Epiphany 3C
Matthew 3:13-171
Grace Church Radford
The Rev. Dr. Kathy Dunagan
There’s an old saying among preachers that is meant to keep us modest. It goes something like this: No matter how good or bad you preach the more important things follow - the Creed and the Eucharist. I could stand here a babble for 12 to 19 minutes as I often do and you might not get a thing out of what I say and that would be fine because, in the Episcopal Church, we believe that the ancient words of the Creed and the Eucharistic prayers are far more important than one person’s interpretation and proclamation of Scripture.
So, the sermon is really no big deal.
Another thing that is important to remember is that Sunday is the first day of the week - not Monday. Because Sunday is when we are reminded of who we are as Baptized Christians, it is when we get rest and renewal and then we go out into the world for our work week.
There’s a funny line I remember in the movie “Oh God!” I’ll bet some of you are old enough to remember that film. John Denver played a normal guy who is visited by God in the form of George Burns who was only 75 when it was filmed in 1977. No need to revisit the movie. I don’t even recommend watching it if you missed it! But the line I remember is when George Burns is put on the witness stand in front of judge and jury and says in his oath, “So help me, me.”
When Jesus was baptized, I’ve often wondered if John Baptized him in the name of him. The one theological requirement for baptism is not that you are baptized by an ordained person (though that is required outside of “emergency baptism”) but that whomever does the sprinkling or dipping must use water and name the Trinity. So, if when you were baptized the baptizer didn’t say, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” it didn’t take! Well, you can use inclusive language translations of the trinity or maybe just say something like “triune God” but that is a theological requirement of baptism.
So, was Jesus baptized in the name of his father, the Holy Spirit and himself? Why did he need to be baptized anyway? It seems he is perfect, the one without sin who is in fact fully divine. Why would he need to have his sins cleansed if he doesn’t have any sins? John the Baptist was certainly thinking this when he tried to refuse to baptize him, but Jesus said, no. Make it so, “for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.”
It’s not about washing away sins. It is about fulfilling prophesy. It is about putting things that were broken back together. It is about healing the anguish of a people lost and confused and oppressed. It is about a new beginning.
And so, in this new beginning, Jesus comes to John for baptism before he does anything else.
But if you notice, God is not ecstatic. The Creator is not jumping for joy, or so one reading by one scholar says.
God simply says, “I am well pleased.” This is the response of God at the baptism of Jesus. The heavens open. There is a dove. God speaks. Well, technically a voice from heaven speaks (Matthew 3:17). It is as if there is another “epiphany” or “divine show” as discussed last week. We’re expecting a big show but God’s response is not of exponential proportions. It is not like the response shouted by fans at athletic events or concerts. No, in a kind of anthropomorphic coolness, the Creator is merely pleased or a better translation is that God is content. (The Greek word is eudokeo.) [1]
One might expect more than that. After all, according to Matthew, Jesus has been through a lot since making his journey from heaven to Bethlehem. He was almost killed by a deranged tyrant (Matthew 2:16); he had to travel hundreds of miles to Egypt and live as a refugee there (2:13); his parents could not return to their paternal birthplace because even the new ruler of Judea had some surly insecurity issues (2:23). Now, a few decades later Jesus travels from this place, Galilee, to be baptized by John in the Jordan. Life has not been easy for the Prince of Peace. Surely, a baptism in the wilderness (3:1) would garner more applause.
It’s almost anticlimactic that God’s only response to the baptism of Jesus is that of “being pleased,” or “content.” To be fair, Jesus hasn’t done anything - yet. He has merely appeared. Of course, this is a post-epiphany text. According to Matthew, Jesus hasn’t yet performed any miracle. At this point Jesus hasn't even spoken. A voice from heaven gives utterance. Jesus is silent. There is no parable, no prayer, no blessing. He has just “shown up.” (still quoting Crowder)
That’s the way beginnings are. After much ado of packing for a trip or getting the house ready for company, there comes a moment when all is done and all is right with the world and you can rest in the moment, enjoy the refreshment of the trip or the fellowship of the party. The Baptism of Jesus is, according to Matthew just so. It’s no big deal because it is the obvious moment of all things coming together.
I remember in my youth planning a surprise 16th birthday party for my friend Beth. Actually, I don’t remember it. I imagine I was very busy inviting guests, keeping the secret in order to surprise her, serving food and drinks and getting the house all ready. I imagine I did this with my mother and that we enjoyed it but I also imagine we were a bit anxious and busy in the days leading up to the event.
Beth and I reconnected recently through social media after years of not really keeping up and a couple of years ago she reminded me that I had given her a surprise party for her 16th. And didn’t remember any of that. Then she said that she would never forget it because it meant so much to her. And then she told me something I didn’t know and could not have imagined, that there was so much disfunction and angst in her home at the time that her family had forgotten her 16th and she would have had no celebration if not for me.
I didn’t remember the party until she reminded me because at the time I was in the mode of just doing what was right. It was nice. It was fun. It really wasn’t that big of a deal to hostess Beth’s party. Not to me and Mom.
Maybe it should have been.
I often think that we all make this mistake from time to time. We pray and sing and clean up the kitchen after coffee hour and then we spend lots of time checking on each other and serving the rest of the community all week. We do all this because it’s just what we do. It’s no big deal.
Maybe we should remember that it is a big deal.
Maybe we should listen for the very voice of God in the clouds making witness to our good works. Maybe we should be more intentional about why we are nice to each other, why we offer caring things like phone calls and meals and love for those who are home sick or all the ways we give to the poor, the homeless, the hungry; or all the ways we stand up for the oppressed. We’re just doing our job as Christians. It’s no big deal and yet it is the most important thing in all of existence.
Because we do good works through our faith.
We do these things and offer love to others because of our baptism.
There was a boy riding on his bike outside a church. The priest saw him and told him to come into the church and the boy said, “But they’ll steal my bike.” The priest explained how the Holy Spirit would take care of it, so they went inside. The priest showed the boy how to make the sign of the cross and told the boy to repeat it so he did: “In the name of the Father and the Son . . . Amen.” The priest said,”What about the Holy Spirit?” The boy replied, “It’s outside taking care of my bike!”
This Gospel lesson is the divine affirmation of Jesus; this is where the Spirit descends on Jesus. When we use the image of the Trinity we are trying to capture the complexity of the divine engagement with human life. Now, this is theology at its hardest: the Trinity is a difficult doctrine to understand. The Father is the image of the cause and creator of everything; the Son is the image of the revealer and redeemer; and the Spirit is the image of the connector with human situations and lives. The good news is that the Spirit can be both at the same time inside the Church and outside taking care of the bike.[2]
It’s no big deal. The trinity just is, whether you believe it or not. God is content at the Baptism of our Lord because everything is aligned at that moment and all is right with the world at that moment. Not when we sing Silent Night on Christmas Eve, but when Jesus comes up out of the Baptismal water. That’s the moment. Of course, it is also the moment that is in every moment. Inn a way, time stopped at that moment. The coming of God into the world changed everything and yet it is no big deal.
It just is.
All of life is a journey with peaks and valleys, good times and bad, dark times and light. And through it all the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end is constantly in our hearts at each now moment.
All we need to do is remember the times we were surprised and be content with them.
We make a big deal out of the stuff of the world. It’s a big deal when certain people talk or get recognized or gain accolades or awards or win the lottery. Success, wealth, power, these are the wants of the world that we make a big deal of.
But rather than seek the wants of the world, we are called to seek the hope of the Creator.
And listen to the silent Jesus, who just shows up on time and offers himself for service then empties himself on the cross (Philippians 2:4-8) that’s the real deal. We try to make a worldly big deal of the Christ event with praise and worship and claims to salvation but Jesus simply says “follow me.” It’s not a big deal in the terms of the world. It is the biggest of all things in terms of the Spirit.
This is why it helps to be silent - or at least quiet - at times of prayer and sacrament. We need to listen for the call of the silent incarnate God-in-Jesus. We need to remember our own baptism, our own need for cleansing and renewal through continual repentance. If we turn from the ways of the world and listen, we might just hear a voice from heaven exclaiming contentment. I think that is possible at any moment.
Amen.
[1] Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=4307
[2] Markham, Ian S., Lectionary Levity. Church Publishing Inc.