Isaiah 42:1-9 and Matthew 3:13-17
9 January, 2004
The Baptism of the Lord, Year A
The Rev. Todd R. Goddard, pastor
The Zion West Walworth United Methodist Church
Isaiah 42:1-9
1 Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
3 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not grow faint or be crushed
until he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
5 Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
6 I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness,
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
a light to the nations,
7 to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
8 I am the LORD, that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to idols.
9 See, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth,
I tell you of them.
Matthew 3:13-17
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by
him. 14John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be
baptized by you, and do you come to me?" 15But Jesus answered him,
"Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill
all righteousness." Then he consented. 16And when Jesus had been
baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were
opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and
alighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son,
the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."
Prayer.
It's not like anything we've seen around here.
The creeks (pronounced Cr-EE-Ks) around here are mostly flat land
waterways. They all flow northward into Lake Ontario. There isn't a lot
of pitch to them, so most are small and meandering. Because they are so
small, farmers or people from the conservation office often divert them
by ditching straight and efficient slues. Those that are left to sit
often result in the swamps or beaver ponds that so frequently dot our
countryside. Those that dry up leave behind muck land. Those that remain
swampy often contain quicksand.
It's not like anything we've seen around here.
Growing up, I lived mostly in the southern tier of New York State –
Jamestown, Sinclairville, Little Valley, Elmira, Addison, and Chemung.
The creeks (pronounced Cr-icks) are slate bottomed waterways located at
the bottom of gullies and hollows. They cascaded water, fast running
water when it was rainy, because their slope was so steep. Swimming
holes at the bottom of falls, or at deep bends, are common. They all fed
the local river, which worked it's way through most of the larger
valleys – rivers like the the Chadakoin, Tuscarora, Chemung, and
Susquehanna. Creeks held wonders like crayfish and rattlesnakes. During
long, hot summers, they often dried up completely.
It's not like anything we've seen around here.
At it's headwater, 30 miles north of the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan
River gushes forth from the gapping mountainous cave, pouring pure, cold
filtered water directly from the snow capped Mt. Hermon. Having few
feeder creeks, what comes from the mountain stream is all that there is
making up the Jordan. It runs fast, cold, and straight south along the
fault line until it dumps into the Sea of Galilee, a temporary natural
reservoir, 8 miles wide by 14 miles long. The river continues its
journey south, winding its way through the fertile Jordan River valley.
The further south it goes, the more dry and arid it becomes, until just
south of Jericho, where John baptized the sinless Jesus, what hasn't
evaporated or been drawn off for irrigation, the river trickles into the
salt brine of the Dead Sea. Every drop of water left in the Dead Sea
only leaves it through evaporation.
It's not like anything we've seen around here.
It is a good spiritual discipline to look for signs and symbols of
God at work in the world, to see the Divine fingerprint left behind at
the scene of God's intervention. When I recall my own history with the
Jordan River, 10 glorious days in February of 1987, I see the river as a
metaphor for the life of Jesus. His birth and baptism are like the
headwaters, fresh and pure. There is new life, nourishment, excitement,
and promise in the gushing mountain stream. "Let it be so,"
reflects the pure and selfless determination to fulfill the Divine plan.
It is given as a new covenant to God's people, the prophet Isaiah wrote.
The new covenantal waters flow with a Father's pride, "This is my
Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."
The waters gather at the same sea that was the heart of Jesus'
ministry. On the heights overlooking it's expanse, Jesus delivered his
first sermon. On it's shore, Jesus called his first disciples. On it's
waters, Jesus stilled the storm. Jesus multiplied it's fishes and cooked
breakfast on the shore line. The Sea of Galilee can be seen as three
years of mission and ministry, reaching out to the lost, the least, the
lowest. On it's waters Jesus challenged the earthly powers of this
world, the Jewish authorities and Rome, at times clashing like a
pounding storm, blowing in from the Mediterranean, crowding against the
mountains, and spilling over onto the Sea.
The waters make their way south, as Jesus made his final journey
south to Jerusalem. As the valley dries out, the air thins on the Temple
Mount, making it nearly impossible to breath, especially when the
Sanhedrin gathers. At the Dead Sea, one can imagine Golgotha, the hill
of crucifixion, thickened blood, like brine, flowing in agony and death.
Three days he lay in the tomb, in the sea we've named "Dead."
When the women came to prepare his body, he was not there. Jesus has
been resurrected, risen like the evaporating waters of the Dead Sea. He
is risen and his Spirit is lifted up into the suspended waters of the
earth, raining down new life – indeed, eternal life – everywhere the
rain may fall. If you've ever walked in the rain, in the light first
sprinkle, or caught in a torrential summertime downpour, you've been
given a foretaste of the Kingdom of God.
It's not like anything we've seen around here.
Ah, but this is about to change. Close your eyes for a moment, and
use your mind's eye, use your imagination with me to think of yourself
as living a life of a river. Think of yourself being the Jordan
River. On this the day we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus, think of
yourself being in his baptismal waters. Remember your own baptism, and
consider how Jesus was present with you. As the baptismal waters were
poured upon your head, our loving Father whispered "You are my
beloved son. You are my beloved daughter."
As we live life in God's grace, flowing down the Jordan Valley, we
raise our children, live our jobs and careers. We consider how faith
deepens as Jesus made his way south to Jerusalem. In our twilight years,
hairlines recede and what's left turns silver. We wrinkle and sag. The
little water that is left is swallowed into the Dead Sea. Our bodies
wear out, and we cast them off, as Christ did at his crucifixion, only
to be changed from glory into glory. Only to be lifted up into the
heavenly mist, eternal life with the Father.
As you reflect upon your life, consider how God has placed you in
this river. Where and how you've ebbed and flowed? Where you have
brought life, and where you've wandered and allowed to grow barren? When
and how have your waters mixed with Christ's? When have you allowed
yourself to be separated from him like oil and water?
"I am the LORD," the prophet Isaiah recorded. "I have
called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to
open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the
dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness."
"I am the Lord," the psalmist reminds us. "I have made
streams come out of the rock, and caused waters to flow down like
rivers." (Psalm 78:16)
As the waters parted, "just as he came up from the water,
suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and alighting on him." (Matthew 3:16)
Let the waters wash over you. Let the waters carry you with Christ to
a new and glorious day.
The Word of the Lord, as it has come to me. Thanks be to God. Amen.