January 9, 2011 - Feast of The Baptism of the Lord

I know it's the feast of the Baptism of Jesus, and the Gospel reading was the story of Christ's baptism in the Jordan River, but there were readings that came before the reading about the Baptism. Those readings are there for a purpose—they set the context for thinking about the Gospel story. The Oracle from Isaiah, in the first reading speaks of Israel becoming a "Light to the nations," and the reading from the Book of Acts, we see St. Peter coming to the dawning awareness that the Gentiles are as acceptable to God as God's Historical People, Israel.

 

It's easy to skip over those readings, because we no longer have ears to hear their revolutionary nature. They were both considered "odd" if not "bordering on the heretical" when first spoken. They were accepted as "poetic license" on the part of prophets and holy men…but no one actually thought Isaiah, certainly, and, probably, Peter, actually MEANT them, LITERALLY! Now, we don't have a time machine to go back and ask Isaiah or Paul what they meant, or hoped we'd "pick up" by what they wrote. All we have is the Texts they left:

 

Isaiah's is the first of 4 "Suffering Servant Poems," and in it he presents Israel as God's "suffering servant in the world." Now no one found fault with that. History seemed to prove him right, in fact. But, then, he begins to talk about Israel being a light for the nations—leading them out of the prisons of their own blindness—that was uncomfortable. Israel had enough problems being Israel—taking care of each other in a world that hated them was burden enough. Why put the whole world on our shoulders?  Not a lot of rabbi's rallied around Isaiah's "servant songs." They could see Israel as God's suffering servant, but the idea that this servant was suffering in order to bring Gentiles to God—sort of carrying them on its back to the Throne of Grace—this was too much for most people to stomach. God bless and keep the Caesar or the Tsar far away from me! That seems to have been the sentiment. BUT, the spirit-inspired vision  of the prophet remains: "You who are free, lead others to freedom; you who are in the light, lead others out of their darkness! (And the darkest of the dark are those without the Light of God, so…the call to lead the Gentile world to God remained, too.)

 

In the Book of Acts we read, "God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him." Now, that was not very popular, either, at first. Remember, the original Church was largely Jewish men and women who believed the Jesus' message of universal brotherhood was the best way to live the Torah………but that's what it was……….a way to live the Torah. And to do that you had to be Jewish! Fish don't fly, cows don't lay eggs, and Gentiles don't keep Torah! Only Jews do! So, even here, in Acts, where the right words are put in Peter's mouth, we see he doesn't hold it literally—rather, Peter would have said, "God isn't partial, anyone can convert and keep Torah, you don't have to be born Jewish to be good." Paul and Peter got into long standing arguments over this.

 

But, in the end, Paul's understanding won. God really doesn't show partiality. And all ARE acceptable to him—even you and me!

 

Now, THAT'S the background—or better said, the LENS through which we are to look at the account of the Baptism of Jesus. He is by this "bath of dedication" taking on his shoulders the Gentile World, to draw them to the Mercy Seat and the Throne of Grace of the God of Israel, the only God of the Universe. He is "becoming" Israel in microcosm. He is doing the work of the entire nation: HE WILL BE THE LIGHT TO THE GENTILE NATIONS, and he will draw them to the God of Israel, and he will draw the Israelites to see a Broader God—a God of the Universe who shows no partiality.

 

To get to the Jordan River from the Galilee, Jesus must move from a place of safety to the edge, to the boundaries, where nothing is really safe. He had been living in Galilee, a place of rolling hills and the lake of Ginossaret—it was a place of plenty—plenty of grain for bread and plenty of fish. He must move from this security to the desert—where there is no surplus, and where there is a scarcity of anything and everything. He must leave family, friends, co-students—and wend his way alone, or find new companions.  But, most of all, he is leaving a way of life—the way of Jews he grew up with and how they chose to live in the Gentile world, to head for the desert where new rules need to be written. We are reminded of Abraham who began his spiritual journey when God said to him: "Lek Lekah—get up and go from your country, from your kinsfolk and from your father's house and go to a land that I will show you."

 

The point of these readings is that there WAS no path for what Jesus was about to do—only the vision of Isaiah. The path of bringing vastly different people together into one family of God had yet to be created. Jesus would have to do that. We'll read his ideas on it as we read his Sermon on the Mount in the coming weeks.

 

What we need to think about, for ourselves, is what our membership in His Church means for us. We want Israel and the Palestinians to bury the hatchet and get along, but we can't say "hi" to our brother-in-law who borrowed the lawn mower and never returned it! The readings today hint that there is something unwritten in our baptismal identity, but something VERY IMPORTANT, that if we examined it, and lived it well, might change us and our world.

 

Let's pray, today, to be kinder in our thoughts , world and actions. If our lives are small "cogs" in the great machinery of creating world brotherhood and sisterhood, then perhaps something is being asked of me today that I wasn't yet aware of. Let us pray for insight and courage to live our faith and to make our lives benedictions of peace and goodness in our world. And may God bless you all. +