepless nights in which one wonders
who one’s closest friends really are;
that can make one feel lonely,
convinced that no one has understood the point of one’s hard work;
that can cause tremendous anguish,
the kind of pain that leads one to doubt the way forward.
9
Roman Missal, Eucharistic Prayer IV (§116).
Luke 3:22b.
11
Matthew 3:17. Emphases added.
12
Luke 3:3.
13
Luke 3:7, 12, 14.
10
2
And thus, that can force the question again and again and again: who am I?
“And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’”
The same voice was heard on the day of your baptism and of mine, telling us who we are,
though it was audible only with the ears of faith:
“You are my beloved daughter, my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.”
The symbols in the church’s beautiful liturgy of baptism tell us still more about who we are.
The minister, our parents, and our godparents trace a cross on our foreheads,
claiming us for Christ, our Savior.14
The oil of catechumens strengthens us with Christ’s power when other gods, idols,
compete for our love.15
The fragrant chrism makes us shareholders in Christ’s offices of
priest, prophet, and king.16
A white garment becomes the outward sign of the inner dignity we enjoy as
daughters and sons of God.17
A candle lit from the Paschal Candle reminds us that we are children of the light,
meant for the light, and not for darkness.18
And, of course, the water.
It speaks of cleansing, dying, and rebirth,
echoing the waters over which God’s spirit of creation hovered;
the torrents that flooded the earth and that Noah and his kin escaped;
and the sea that was parted as the Israelites passed over
from slavery to freedom.19
Our immersion in the waters of baptism is often called a “christening”
because that is, literally, what happens:
we get christened; become like Christ, who, in the Incarnation,
has become like us.
In celebrating the epiphany of Jesus’ baptism today,
we underscore one of the ways he is like us:
Jesus’ baptism told him who he was; and ours tells us who we are.
Daughters of God; Sons of God.
A God who is well pleased with us.
14
Cf., Rite of Baptism for Children, §41.
Cf., Ibid., §§49-50.
16
Cf., Ibid., §62.
17
Cf., Ibid., §63.
18
Cf., Ibid., §64.
19
Cf., Ibid., §54.
15
3