The First Sunday After Epiphany - Year C
January 10, 2010
The Reverend Robert W. Cowperthwaite
Talk about fast-forwarding! Last week we were still celebrating the birth of Jesus, today we have him being baptized, as an adult, probably 30 years old. All we know about the intervening years is that he lived with his family in the little village of Nazareth, and that when he was about 12, on his family’s annual Passover trip to Jerusalem, they “lost” him for a couple of days, and found him back at the Temple. [Luke 2:39-52]
Nazareth is now a large city. There is a very modern (built in 1959-60) Basilica of the Annunciation, where we had some quiet time in early November on sabbatical. It is on the grounds of a Franciscan Monastery. I wandered to the other end of the complex and found a chapel dedicated to St. Joseph. There was a service going on, but from the door I could see the mural of the Holy Family behind the Altar. In it, Jesus is pictured as a child – perhaps 10 or 12 years old. I realized that almost all the depictions of Jesus are of him as an infant, or as a thirty-something year-old man.
Jesus’ Baptism by John marks the beginning of his so-called “ministry.” Of his life up to that point we know very little. On my first visit to Israel and the Holy-land in 2000, I was on a whirl-wind type tour with a group of clergy, mostly non-denominational pastors. We were taken to two sites commemorating Jesus’ Baptism. The first was at the southern end of the Sea of Galilee, where it empties back into the Jordan river. This is the site the Israeli government “provided.” It is your basic tourist-trap, complete with gift shop, rental robes and changing rooms for those wishing to go down to one of several concrete mini-coliseums which stretch into the river. Some famous tele-evangelist was down there baptizing excited a large part of our group.
The other site, Bethany-beyond-Jordan is further south, only about 5 miles from the Dead Sea, almost due east of Jerusalem. This is much more likely the wilderness place where John lived, preached, and baptized. Our itinerary last fall did not include either site. Our course director saw no reason to go to the first site, and the Israeli travel restrictions prevented us from going to the second. We did find a spot on Jordan River near where it empties into the North side of the Sea of Galilee, where we got a feel for how small the river is, how the reeds go right down the banks to the river. There on a little unused bridge, we had our own service renewing our baptismal vows.
The account of Jesus’ Baptism is in all four Gospels. Matthew, Mark and Luke’s versions imply that Jesus alone saw the heavens open, and the dove-like Spirit descending on him. John claims, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.” [Jn. 1:32]
In the collect for today we prayed, “Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior.” Most of us were probably baptized as infants, so the “covenant” was made in our names by our parents and God-parents (or “sponsors). That is why we have the rite of Confirmation so that we can make a so-called “adult” profession of faith. The details of any agreement, covenant or contract can get hazy over time. That is one reason we don’t do “private” baptisms. As part of the baptismal rite, those who are already baptized are invited to renew our own baptismal covenant. Pay close attention to [Take a moment to read] pp. 304-5. Just as Jesus’ baptism marked the beginning of his ministry, so too did our own baptism. Each of us has been given different means and opportunities to minister, but all of us are called to exercise our ministry in the bounds of the Baptismal Covenant.
Today, as we begin a new year, a new decade, and as we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ, may we find ourselves refreshed and renewed in the ministry we share here as St. Paul’s, and in our particular ministries as well.
