The Way of With: SALT's Commentary on Jesus' Baptism

Jesus’ Baptism (Year A): Matthew 3:13-17

Big Picture:

1) This week celebrates the baptism of Jesus — one of three traditional focal points for Epiphany through which Jesus’ identity “shows forth” (the other two being the visit of the Magi and Jesus turning water into wine during the Wedding at Cana.).

2) The theme of the “beloved child” echoes through the ages in Scripture: speaking to Abraham, for example, God refers to Isaac as “your only son, whom you love;” likewise, in the Psalter God calls the anointed one, “my son,” and in this week’s reading from Isaiah, God calls the divine servant “my chosen, in whom my soul delights” (Gen 2:22; Psalm 2:7; Isa 42:1). Matthew draws on this ancient language in his story of Jesus’ baptism.

3) What is baptism anyway? Where did it come from? As we saw a few weeks ago during Advent, John appears in the wilderness preaching a gospel of repentance (Matthew 3:2) — and the Greek word for “repentance” here is metanoia (from meta, “change,” and noia, “mind”). Today we would say, “change of heart” or “change of life,” a thoroughgoing shift and reorientation. Accordingly, as a visible sign for this change, John uses baptism, an immersion-in-water rite in those days typically reserved for Gentile converts to Judaism, signifying the all-encompassing, fresh-start character of conversion. But John called on the children of Abraham, too, to undergo baptism. It’s as if he’s saying, It’s not just the Gentiles who require conversion — we all do, for a new day, a new era is at hand! Change your minds and hearts and lives! Come and be baptized for the sake of forgiveness of sins — for God is coming near!

Scripture:

1) In the story of Jesus’ baptism, it should never cease to surprise us that Jesus is baptized at all. Mark explicitly frames the rite as “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4), and likewise, Matthew reports it was accompanied by a confession of sins (Matthew 3:5-6) — and yet Jesus, the one whom God is about to call “Beloved,” gets in line with the rest of us. It’s an expression of the astonishing humility and solidarity of the Incarnation: in Jesus, God is with us, even to the point of joining us in a rite of repentance, confession, and renewal. Following a teacher like this would mean setting out with him on that path of humility and solidarity, truthfulness and grace, the way of love with which God is “well pleased.” The way of companionship. The way of accompaniment. In a word, the way of “with”: God with us, and us with God and neighbor.

2) This perspective also helps fill out why John the Baptizer isn’t just reluctant, but also downright perplexed and disoriented when Jesus approaches him to be baptized. He protests, Wait a minute, shouldn’t this be the other way around?  But that’s just it: Jesus has come to turn conventional religious ideas on their head. The one with whom God is “well pleased” doesn’t so much come “from on high” as “from below” or “from alongside,” standing with us in solidarity — so that in the end, our baptism isn’t only by Jesus, it’s also with Jesus and in Jesus.

3) And in turn, this standing-with-us in humility, solidarity, and love fills out what Jesus means by “proper” and “all righteousness” in his response to John (Matthew 3:15). The Way of Jesus is a way of coming alongside our neighbors for the sake of our common life together. Genuine “righteousness” means setting aside “self-righteousness” once and for all!

Takeaways:

1) This is a perfect week to revisit the meaning of baptism, and for the baptized to remember their baptisms and their relation to Jesus’ baptism. Because we are part of the Body of Christ, it’s not just Jesus to whom God says, “You are my beloved child, with you I am well pleased” — these words are also addressed to us. And on the basis of that good news, God calls us to change our minds, our hearts, and our lives.

2) A powerful practice in worship is to invite people up to the front (during an anthem, perhaps, or in connection with Communion) to “remember their baptism” by receiving a blessing, a small sign of the cross in water on the forehead, along with words borrowed from Isaiah and Matthew: “God says to you, ‘You are my child, the beloved, in whom my soul delights; with you I am well pleased’” (Isa 42:1; Matthew 3:17).

3) While it’s certainly true that the story of Jesus’ baptism recounts how Jesus is singled out as God’s Beloved, at the same time the story exemplifies the way of life to which the Beloved calls anyone who would seek to follow. Not a life of presumption or arrogance, but rather of humility, solidarity, and companionship. God walks — and washes — with sinners! And so God calls us to follow a path of unassuming generosity, never looking down on anyone, and always gladly embracing the Spirit’s sanctifying, empowering renewal. For each one of us — and everyone we meet — is a beloved child of God, and Jesus’ radiant “showing forth” is ultimately meant to help us with our own epiphanies, precisely so our little lights might shine: living with, not against, one another in love (Matthew 5:16).