On the communion table this morning, there is a kind of arrangement of candles, water, and greenery. I was trying to find a way to bring together the light of creation, light of Epiphany, light of Jesus. Christmas lights and Christmas candles are a kind of theological statement of light being born into the world, and a direct connection to the story of creation. The light of Epiphany is connected to a star, but also connected to understanding, insight, and new creation. Water is also a sign of creation, and a sign of new insight, new beginnings, new life patterned after the way of Jesus.
And so the symbols for Epiphany, particularly this Sunday in the Epiphany season, are the liturgical colours white - for light - and green - for creation. And candles symbolise creation, light, life, the Holy Spirit. So does the water.
Ralph Milton, in his weekly comments in the newletter Rumors, says: “Light is far more than simply something to see by. The light of the sun is converted to energy that is stored in plant life and from there in animal life. In fact, life would be impossible without the sun........So the metaphor works.” God provides the light in our world by which we live physically, and God provides light in Jesus, through which we draw our spiritual life.
Baptism and the use of water for purification, or “mikvah” has its roots in Jewish rituals. In the Jewish texts, immersion in water for ritual purification was established for restoration to a condition of "ritual purity" in specific circumstances. I have mentioned purity laws and rituals in other sermons. For example, Jews who (according to the Law of Moses) became ritually defiled by contact with a corpse had to use the “mikvah” before being allowed to participate in the Holy Temple. Immersion is required for those who wish to convert to Judaism. Immersion in the mikvah represents a change in status in regards to purification, restoration, and qualification for full religious participation in the life of the community.
So Jesus came to be baptised by John, a man who preached repentance in the face of God's imminent judgement. John had a large following during the time of Jesus, with many people seeking John's baptismal purification in the River Jordan. Many of the earliest followers of Jesus were other people who were baptized by John. Scholars broadly agree that the baptism of Jesus is one of the most historically likely events in the life of the historical Jesus. Jesus and his earliest disciples accepted the validity of John's baptism.
Some of the questions raised are “Why would Jesus, who was supposed to be sinless, come for baptism of repentance?” “What was it that happened to Jesus during that moment?”
Some scholars feel that Jesus simply came to be baptised and become one of the followers of John - that in fact he had no idea of going into ministry. His actions certainly raised the issue of his potential submission to John, and we know from early writings that many people thought John *was* the Messiah, and Jesus the false prophet. In Mark, the baptism by John is the setting for the theophany, the revelation of Jesus' divine identity as the Son of God. Matthew shows John objecting to baptizing Jesus, an obvious superior, and only agreeing when overruled by Jesus (Matt 3:14-15) but omits Mark's reference to baptism for the forgiveness of sins. Luke emphasizes the subservience of John to Jesus while both are still in the womb (Luke 1:32-45) and omits the role of John in the baptism of Jesus (Luke 3:18-21). The Gospel of John omits the baptism altogether.
Although we have tended to think of the baptism as Jesus marking the beginning of his ministry - I think it was even more mundane than that. I seriously wonder if Jesus even had that in his mind, or if, in fact he did come as a follower of his cousin John. Clearly Jesus was a spiritual person, a mystic even - and for him the symbolism of shedding his old life and taking on something new, of being purified as he entered this community, probably drew him to John. Maybe he was strongly affected by John’s message about the coming of the realm.
And so he enters the water, and in the process of baptism, coming up out of the water - he has an experience which shakes him to the core - the Holy Spirit is on HIM, and he realises he has been chosen for something. I wonder if that’s why he went off to the desert for 40 days. He had to decide if he really wanted to do this thing or not. Ralph Milton says “Mostly, though, I wonder if Jesus knew what he was in for, when the Spirit of God descended onto him. Was everything revealed to him in a great flash of understanding? Or did he figure it out as he went along?” Well, my feeling is that just like rest of us, revelation happened as he went along. A flash of insight, a feeling of understanding, a recognition of something to come - and then the feeling and the vision is gone.
But I want to come back to the creation story - because I really think that *is* what this is about. Genesis tells us the Spirit moved on the face of the water; the Book of Proverbs tells us that the Spirit, the feminine “ruach”, was present with God at creation, and delighted in all the things God made. The Spirit has been portrayed as a dove.
Mark tells us that Jesus went down into the waters, and as he arose, the Spirit of God - a dove - came down on him. And in that moment, Jesus has an epiphany experience - a deeply spiritual experience in which the universe is opened to him. It is totally unexpected.
It is also a parallel to the creation story - God has done something new and wonderful. God calls us to see its beauty, listen to its sound, acknowledge and follow. In Jesus, in the epiphany moments, in the coming of light and the creation by water and Word - we are baptised into something new. In this new baptism, while water is a sign, we are also baptised by the Spirit - and that is where the true baptism lies. It is the coming of light, insight, commitment to a life in the community of faith, life in a new creation, by the waters of creation and the power of the Spirit. May it be so.
Sources:
1. Ralph Milton, e-newsletter Rumors, January 4, 2009.
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptism
3. Proverbs 8:29-31
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