In Winter

I guess January wouldn’t be an ideal time for a baptism in a river. Not in this part of the world, for sure.

But, on the church calendar, it’s January when we hear the story of Jesus being baptized by his cousin John in the Jordan River. I know, different part of the world, different era, and, in all likelihood, it might not have even happened at that time of year anyway. It’s a key story of Epiphany, though, so that’s where it’s put. I’ll come back to that.

But just imagine, for a moment, Jesus trudging through the snow with everyone else, down to the river where John’s franticly chopping at the ice, trying to break through. He can’t, so he finally gives up and uses snow. Think about that. Not the ridiculousness of it, or the cold, but the meaning.

We baptize with water because water is life. John called people to repent, to turn away from sin and turn back to God. The water symbolically washes away that old life of sin and offers something new, a new life with God. We baptize as a community because it’s an opportunity to publicly acknowledge what we already know to be true, that we are all children of God, to welcome and to offer love and support.

In the cold and shadows of winter, the life hides in the snow. We know the snow will melt, we know that spring will come, we know that creation will come back to life. We know the life is still there through all the changing seasons. Our lives are like that, too.

That day Jesus was baptized, I wonder how many others were baptized by John who struggled with their repentance. I wonder how many found themselves making their way through different seasons in their lives. I wonder how many remembered their baptism, remembered Jesus, and found their way through. Maybe even Jesus himself.

We tell the story in Epiphany because it’s a story that reveals who Jesus is: after John baptizes him, the Holy Spirit appears as a dove and a voice from heaven says “this is my beloved son, my pride and joy.” 

It also reveals that Jesus comes to be baptized just like everyone else. In Matthew, the author even has John point out that it’s Jesus who should be baptizing him because he’s, well, he’s Jesus. But Jesus says no, this is the way, and of course it is, Jesus is one of us.

It also reveals that Jesus didn’t come quietly to be baptized privately, but publicly, with everyone, in front of everyone. And of course he does, Jesus is one of us.

It also reveals that Jesus’ baptism is followed by the time of testing in the wilderness and the beginning of his ministry. So Jesus is baptized by John and then begins to live his baptism: remembering it, reconnecting with it, living it. Of course he does, Jesus is one of us.

The story reveals that Jesus is a child of God, blessed with the Spirit’s presence. And so are we, that’s what Jesus’ life reveals to us. The divine spirit is in us, too, we are loved by God and we are God’s pride and joy. Even in winter. 

A Tale of Two Tales

I like to talk about the Christmas creche every year. I just wrote about that a couple of weeks ago. I think it’s important to remember the whole story and remind ourselves that everyone belongs at the manger because Jesus is for everyone. And I think it’s important to remember that one big story portrayed by a full and busy stable is from two different gospels and a load of traditions, it covered a much longer span than one night, and is full of a whole lot of imagination.

All of that is good, it is. And we should find time for all of it. Every story that brings each of those characters to the stable brings us closer to the stable, too.

Take, for example, the shepherds and the magi, two very different groups of people. What is true about Jesus is revealed to both of them, but each travelled a very different route to get there. And the presence of each reveals something very different to us.

The birth was revealed to the shepherds by an angel (and heavenly host), according to the gospel of Luke, and they came to the manger from nearby fields and found Jesus just as had been described to them. It wasn’t much of a journey, not physically anyway, and they didn’t really have to look hard to find him. They just followed instructions and believed they found exactly what the angel told them they’d find.

The first to see Jesus were poor and marginalized, the very people Jesus came for. They found him among animals, a child of poor, ordinary people, just like them.

The magi, according to the gospel of Matthew, were not close by: they were "wise men from the east."  That's not a description you give of people from just the other end of town. And the sign they followed was a star, a celestial marker, that anyone should have been able to see from anywhere. And yet, they were the only ones who truly "saw" what it meant. They followed a sign which they interpreted in order to find the fulfilment of a prophecy that a great king was born. And even though there was no trappings of royalty, they knew, when they found Jesus, that they were in the right place and they offered him their royal gifts.

This is a whole different kind of journey from the shepherds. But the truth at the heart of their stories, what they found, brought them to the same place.

The author of Luke says they found the messiah. The author of Matthew says they found what Isaiah prophesied to be Immanuel, which means “God with us.” The author of the gospel of John writes that he is “the Word made flesh.” Jesus, who is for everyone.

Perhaps that’s why we like to put them all together. Shepherd or magi, we come to Jesus in different ways, from different places, led by different desires.