Two Baptisms

1 Epiphany    Church of the Redeemer    The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling    Matthew 3:13-17

The great preacher named Barbara Brown Taylor once wrote, “The Christian Church has never been comfortable with the baptism of Jesus. Compare the accounts in each of the four gospels and you cannot miss the unease of the authors,” she said. So I did some comparisons.

Barbara Brown Taylor has a way of helping us to visualize the scene. She writes, “Matthew elaborates on Mark’s story by adding that John tried to talk Jesus out of being baptized, and Luke will not even say it was John who did it. The fourth gospel is the most ticklish of all. In it John bears witness that he saw the Spirit descend like a dove upon Jesus, but he does not mention anything about a baptism at all. Scholars say that this embarrassment by the story writers is our surest proof that Jesus really was baptized by John.”

There are smaller differences in the gospel stories as well. Things that are seen and heard come from various perspectives. For example, both Mark and Luke say that the voice from heaven said, “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.” Matthew, on the other hand, writes that the voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” In the first case, the voice is speaking directly to Jesus. In the second case, the voice is speaking to the crowd.

Taylor then turns the spotlight on Jesus, arguing that quote “if Jesus had listened to his public relations people, his handlers would never, ever have allowed him to be baptized. He could have stood on shore and offered words of encouragement to those going into the water. He could have held out his hand to those who struggled out of the river in their heavy wet clothes; but he could not under any circumstances have gone into the water himself, unless it was to tap John on the shoulder and say, ‘Hey, you go rest. I’ll take over for a while.’” I’ve got this. 

In a comparison of the synoptic gospels, that is Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Matthew is the only one who addresses the question of why Jesus needed to be baptized. After all, if John is baptizing people as a cleansing ritual, as a way to forgive a person’s sins, and if Jesus, presumably is the Son of God who was without sin, then why did he need to be baptized?

 Matthew suggests that John knows the true identity of Jesus, which is why he questions Jesus’ request for his baptism. “I need to be baptized by you, Jesus, not the other way around,” John protests. And so, Jesus explains to John, and presumably to us, why it should happen. It’s a matter of “letting it be for now” without your full understanding. It’s a matter of doing the right thing, and a matter of righteousness. It’s part of fulfilling God’s plan.

In Anglican moral theology, a sin is a sin is a sin. And we are all sinners, full stop. Some of us are more egregious sinners than others. Some of us even get caught. But all of us, I would argue, have public relations efforts that help us to put our best feet forward. We have handlers to handle our messes. We keep sinning; but deep down, none of us have any illusions of our pure innocence. And if we do, that’s a problem and a sin, in and of itself.

As Barbara Brown Taylor describes it, the River Jordan was “teeming with sinners - faulty, sorry, guilty human beings - who hoped against hope that John could clean them up and turn their lives around. Some were notorious sinners, and some were there for crimes of the heart known only to themselves.” And so, like those who gathered at the River Jordan on that day, we seek John’s type of baptism even now. We confess to God and to others that we have made a mess in some parts of our lives; and that we want to feel clean and forgiven once again.

There is a difference between John’s baptism and our baptism into the life of Christ, however. John’s baptism was a repeatable event; whereas in the tradition of the Episcopal Church, indeed even in our New Testament stories, baptism into the life of Christ is a one-time sacrament. It’s a one and done kind of affair. It can happen anytime throughout our lives, at any age, but only once in our lifetime.

In a story told by the Rev. Hill Riddle, “a young couple came up to him and said, ‘You baptized our child last year.’ ‘Yes, I remember,’ he replied. ‘Well,’ they said, ‘we would like you to do it again. We don’t think it took. His behavior is awful.’” The Rev. Riddle went on to say that “people have been misunderstanding baptism for a long time. In fact, Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity in 312 A.D. but he waited to be baptized on his deathbed in case he should sin again. He thought the forgiveness of God was good for one time only."

I was in my 30’s when I decided that I wanted to explore my Christian faith head on, having been baptized as an infant, and having chosen not to be confirmed as a teenager. To say that I had a great deal of challenging issues going on in my life and in my family at that time is an understatement. I felt guilty and confused and at times even hopeless. I knew about sin but I didn’t know about grace.

I had started attending Bible study and a Eucharist during the week which I found helpful. It was more personal and intimate than the hustle and bustle of Sunday mornings, when getting to church on time with two toddlers was a never-ending challenge that only grew with their ages. The voices within me and all around me only stoked my fear of living and dying, and they could not be hushed.

I will never forget our study of St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, and his words, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in the newness of life.”

And there it was for me. A three-fold promise of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I began to see death only as a blip on my eternal screen, that I could share in the Resurrection through Christ, and that I could also walk in the newness of life every day. Yes, as Rev. Riddle reminds us, “God always forgives. But getting in touch with this truth makes us want to improve our lives.” Through the Spirit and surrounded by a faithful community, I know I can do better.

“People who are baptized are to live a different life. They tell the truth in a world that lies, give in a world that takes, love in a world that lusts, make peace in a world that fights, serve in a world that wants to be served, and pray in a world that waits to be entertained.” wrote Brett Younger        (www.d365.org, January 9, 2016)

I also began to see baptism as a holy mystery, a sacrament like the Eucharist, in which it is an outward and visible sign of the inward and spiritual grace given to us by Christ. I began to see eternal life as both/and events: us being forgiven right now and also not yet. I began to see baptism and death not only as cleansing rituals but also as birthing events, matters of the heart and not of the mind.

Why be baptized? Because, as Jesus explained to John, it’s a matter of “letting it be for now” without our full understanding. It’s a matter of being part of a Church community, and a matter of righteousness. It’s part of fulfilling God’s plan; for Jesus is the only One without sin, and the truly innocent Son of God, who took upon himself not only the sins of me and you but also the sins of the whole world. No wonder God was pleased with His Son!

Knowing that baptism into Christ is a sign of our belovedness as children of God has brought me comfort in my despair, strength in my weakness, light in my darkness, hope that springs eternal. It has brought me into communities of faithful people like you who have gathered at the river, or at the baptismal font for multiple generations. It has helped me to hear the voice of God speaking to the crowd. To you. And to me. This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. Believe in me; believe also in Him. And receive the gift of my Holy Spirit.

Today I know grace as well as sin; for the grace of God descended not only upon Him but also upon us. We are the crowd; and we can receive God’s forgiveness and grace each and every day of our lives and even beyond that: full stop. Thanks be to Jesus.