The Baptism of Jesus – January 11, 2014

Last updated on: January 6, 2015 at 2:59 pm by Bruce Epperly

The Baptism of Jesus – January 11, 2014 2015-01-06T14:59:02-05:00 Bruce Epperly

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The Baptism of Jesus – January 11, 2015
Genesis 1:1-5

Psalm 29
Acts 19:1-7
Mark 1:4-11

Today, we celebrate the waters of grace and healing. We rejoice in the waters of the womb of creation, incarnate in our mothers and in Mother Earth. As Masaru Emoto has theorized, water is the blueprint of reality, far from inert but sharing in the vibrations of divine wisdom. Water refreshes, heals, and transforms. It reflects our prayers and emotions, and can be energized by spiritual practices.

In the reading from Mark’s Gospel, Jesus goes to John the Baptist to be baptized. It is my belief that John the Baptist and Jesus were spiritual friends, who embodied the intimacy of their respective mothers’ (Elizabeth and Mary) relationship. Recall that Mary visited Elizabeth immediately after the visitation from Gabriel and the revelation that she would give birth to God’s messenger to humankind. Elizabeth perceived her unborn son John leaping for joy.

Years later, John responded to God’s call to be way maker for God’s messenger. He preached a message of repentance and transformation, calling people to change direction in preparation for the coming of God’s new age.

Was John surprised to see Jesus? Or, was the descent of the dove astounding to the wilderness preacher? Mark asserts that God’s spirit descends on Jesus, infusing him with power and insight for the journey ahead. Perhaps John’s baptism of Jesus created a “thin place” enabling God to be more active in Jesus’ life. God’s presence in the universe is not homogenous and uniform but contextual and intimate. The shape and intensity of God’s presence and ability to work in our lives is dependent, to some extent, on our openness to God, our spiritual practices, and communities of faith that infuse us with loving energy.

Historically baptism has been described as a sacrament, a visible sign of God’s grace, making sacred or holy the transitions of our lives. In a world in which God’s Spirit is global, sacraments are not supernatural interruptions of causal relationships, nor are they necessary for salvation (or to liberate us from hell), they make sacred the ordinary, domestic, and everyday events of our lives. Remembering our baptisms, even if we were infants, provides a portal through which, in the spirit of Emoto, divine vibrations can energize and transform our lives.

Baptism is an act of inclusion. While baptism can occur as a result of a mature decision, baptism can also occur solely as an act of hospitality. Regardless of age, baptism is an act of grace. We don’t earn it; we put ourselves in the position to receive it. Our baptism confirms the global, unmerited grace and revelation of God, which applies to the baptized and unbaptized.

The first words of Genesis describe poetically the world-creating movements of divine wisdom. God’s light brings the heavens and earth, and invests the waters of the earth with fecundity. God creates within the womb of chaos to bring forth the order necessary for creativity and evolution. The Genesis story is not science; still, the story begs the questions, “Was there a first moment of creation? Or, has God always worked with materials, pregnant with possibility despite their formlessness?”

Psalm 29 describes God’s creative voice. Divine vibrations bring forth the universe, part and whole. God’s sovereignty is generous and creative. God’s power is characterized by beauty-making. The divine artist creates by wise and imaginative artistry, bringing forth a universe, bursting forth with diversity. God sings and speaks life into being, inviting us to discern our own particular life-melody.

Acts 19 describes the interplay of water and spirit. Baptism creates an avenue for God’s ubiquitous Spirit to break into our lives in remarkable ways. Spirit belongs in our world, but our sin prevents us from experiencing her power and guidance. God’s Spirit, speaking in us and interceding for us in sighs too deep for words, can burst forth in glossolalia, or speaking in tongues, that connects us with divine wisdom and confirms our confidence in God’s providence in our lives.

Today, let us rejoice in the life-giving waters of God, quenching our thirst, refreshing our spirits, and cleansing us of all sin.

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