Everything Has Become New

In the 1950s, my grandfather built a small log cabin on the south shore of Lake Chelan in central Washington. Carved out by an ancient glacier, the lake’s basin is filled with cold, deep blue water. My hometown, Eugene, Oregon, is only a day’s drive from the lake, so every summer my family packed our station wagon and wound our way north-northeast through the Columbia River Gorge, the Yakima Valley, and over the mountain passes of north-central Washington to reach our favorite place. We would stay about two weeks, soaking up the sunshine, enjoying home-cooked meals, taking evening walks, and of course, playing in the water. Since we never had air conditioning, my sister and I lay awake on the hottest midsummer nights, squirming in our sheets until our parents got us up and sent us out to jump in the lake. The relief was complete, and I’ll never forget the satisfaction of toweling off and slipping back into bed cool and refreshed.

If only all our experiences with water were that memorable. We tend to take water for granted, letting it slip away unnoticed down our drains. So, too, with baptismal water. Each day, God rinses away the debris in our lives and creates a new and right spirit within us; each day, we are buried with Christ in baptism and rise again with him to new life. But that cycle of renewal can get lost amid the routine, and we often overlook the ways that God refreshes us for new possibilities.

The story of Jesus’ baptism in today’s Gospel from Matthew sheds light again on the significance of baptism for all of us. Jesus’ childhood and young adulthood are almost entirely absent from the biblical record, so this event at the Jordan River marks his definitive arrival on the scene. The Gospel writer makes a point to indicate that Jesus doesn’t need a baptism of repentance. “I need to be baptized by you,” John says to Jesus, surprised to see him there, “and do you come to me?” Nevertheless, Jesus willingly submits to baptism in order to “fulfill all righteousness.” What does that mean? If it has nothing to do with repentance or forgiveness, then what’s happening here?

Like his birth and death, Jesus’ baptism is a function of the Incarnation. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us, so he is baptized in righteous solidarity with the multitudes to whom and for whom he has come.[1] Jesus is one of us– fully human– so he enters into the same depths that we do. In other words, anywhere we go Christ also goes, even and perhaps especially those places we least expect. So, when the people take the plunge at the River Jordan to make a new start, there is Jesus beside them.

Of course, this particular baptism is extraordinary. As Jesus emerges from the water, there is a true epiphany, a revelation. God tears open the heavens and sends the Spirit like a dove upon him, declaring, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Acknowledged as God’s beloved child and anointed with the Holy Spirit, Jesus receives power to bring healing to those he encounters on his way to the cross, and hope to those who bear witness to his resurrection. The baptism of our Lord is an initiation, a precipitating event in God’s unfolding plan to remake the world. 

Notice that the Spirit’s descent like a dove on Jesus in the Jordan recalls the image of the Spirit hovering over the waters at the dawn of time[2]: “In the beginning… the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept [like a bird] over the face of the waters.”[3] At the river, in other words, God is bringing about a new creation.[4] 

And indeed, everything has become new! Friends, Jesus’ baptism prepares the way for each of ours. Buried with Christ in our own baptism we are also revived with him. So, we watch with anticipation for signs of renewal in our daily lives. In the words of an ancient hymn, “now the Spirit has descended and abides upon all that are born of the water… and as each one after another comes up from the water, they are loved and abide in God.”[5] It follows that we also become signs of new life for others. Acknowledged as God’s beloved children and anointed with the Holy Spirit, we receive power to do justice and love mercy in Christ’s name.

So, today we encourage anyone who is not baptized to consider the possibility of baptism into the body of Christ, the communion of saints. We wait expectantly with those now preparing for baptism, and especially Cynthia, as she and her family anticipate that plunge into the cool, refreshing waters of new life. And finally, we who are baptized remember our own baptism, the moment that each of us was sealed by the Holy Spirit, marked with the cross of Christ forever, and entrusted with the work of bearing God’s creative and redeeming word to all the world.

[1] Troy A. Miller, in Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol. 1, 239.

[2] W.D. Davies and Dale C. Allison, Matthew: A Shorter Commentary, 47.

[3] Genesis 1:2.

[4] Davies and Allison.

[5] Ephrem the Syrian, as cited by Dale C. Allison, members.newproclamation.com/commentary.php?d8m=1&d8d=12&d8y=2014&atom_id=19683.