Baptism of the Lord - Homily 3

Homily 3 - 2021 

John the Baptist, the strange eccentric living out in the Judean wilderness, stirred up Israel with his insistent call to repentance. Something was about to happen — it was time to change. But he knew that he didn’t quite know what shape things should take.

John articulated the feelings and disquiet of many of his Jewish contemporaries. He felt — they felt — that they had somehow “missed the point”. They were good people, men and women, but they were going nowhere. John named their experience “sin”, not sin as most of us were taught to approach it, a sort of mysterious blot on the soul, but something they were caught up in together. They felt lost, restless. Life seemed aimless. As Jews they had their Law, their way of life — but something was missing.

They wanted to do something distinctive to state their discontent and their desire for change. John suggested they get baptised close by in the Jordan River -- and wait. John was convinced that there was someone else, poised in the wings, stronger than he, who would initiate the change they all looked for; and he was satisfied that he would recognise him when he eventually turned up.

Among those resonating with John was Jesus, who heard about John while he was still working in Galilee. He came down to check out the movement and be baptised along with the others like himself. And then — it happened!

Let us turn to today’s Gospel passage from the Gospel of Mark. Mark went lyrical! Drawing from the poetic language and imagery of the Hebrew Scriptures, he described Jesus undergoing a profound spiritual experience — though no one else seemed to know that anything was going on.

Using a phrase from Isaiah, Mark wrote that “the heavens were torn apart” — there was no longer anything preventing Jesus from access to God. He wrote that the Spirit of God, the Spirit that had been mentioned in the beautiful story of the original creation as “hovering over the waters”, now descended from the torn-open heavens and hovered over Jesus. Mark understood Jesus’ baptism as beginning a new creation. But what did that mean? Mark went on. From the torn open heavens a quiet “voice” came to Jesus, “You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you”.

It was a momentous declaration that would underpin the new insight, the new spirit, of a new intervention of God about to begin within the world — what Jesus would refer to as “the Reign of God”.

What God said to the human Jesus, Jesus understood to be true also of everyone. Everyone is a child of God, drawing existence, life, consciousness, intelligence and freedom from God. Everyone is beloved by God, whose own love is unconditional, infinite, unchanging and constant. Everyone is personally favoured by God. And since all are children of God, created and sustained every moment by God, all are brothers and sisters of each other.

When this is understood, and only when this is understood, can God’s reign take practical shape — when people recognise, value and practically appreciate their personal human dignity …, when people recognise, unconditionally value and appreciate the equal dignity and value of everyone else …, when people see themselves as sisters and brothers.

Then, we no longer miss the point, we no longer sin. But conviction of the insight will require nothing less of us than that we constantly rethink everything, that we repent. That is the Good News that gives life.