From the Daily Lectionary for Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter
Matthew 3: 13-17
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’
There is a scene in the movie Avatar, a surprisingly good movie, where the protagonist has been taken in by an indigenous tribe on a faraway planet. He has been taken in in order to learn the ways of these ancient beings. The scene is this: The hero has reached the point in his training that the time has come for him to be initiated into the tribe. His mentor tells him that he is about to enter his “second life.” In the first life, she tells him, one lives for themselves; in one’s second life, one lives for the good of the whole. The same is true of Baptism. It is the outward and visible sign of our entering our second life, a life lived for the good of the community, the good of our world. At infant baptism we claim the child for the community in which we live, the church, so that this child will be prepared to enter with solemn commitment a life of sacrifice and service for the greater good. Initiation Rites exist in every culture that we know about. It is representative of a profound rudiment of our nature that at some point in our lives we give ourselves over to the life of the community. Sadly that predisposition has been compromised in our western culture in deference to self-interest. That makes our baptismal vocation counter-cultural to say the least.
The reading today is Matthew’s account of Jesus’ baptism. John the Baptizer protests that he is not worthy of Baptizing the anointed of God, but Jesus insists, because this baptism is not about him; but about the community he will serve. His rebuke of John is telling. Jesus tells John that the manner of his baptism is fitting because it serves to “fulfill all righteousness.” There is a common nuance of mistranslation in this line. For some reason, modern English translations treat the word Δίκε (Dike) in the Greek as ‘righteousness’… perhaps it is a remnant of King James language… But to be sure the word means… Justice. “It is fitting that you baptize me so that justice may be fulfilled.”
Translation matters. Baptism is about being initiated into a community whose mission is justice; and that mission is accomplished through the solidarity of a community under the auspicious guidance of Love. Baptism is not about being saved… It is about being empowered to save. Don’t doubt that our social distancing, and wearing masks, and sheltering in place, and washing hands, have baptismal significance. Our tending as a community to the health of our neighbor is sacramental. In that regard this pandemic has a spiritual dimension just as much as a physical one.
Keep the Faith, good people. At your baptism the heavens were opened to new possibility… to health, well-being, dignity, and Shalom for the ones in our midst who suffer without such things that many of us take for granted. In our baptisms we are the anointed of God with whom God is well pleased.
Collect for Social Service (BCP p. 260 adapted)
Most Holy God, whose blessed Son came not to be served but to serve: Bless all who, following in his steps, give themselves to the service of others; that with wisdom, patience, and courage, they may minister in his name to the suffering, the friendless, and the needy; for the love of him who laid down his life for us, your Son our Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
