Sermon: Cathedral Eucharist Baptism of Christ

Preacher:

Date:

Sunday 12th January 2014

Service:

Cathedral Eucharist

Readings:

Isaiah 42:1-9

Matthew 3:13-17

Listen:

Download Recording (MP3, 17M)

See the former things will come to pass.

And new things I now declare.

 

This season of Epiphany Tide is a time of intense focus on revelation and recognition.

We focus our hearts and minds on who Jesus is: in his baptism he is revealed to us as God's Son. 

As the heavens are opened, God reveals himself as Father.

That revelation is made possible through the power of the anointing Spirit.

That revelation enables a two-way recognition: in recognising Jesus as our Lord, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end of all things, we also recognise who we are. 

God's revelation of himself enables us to glimpse our true identity.

We recognise ourselves as God's children: a new creation, adopted, reborn and beloved.

Matthew identifies Jesus as God with us: now on the bank of the river Jordan, he is on the cusp of his public ministry. 

He is recognised by John.  John had leapt for joy in Elizabeth's womb as she greeted Mary.  He had dedicated his life to attentiveness to God.  He was called to prepare the way; to challenge people to turn to God. 

He embodied what repentance looked like.  His curious dress, lifestyle and diet demonstrated a life lived in holiness; a life lived as gift.

He proclaimed that the kingdom of heaven had come near; that injustice would be overturned.

He proclaimed the need for repentance; the requirement to live lives which made restoration and justice possible.

People responded to his proclamation.  They came to him in the wilderness; in that space they confessed their sins; they were baptised, making space for the kingdom.

John may not have been surprised to see Jesus among the crowds; but he was surprised at the manner of his approach.  In their exchange there is both recognition and revelation.

Why should you need baptism?  says John.

To fulfil all righteousness says Jesus.

John knows him and is humbled.

Jesus comes in humility reveals himself.

Jesus' first words could be seen as a summary of his vocation. His words echo the promises of Isaiah; they speak of renewal and hope.  He is concerned for what is right.  He speaks of God's just and loving purpose.

In baptism, he identifies himself with us; he shows solidarity with our humanity. He stands alongside us in our frailty, longing and need.  He identifies himself as God with us as he embarks on the path of self-giving love. 

Righteousness is costly. Its fulfilment is universal.

Isaiah conveys this vision.  The nations long for just and gentle rule.  It is the servant of God who brings forth justice for the nations.

The manner of his coming is surprising.  He does not raise his voice. He does not break the bruised reed or quench the burning wick.  He works quietly and gently; attending to our vulnerability and hurt, to our feeble efforts and extinguished hope. 

Such gentleness is not weak: he will not grow faint or be crushed.  He will bring forth justice.

In fulfilling righteousness, Jesus embodies in his life and ministry, death and resurrection all that God's servant people were called to be. He is the light to lighten the nations; the glory of his own people.  He brings liberation and deliverance.

The magi recognised the glory made manifest in the Christ-child; now Jesus himself gives voice to his vision and purpose.

 

See the former things have come to pass; and new things I now declare.

Before they spring forth I will tell you of them.

In speaking of the fulfilment of what is right and just, there is continuity with John's vision for challenge and renewal;  just as the Spirit hovered over the face of the earth bringing life out of depths, so now the Spirit descends.  New life will come into the world through Jesus Christ.  But there is a tremendous cost to bringing about this new creation. 

Jesus hears words of deep assurance.

This is my Son, the Beloved with whom I am well pleased.

Words which assure him of his purpose.  Words revealing God as Father.  Words accompanied by the Spirit's power. Words heard by the Son.

To be God's beloved Son is to be the anointed servant king; the suffering Messiah; the one who does not cling to equality with God, but who empties himself. In love. On the cross. For our sake.

There is revelation and recognition.  Assurance and service.

For us, baptised in the name of Father, Son and Spirit, those words also assure us of love.  Those words also call us anew to walk with Christ; to follow him without fear, to follow him in love, in the path of service.

To walk that path calls us to repentance - knowing whose children we are.  The American theologian John Howard Yoder wrote in 'The Politics of Jesus' that to repent is not to feel bad but to think differently.

The language we use about what this means in baptism and in the living out of our lives is vitally important.  Part of what out liturgists are grappling with is how to make that reality intelligible: it should resonate with beauty and challenge. How do we speak not just of a serious moment of commitment and response to God's love and also acknowledge the transforming power of God's grace, God's yes to us?

Perhaps there is something about the wording of rejecting evil in its many forms with all its empty promises that draws us into an understanding of what this life long walk with God entails.  It doesn't identify evil as something abstract or transfer responsibility to a personification of the devil.  Instead it reminds us that evil is something that we ourselves participate in collectively.

Steve McQueen's adaption of Solomon Northup's 12 years a slave conveys brutality and complicity alongside resilience and compassion. The film ends not in sentimentality but Solomon's struggle, with others for justice and abolition of slavery.  It is important not just because we need to know what happened then; but so that we can resist all that dehumanises now.  If you heard an interview with a vicar in Lincoln this morning, you would have heard of the human cost in violence, addiction and oppression of trafficking and slavery today.  That cost born by victim and parish alike.

We we are to follow the one who fulfils what is right.  Doing so gives us a sense of purpose and fellowship. Doing so involves cost. We do so because we have a share in God's initiative in the world.

John's message was urgent and compelling not because he offered a better way to live, but because the kingdom of heaven is near. The imitative is God's.   To quote Stanley Hauerwas:  such a kingdom does not comes through our trying to be better people. Rather, the kingdom comes, making imperative our repentance. He notes that John's call was not for those who repent to change the world; but he calls for repentance because the world is being changed by the one who is to come.

In his baptism, Jesus is revealed as who he is; in ours we recognise who we are called to be.

In coming from Galilee to be baptised by John, Jesus stands alongside us in the frailty of our human nature.  The one announced by John, the one for whom John prepares the way, comes in great humility as the very embodiment of God's justice and righteousness.

His mission will not be easy;  his kingdom comes through his presence; by his life, death and resurrection.

Today we recall the beginning of that journey.  We also recall our own baptism - not as a past event but as participation in the divine life.  We continue to know freedom from sin and the power of forgiveness; we continue to know the joy of living in love rather than fear. 

That means living differently - not in our own strength, but in the power of the Spirit; God's kingdom has come near, we are called to work within it; to make it manifest. . 

The worship and witness of this cathedral church involves us in opportunities to celebrate all that is good in human life; it also offers a space for dialogue and challenge.  Here relationships can be nurtured - as we grow in affection and understanding, patiently engaging with our differences.  Here wisdom is pursued alongside our colleagues in the University and other institutions.

Those gifts can break through in our own lives as encounter by encounter, in each conversation and interaction, we offer encouragement and challenge.

Today Jesus is revealed as God's Son: we are to recognise him as our Lord and know ourselves as beloved children.  As we celebrate this Eucharist, receiving the gifts of God's love to sustain and transform us, may we be kept faithful to our calling as adopted children.  The former things have passed; God is at work in us and in our world declaring new things. Amen.