CAMINANDO WITH JESUS: The Baptism of Jesus

CAMINANDO WITH JESUS is a series of reflections on the Sunday Gospel by clergy and laity from across the Diocese.

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Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

- Matthew 3:3-17

Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Today Jesus arrives in the wilderness alongside the Jordan River where his cousin, John, is calling people to baptism for the redemption of their sins. We’ve heard nothing of Jesus since his family returned from Egypt and settled in Nazareth. We know nothing about what he’s been doing, at least from Matthew’s perspective. Possibly over the years Jesus has felt he has a special relationship with God, an awareness of the Lord’s presence in him he senses others don’t share. Perhaps he feels a yearning to study Torah or a depth of spirit unusual in a person his age. Then he is drawn to John for baptism.

When Jesus presents himself to John for baptism, John finds it scandalous! How can it be that John believes he is unworthy to baptize Jesus and feels their roles should be reversed? Does he sense a holiness in Jesus? Or is it the family stories he remembers, how his mother and aunt have said they are both special but Jesus more so than John, that Jesus is actually Emmanuel, God with us.

John concedes, and the baptism in the waters of the Jordan continues. As the heavens part and that voice booms out, “This is my son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased,” Jesus begins a new phase of his life with a new awareness of his identity as the Son of God. He sees his vocation to go out and teach and heal, confounding those who would put tradition and structure over the kingdom of God.

In my ordained ministry I’ve led people through the Baptismal Covenant several times each year, whether we had someone to baptize or simply as the liturgy of the day. It is often said that praying shapes believing, and this is so with the repeating of the Baptismal Covenant. Each time it stirs in me a renewed commitment and deeper love for the God who came to us in human form. The God who from the beginning was in love with us.

Whether the blessed water is poured on someone’s head in the trinitarian formula of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, or is flung liberally on the congregation as I walk the aisles, it reminds us we too are beloved children of God. Nothing we do can ever change our status as members of the inner circle of God’s grace. As baptized members of God’s family we are empowered to go into the world living out our baptismal covenant. We, too, are called to go out into the world to teach and heal, sharing the good news of God’s love for all, becoming more Christ-like each day. The kingdom of God has come near. With God’s help we can draw it closer yet.

The Rev. Paula C. Rachal is the rector of All Saints', Greensboro.