SUNDAY, January 13th 1 Epiphany: The Baptism of Our LordToday's readingsfor the Baptism of the Lord are very rich in meaning. All thereadings mention water, which is symbolic of new life and the HolySpirit.
In the firstreading, from Isaiah 43, God announces God's liberation andrestoration of the people Israel. God will bring them back from wherethey have been dispersed. God also promises to be with them throughany trial, telling them if they walk through rivers, they will not beoverwhelmed; if they walk through fire, they will not be burned. Inthe same way, God promises to be with us in our trials. God does notpromise we will be spared trials, but that does promise to see usthrough them.
In Psalm 29,God is depicted as being “over the waters.” This can representmany things. God is Lord over all creation. The waters in the HebrewBible can also represent many peoples, God is Lord over many peoples.The Psalm also represents God as being Lord over all creation. Wewill touch on this significance again in a moment when we considerthe Gospel reading.
In the secondreading, from the book of Acts, the Apostles Peter and John come toSamaria to lay hands on people who have already been baptized toreceive the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament, baptism and receptionof the Holy Spirit are closely linked. The water of baptismrepresents the new birth, new life, and the Holy Spirit; theassociation of water and the Spirit is made elsewhere in the NewTestament (e.g., John 3.5; Acts 2.38). Paul writes it alsorepresents burial with Christ (Romans 6.3). Peter tells thecrowd on the day of Pentecost to “baptized, and ye shall receivedthe gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2.38).” But here in Acts 8, theApostles lay their hands on the newly baptized to receive the gift ofthe Holy Ghost. The Church has seen in this the basis for theSacrament of Confirmation. In the Eastern Church, confirmation isadministered at the same time as baptism, and is called chrismation.
In the last 100years, the Pentecostal and Charismatic renewal movements haveemphasized being “baptized in the Holy Ghost.” With the Baptismof the Holy Spirit, people have received spiritual gifts, such asspeaking in tongues, prophecy, and gifts of healing. Although somemay dismiss the movement, (and there have been excesses in themovement, as there often are in history when God does something new)there is no denying that the New Testament promises a baptism in theHoly Spirit.
In today's Gospelfrom Luke chapter 3, John the Baptist says that Jesus will “baptizeyou with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Fire can also symbolize theactivity of the Holy Spirit, as a purifying and cleansing force. Firecan also represent trials, we are baptized by the Holy Spirit, and bythe trials we face in life (1 Peter 4.12). But God is with usthrough them all, as God promises the people of Israel in Isaiah43.
It is significantthat the Baptizer, Jesus, is also baptized in the river Jordan. Heidentifies with sinners who come to be baptized by John in theriver Jordan. In this way, Jesus identifies with all of us sinners.When Jesus is baptized, God the Father's voice from heaven says, “Youare My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” While Christidentifies with us in His baptism, we identify with Him in ourbaptism; like Jesus, we hear God the Father say to us, “You areMy beloved Son/daughter; in You I am well pleased.” Jesusshares in our humanity that we may share in His Divinity (2 Peter1.4), and baptism is the beginning our theosis, ourdivinization, in which we are conformed to the image of Christ asGod's own sons and daughters.
This is a freegift of God, God makes us sons and daughters by grace. That is whythe Episcopal Church baptizes children, because the Holy Spirit andsalvation are gifts one does not earn. Jesus says “suffer thelittle children to come to me.” What can be more a sign ofgrace, than having the Holy Spirit operate in the soul of a child?Shouldn't we welcome each new child into our family and communitywith the word: “You are My beloved Son/daughter; in You I amwell pleased?”
In the Baptism of the Lord, the Holy Trinity is revealed; the voicefrom heaven is God the Father; the Spirit descending like a dove isthe Holy Spirit; and of course, Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.In the same way, our renewal in Holy Baptism is the work of the HolyTrinity. In the Eastern Church, the Baptism of the Lord is called theTheophany, and is celebrated January 6th, whereasthat same day, the Western Church celebrates the Epiphany, the visitof the Magi to the Christ Child. Both events reveal the Divinity ofChrist.
One more deepmeaning to consider with Christ's baptism. We noted earlier in Psalm29 that the Lord is enthroned over the creation, symbolized bybeing enthroned over the flood and the waters. The Eastern Orthodoxtradition holds that when Christ was baptized, the world wasre-created over again. St. Ignatius of Antioch, writing in the firstdecade of the 2nd Century writes that in His baptism,Christ “sanctified water.” “Baptism doth also now save us”as Peter says (1 Peter 3.21) because Christ was baptized inwater. It is not the activity of being immersed or sprinkled in waterthat saves us, but identification and union with Christ in baptism.Just as Christ re-created the world in His baptized, we arere-created in Baptism, we are “a new creature” in Christ (2Corinthians 5.17).
In the Baptism ofour Lord, we are reminded that we are new Creatures in Christ, whocome to share in His Divinity. We are children of God, to whom Godsays, You are My beloved Son/daughter; in You I am well pleased.
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First Reading But now, thus says the Lord, whocreated you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not,for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You areMine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; Andthrough the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walkthrough the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorchyou. For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place. Sinceyou were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I haveloved you; Therefore I will give men for you, And people for yourlife. Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants fromthe east, And gather you from the west; I will say to the north,‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth—Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory;I have formed him, yes, I have made him.”
- Isaiah 43.1-7
Psalm Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones,Give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glorydue to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Thevoice of the Lord is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; TheLord is over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; The voice of the Lord is full ofmajesty. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars, Yes, the Lordsplinters the cedars of Lebanon. He makes them also skip like a calf,Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lorddivides the flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shakes thewilderness; The Lord shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh. The voice ofthe Lord makes the deer give birth, And strips the forests bare; Andin His temple everyone says, “Glory!” The Lord sat enthroned atthe Flood, And the Lord sits as King forever. The Lord will givestrength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace.
- Psalm 29
Second Reading Now when the apostles who were atJerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sentPeter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed forthem that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He hadfallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name ofthe Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received theHoly Spirit.
- Acts 8.14-17
Gospel Reading Now as the people were in expectation,and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was theChrist or not, John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize youwith water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap Iam not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit andfire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly cleanout His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but thechaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”...When all the peoplewere baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; andwhile He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spiritdescended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came fromheaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am wellpleased.”
- Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
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