MATTHEW 3: 13-17 

Matthew in the Margins…Baptism of Our Lord / 1st S. after Epiphany…Revised for 2017 

Jesus comes out to John deliberately seeking baptism. It's not a matter of Jesus going out, liking what he hears, & responding by asking to be baptised. The Divine Initiative is foremost. Is this still the case for today’s baptisms, or, for that matter, our Faith as a whole? Jesus' demand that John baptise Him, & it is a demand, is bad theology, as both know. Theologically speaking, John is right to refuse Jesus, & Jesus knows it. By insisting he demonstrates that there's more going on here than meets the human eye. Faith is not captive to anyone's rules, even theological ones. Only God’s! Dogmatics need to be understood in the light of discernment, inspiration, imagination, & obedience. Not just by Jordan back then! Here. In our country. Now.

In the end, John defers to Jesus. One doesn’t expect John to defer to anyone. But, true to his calling as Prophet, he knows, or is at least pretty sure, Who this really is! John has met his match! MT highlights the dilemma baptising Jesus raises. This bothers the early church a bit, too. The Gospel of the Ebionites¹ for instance, pictures John actually kneeling before Jesus, a bit like an extra Magus late on the scene, offering recognition! MT’s account invites us to discern, explore & evaluate our theological stances, rather than accepting them as ‘givens’. Ask instead, ‘Where is God in this? Where am I in this?’ There is also a pastoral question: When do we dig in about some-thing, & when let go & let be, for the sake of God's longer term plan for someone? Even ourself?

Right at the outset of Jesus' ministry MT foreshadows what an enigma He’s going to be, & not only   for John. Is Jesus as Messiah still an enigma to some of us? What of those we deal with who still can’t get their head or their heart round Jesus any more than John canna at this point?

The theophany that follows is right up there with the great theophanies of the Hebrew Bible. An instalment of what will happen on the Mount of Transfiguration, on the Cross, in the Temple. Flat-earth type language will always be inadequate to describe what’s really going on by & in Jordan, on the Holy Mount, on the Cross, in the Resurrection Garden, & beyond. 

Like MK, MT tells us Jesus sees the Spirit coming upon himself after the heavens open. MK uses the term ‘torn open’, as MT does later of the Temple veil. Christian Faith is no spectator sport. It’s a Spirited participation in the things of God! Have we yet found our personal point of entry - even an unusual one - to become a participant? In GN, the Divine Wind hovers over the waters as the Word calls Creation into being. Now, the same Word, but in flesh this time, has the Dove 'land' this time - on the Word. Calling into being a new chapter of God's eternal, ongoing plan for the restoration of a ‘fallen’ people. Dusting off the ‘old, old story’ & telling it on a crucial stage further. Stop, & the story stops with us.

The voice of God acknowledges Jesus as the Beloved Son [PS 2:7], & Servant [IS 42:1, etc.] The connectedness is life-giving for Jesus as He accepts the role of the Anointed One, for the early church, & for us. There’s no ‘either-or’. Not for Jesus. Not for us. As beloved daughters & sons of God, we are also to be servants, suffering ones if necessary. God’s approval is still "I'm delighted!” How are we responding to God's loving enthusiasm for us? His delight in us?’ A relationship with Jesus that lacks enthusiasm is to damn Him with faint praise - or praise him with faint damns. Is there a hymn in that somewhere?

¹  4:7, Complete Gospels, Polebridge, SanFrancisco, '94