[Propertalk] 1 Epiphany c - 1

[Robert P Morrison]

Here's the draft for Sunday. I'll split it in two posts ...
Bob

	THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY 1 EPIPHANY C – THE
BAPTISM OF CHRIST 

	ISAIAH 43:1-7 10th JANUARY, 2016 

	ACTS 8:14-17 PSALM 29 

	LUKE 3:15-17, 21-22 

	 What’s the baptism of Jesus got to do with me? 

	 Well, for one thing, it gives us the grace to be able to recognise
Jesus.  

	 According to those pre-birth stories, when Mary learned she was
pregnant, she rushed off to see her cousin, Elizabeth When they came
into each other’s company, John, in Elizabeth’s womb, started
doing back flips, so excited was he. 

	 I’ve never been pregnant, but I’ve heard that babies in utero
can do all sorts of interesting things: back flips, bladder stomps,
wall kicking. I’m sure the list can go on and on. But in the eyes
and minds of the early church, John recognized Jesus through two
layers of fat and skin, and bowed down in obedience and wonder. And
the fact that both were immersed in amniotic fluid only adds to the
symbolism. 

	 Jump forward about thirty years and you have the scene in this
morning’s Gospel passage. 

	 There are tantalisingly few references to John’s and Jesus’
childhood and early adulthood. John supposedly spent a good deal of
time in the desert, on the fringes of society, honing his sensory
abilities. Jesus, on the other hand, was reputedly busy in Joseph’s
carpentry shop and the outside work that that entailed. His was a very
down-to-earth life in which He saw how people had to apply themselves
and struggle, n matter how good they were at their profession. But
surely John and Jesus were at least aware of each other, of what each
had been doing, and of the religious tension, mixed with the political
and social turmoil as the politicians played games with the Romans in
order to continue to keep and advance their power and their wealth. 

	 So when Jesus and John met at the Jordan, neither was a stranger to
the other, although they may not have known a whole lot about where
their lives would lead them. One thing WAS sure, however. Both were
deeply committed to their religious traditions, and both saw how
religion was one of the tools being used to manipulate and oppress the
people. Both John and Jesus were aware that God was completely opposed
to the way the people were being abused. Both longed to bring release
to those held captive in any way. 

	 So when Jesus and John met at the Jordan, this was what was going
through their minds. Each had consented to the leading of God to try
to make things plain to the people that God longed that everyone would
be free to discover the divine image within themselves, and to become
ministers to others. 

	 John walked the banks of the river, cajoling, confronting,
comforting all those who would hear to accept that God loved them and
wanted them to reach out beyond themselves, to affirm that they were
God’s children.  

	It may have seemed quite natural that the people began to wonder if
John was the one promised by the prophets as God’s anointed
messenger. Their hearts must have leapt; they must have begin to do
internal back-flips at the thought that this man was about to bring in
new life. 

	 John knew otherwise, though. He accepted the prophetic mantle. No
matter what the hardships and peculiar life-style that came with his
vocation, he knew that he was a cursor – one who showed people where
they were and pointed them to where they might find fulfilment and a
satisfying sense of wholeness. More than that, though. John new,
somehow, that, sooner or later, Jesus would come on the scene to
present the embodiment of God. John knew that, one day, he and Jesus
would be together and that he would offer some sort of a comment to
turn people’s attention to his cousin. 

	And this was the day. 

	Jesus came in the midst of the crowds, just like everyone else,
listening, thinking, questioning both John’s word and his own
thoughts and emotions. Jesus was indistinguishable from everyone else.
He walked in from a distance. He was drawn to see what sort of a
sermon John might preach, and how folk would respond. He was moved to
see hundreds upon hundreds of people go to John in the midst of the
river, seeking a new beginning, an affirmation of their worth. They
sought to dedicate themselves to God and to discover how to deal with
the panic, the drudgery of their daily lives, and the insanity of
those who wanted to yield power for power’s sake. 

	Jesus came, no different in appearance, no different in apparent
emotions, no different in the way that He, like the others, wanted to
know where to go from that point on. 

	 John knew Jesus, of course. But he was the only one. And when Jesus
stepped into the river and moved towards His cousin, He probably had
to stand in line, waiting for John and his disciples to accept His
commitment.  

	 You might think tat some tremendous thunderclap and bolt of
lightning might have appeared at that moment, anointing Jesus in the
way that some might wish would happen at the Primary Caucuses. But
there was no lightning, no thunderclap. Jesus stood there, perhaps
talking to those on either side of Him, perhaps helping some get
upright and stay upright after their ritual bathing; perhaps Jesus was
quiet, looking at the others, trying to determine what was going on in
their lives, thinking about what was happening to Him, feeling His
feet and His legs become tremendously chilled in the frigid water. All
this just like everyone else on the Jordan banks or in the river. 

	 No different, 

	 The others seemed to have made their dedication first. That’s how
the text describes it. Whatever the actual sequence, the crowds were
cleansed and affirmed as God’s children. Then, perhaps last, or
perhaps in the middle of the _mêlée, Jesus was face to face with
John, looking to find affirmation for Himself._ 

	 It was all over. The people knew that John had a prophetic ministry.
They knew that they had a need which had been met. And they didn’t
think twice about Jesus – just another man waiting to see what
God’s Presence meant. 

	 THAT’S when the Dove appeared out of nowhere. 


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