The Sánchez Archives BAPTISM OF THE LORD

By
Patricia Datchuck Sánchez

Anointed and Grasped by the Hand

ISAIAH 42:1-4, 6-7
ACTS 10:34-38
MATTHEW 3:13-17

Each year, the church offers the assembly of believers an occasion for remembering and celebrating the baptism of Jesus; this annual occasion also affords each member of the community the opportunity for remembering and celebrating their own baptisms in Jesus’ name. In the process of rethinking the importance and significance of this sacrament, it may prove beneficial to consider two things that baptism is not.

First and foremost, baptism is not a final goal, but the beginning of a lifelong process of becoming one, with Christ, in Christ, and for Christ. By way of illustration, I am reminded of the familiar anecdote concerning three rural pastors who met weekly for companionship and conversation. All were experiencing problems with raccoons nesting in the attics and basements of their churches. One pastor said that he had patched the roof and sealed all possible points of entry but the rodents soon gnawed their way in and were as troublesome as ever. Another had hired an exterminator but within a few weeks the raccoons returned. The third pastor triumphantly announced that he had found a solution. “I just baptized them all”, he said, “and I have not seen them since!” While this story may prompt a chuckle, it also packs a challenge in that it reminds us that baptism is a sacrament of initiation which plots the course and sets the tenor for what must follow; viz., a life lived, in consonance with, and as a consequence of that initial dedication.

Besides not being a final goal, baptism cannot be an empty ritual. One of the most powerful illustrations in this regard was put before the public consciousness by a rather surprising source -- Hollywood! In its portrayal of the baptism of one of the Corleone children, the director of The Godfather interjected into the ritual a series of scenes depicting the murder, violence and mayhem which members of that crime syndicate inflicted on society. As the baptism proceeded, it became clear that each profession of faith was hollow and each renunciation of evil was a lie. In effect, the family’s participation in the baptism of the child was a mere sham rather than a defining moment intended to give direction and meaning to the faith-life of the child for which they were responsible.

Having established what baptism is not, we turn from anecdotes and from Hollywood to learn from Scripture the truth as regards this very important rite. From the figure of the Isaian Servant in the first reading, we are taught that baptism is a call from God, whereby those who are chosen are endowed with God’s spirit. Those who are called and grasped by the hand (Isaiah 42:6) are also formed and equipped for the service of others, particularly the most needy members of the human community.

Through the insights of Peter and the experience of Cornelius (second reading from Acts), we learn that baptism is a blessing available to all who reverence God and live in a manner consequent with and reflective of that reverence. Luke also informed his readers that from the time of his baptism by John, Jesus spent himself healing and doing good works in God’s name. By so doing, Jesus has set the example for all baptized believers.

In today’s gospel narrative, the Matthean evangelist reminds us that just as Jesus was identified as God’s beloved and favored Son at his baptism, so also, believers are claimed as God’s children and rightful heirs through baptism. By virtue of today’s feast, each of us is renewed in the significance and blessedness of Christian baptism and thereby challenged to go forth from this celebration to live more fervently committed to Christ, the church and the world.

ISAIAH 42:1-4, 6-7

Mark Twain once said, “Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture which they cannot understand; but as for me, I have always noticed that the passages in Scripture which trouble me the most are those which I do understand.” This excerpted text from Deutero-Isaiah may prove to be one of those “troublesome” passages. Jewish readers of this text will recognize it as one of a series of four songs (49:1-6, 50:4-9, 52:13-53:12) which set forth the “job description” of the unnamed Servant, who would be instrumental in the salvation of his contemporaries. Christian readers of this text bring to it the understanding that the personal qualities and job description of the Servant were fully realized in the saving work and suffering death of Jesus. However, and herein lies the "troublesomeness", believers, who are baptized into the dying and rising of Christ, are also to understand that Jesus’ “job description” of selfless suffering and saving service has set the pattern for their own. Trouble notwithstanding, believers are also assured that, like the Servant, i.e., like Jesus, they are empowered for service by the Spirit of God (v. 1).

God’s spirit equips the Servant to do what, without the Spirit, would be an impossible task, viz., to establish justice on the earth. As John R. Donahue (“Biblical Perspectives on Justice” in The Faith That Does Justice: Examining the Christian Sources for Social Change, Paulist Press, New York: 1977) has explained, the biblical concept of justice can be described as “fidelity to the demands of a relationship.” Biblical justice, therefore, requires that the Servant and all who follow in his footsteps promote and protect a network of equitable, trusting, life-giving relationships whereby every member of the human community, from the least to the greatest, is united with others by familial bounds and/or covenantal bonds. At the heart of this network is the all important relationship with God, from which all other relationships must necessarily derive.

Justice which is rooted in God is not achieved through political machinations or military might. Contrary to popular messianic expectations, the Servant (and those who continue his work) would fulfill the work of justice with gentleness and caution. Careful not to further damage the bruised reed or quench the smoldering wick (v. 3), “the Servant has respect for persons who are weak, fragile and in jeopardy. His way of bringing justice matches the goal of justice which he enacts. The means serves the end” (Walter Brueggemann, Texts for Preaching, Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, KY: 1995). As a result of the Servant’s person and mission, the nations of the earth will be taught the truth (v. 4) and the light of that truth will expose the darkness of sin (v. 6). People who were either unable or unwilling to see will no longer be blind and those who have been constrained or confined will know freedom (v. 7).

For those, whose faith in God and in the Servant Jesus compels them to accept the responsibility for continuing this mission of justice, there is an additional promise in Deutero-Isaiah’s song. Besides being empowered by the Spirit (v. 1), we are also assured, “I have grasped you by the hand” (v. 6)! Held tightly by God’s grace and presence, we become capable of reaching out, to grasp, to hold, and to fill every hand that is extended to us in need.

ACTS 10:34-38

Although, he had been endowed by the Spirit and held tightly by God’s grace and presence, Peter was initially reluctant to reach out and grasp the hand of Cornelius in fellowship and love.

Cornelius was not only a gentile; he was the enemy, i.e., a Roman soldier stationed at Caesarea, the headquarters of the occupying forces in Palestinium (Rome’s name for Judah). In the rank of centurion, Cornelius functioned as the commander of one hundred men. He was also described by Luke as devout and God-fearing (Acts 10:2). As William Barclay (“The Acts of the Apostles”, The Daily Study Bible, The Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh: 1976) has pointed out, in New Testament times, “God-fearer” had become almost a technical term for gentiles who, weary of the gods and the immoralities of their ancestral religions, had attached themselves to Judaism. They were not circumcised nor did they keep the dietary laws but they attended synagogue, believed in one God and accepted the ethics prescribed by the covenant. Moreover, Cornelius had distinguished himself as a person of prayer who gave alms generously to those in need.

Nevertheless, Peter had grown to maturity in a tradition which believed that its rite of initiation and identification, e.g., circumcision, set its members apart from the rest of the peoples of the earth. As is reflected in the Cornelius episode (Acts 10-11), Peter had not yet fully understood that by virtue of his initiation into and identification with Christ in baptism, he was no longer to claim a superiority over others or to separate himself from them; rather, he was to accept and welcome all others as members of the one Body of Christ. He was also to learn that faith and ethics and not ethnicity makes a person acceptable to God.

By virtue of his interaction with Cornelius and by God’s intervention, (he had a vision showing him that he should consider no one unclean or impure, Acts 10:28), Peter declared “I begin to see. . .” Luke’s use of the present progressive verb, hypolambanomai, indicated that the long process of accepting gentiles into the church without imposing circumcision, the Mosaic law and dietary regulations had begun, but was still a work in progress. Indeed, there is clear evidence elsewhere in the Christian scriptures that the issue was not that easily or rapidly resolved. Shortly after Peter’s visit to Cornelius’ home, he was confronted by some shocked members of the Jerusalem church who resented the fact that he had eaten with the uncircumcised (Acts 11:1-3). Although he defended his actions, Peter yielded to the pressure of the Jerusalem elders and reneged; for this, he was castigated by Paul (Galatians 2:11-21). Only gradually and with difficulty did Peter’s insight into God’s universal plan (Acts 10:34-35) become the accepted norm for the church (see Acts 15).

While universal welcome and inclusion remains the accepted norm for the Christian community, it does not always translate into every area of the church’s activities. Nor is this norm always reflected in the day-to-day lives of believers. Like Peter, most of us can readily say, “I begin to see how true it is.” However, today’s feast with its accent on our baptismal belonging to the Body of Christ (Head and members), challenges us to allow this insight to grow within us, informing who we are, and enabling us to reach out to grasp the hands of all others in fellowship and love.

MATTHEW 3:13-17

While the baptism of an individual is usually a joyous occasion celebrated among family, friends and the extended family of the gathered assembly, the baptism of Jesus was a source of consternation for the early church. Since John’s was a baptism of repentance, why would Jesus, who was sinless, participate in a rite for sinners? So also, why would Jesus, who as the anointed of God, or messiah, exercised a clearly superior role in God’s plan of salvation, submit to the authority of his subordinate? Moreover, the fact of Jesus’ baptism by John seemed to support and affirm the beliefs of those who claimed that John was indeed the messiah. Fully cognizant of the christological and theological controversy surrounding Jesus’ baptism, each of the evangelists did their best to present it in its most favorable light. For his part, Matthew shaped his narrative in such a manner as to: (1) clarify the roles of John and Jesus; (2) emphasize Jesus’ messiahship as foreordained by God and foretold by the prophets (particularly, Isaiah); (3) inaugurate the mission of Jesus; and (4) proclaim the dawn of the messianic era.

In general, Matthew, who wrote in the eighties C.E., followed the Marcan baptismal account. However, his departures from his earlier source are significant (see vv. 14-15). Unlike Mark, Matthew indicated that John recognized Jesus as the promised messiah before the baptism took place. Despite John’s objections (“I should be baptized by you, yet you come to me!”), Jesus requested and received baptism, explaining that “it would fulfill all of God’s demands.” Some scholars have suggested that Jesus submitted to baptism in order to express his humble acquiescence to God’s saving purpose and/or to set an example that sinners should follow. Others are of the opinion that Jesus’ baptism was an outward sign of his desire to associate with and make redemption accessible to sinners. Jesus’ special, salvific role is clearly enunciated and further clarified by the voice from the heavens.

The voice, or more literally the bath gol or “daughter of a voice”, was a term which, in rabbinical literature referred to the means by which God’s purpose was revealed after prophecy had ceased. The “opened sky” and the “spirit descending” further signified that a new conversation between God and humankind was about to begin in Jesus (see Isaiah 64:1; Ezekiel 1:1; Genesis 1:2). As Daniel Harrington (The Gospel of Matthew, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN: 1991) has explained, the identification of Jesus as beloved and favored Son (v. 17) combines three phrases from Jewish tradition: “my Son” (Psalm 2:7 = the Davidic king was declared the adopted son of God), the “beloved” (Genesis 22:2 = Isaac), and “with whom I am well pleased” (Isaiah 42:1, 44:2 = God’s Servant). Called and chosen by God and endowed with the Spirit, descending like a dove, Jesus exercised his saving mission as Son, Servant and King.

Besides representing the Spirit, the dove present at Jesus’ baptism had further significance. Elsewhere in the Jewish Scriptures, it appeared as a figure for Israel (Son of Songs 1:15, 2:14, 4:1, 5:2, 6:9); hovering over Jesus, the dove symbolized that a New Israel, i.e., a new people of God, was being formed through the person and mission of Jesus. Through our baptism in his name, each believer becomes a member of the New Israel and a sharer in Jesus’ saving service to the world.

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