Our Gospel Lesson today places us on the banks of the Jordan River, where we find John the Baptist, calling people to repent of their sins and baptizing them with water. He was “a voice of one calling: In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” [1] No prophetic voice had been heard in the land of Israel since the prophet Malachi, about 430 years before the birth of Christ. And word quickly spread about the new prophet.
The people came “from the whole Judean countryside” and from Jerusalem to hear John, “confessing their sins” and being “baptized in the river Jordan.” [2] “The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah.” [3] “In light of Roman intimidation and foreign control,” the people of Israel “longed for a deliverer who would redeem them from their terrible oppression.” [4]
But John answers them “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” [5] And John’s “emphasis is on his feeling of utter unworthiness for the messianic task,” in the announcing of the coming of the Messiah.
To understand what was happening during this time, we must recognize that between Malachi and John, God did not speak to His chosen people. There were no prophets. And there was no Scripture written during this time. Without a prophet to guide them, the Jewish people became a fractured people, divided into different parties or sects based upon their interpretation of Scripture and the law. So, by the time of John the Baptist and Jesus, there were several established Jewish sects or groups. There were the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes, and the Zealots. And many Jews became separatists, becoming unaffiliated with any of these particular sects.
Each group claimed the right to interpret the scriptures and the laws as they saw fit, and they clashed upon their theological interpretations and beliefs, and their traditions. Each group, without the guidance of a prophetic voice, of who was ordained and chosen by God to speak on behalf of God, misconstrued the true nature of the Word and the law. And now, after so many years of God’s silence, we find John in the wilderness. One who has been divinely called by God, as foretold by prophets of old, to announce the coming of the Messiah. John’s appearance of being “clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist,” [6] was reminiscent of prophet Elijah. And some even questioned if he was Elijah who had returned.
Yet the wilderness in which John appears, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin, serves for more than just a geographical reference of where he could be found. It “recalls the place of Israel’s formation as God’s covenant people” who wandered in the wilderness for forty years. [7] And hence “implies a return to God.” [8]
And while the people were being baptized, Jesus, who was sinless, comes to the place where John is at the river Jordan, to be baptized. “And as he was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” [9]
This event, the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ is recorded in all four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Theologian Henri Nouwen comments in his writings from Beyond the Mirror, saying “These words revealed the true identity of Jesus as the beloved.” [10] But Jesus is more than just the beloved, the Son of God. He himself is God incarnate. One of three Persons of the Trinity, who together, being One God are inseparable and involved in every Divine act.
Our Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who are relational and coeternal, of one essence or substance (Homoousios), being of same mind and having one will as One God, share together in every divine work; equal in power, love, mercy, justice, knowledge, and all other divine attributes. The Persons of the Trinity are shown here, present at the Baptism of our Lord. Yet, I believe that too often, in our minds, we try to separate Father, Son and Holy Spirit into three separate beings, rather than seeing the Persons of the Trinity as One Being with “three distinctive identities.” [11]
There is a relational aspect in the Trinity, between Father, Son and Holy Spirit through grace, love and communion. It models for us a harmonious life of holy love, balanced in equality and with unity. In 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Paul states that human beings are “spirit and soul and body”.[12] And since Genesis 1:27 speaks to humankind being created in God’s image, then one may understand “God is spirit and soul and body.” [13] The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, [14] who becomes manifest as a visible sign in the bodily form of a dove for those present to see: for who can see Ruach the wind, the breath of God, the Spirit? And Yahweh, the Hebrew name of God, the Father, is the Soul of God. [15] Yehoshua, Jesus Christ is the body of God- God incarnate, both fully human and fully divine. [16] Spirit, soul and body are inseparable, acting in unity, equally sharing in the love-light being poured out because there is only One God - One source of love, grace and communion.
As Henri Nouwen states, “He, [Jesus] was infinitely loved by God.” [17] “Jesus lived His life from that inner place of love.” [18] “Although human rejections, jealousies, resentments, and hatred did hurt Him deeply, He remained anchored in the love of the Father.” [19] Christ remained anchored in the source of love, grace and communion in union with Father and Holy Spirit, as our eternal God who is of one essence.
In today’s Gospel Lesson, as we hear about the Baptism of the Lord, we are reminded of our own baptism, in which we were invited to share in the love, grace and communion, in union with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Many of us as infants, were baptized and welcomed into the church. Others chose to receive the gift of Baptism when older, often as an adult. And together we have shared in this sacramental practice which is founded in scripture, professed in our faith, and which has been practiced since the inception of the Christian church.
Baptism is a physical symbol of God’s grace and the promise of the Gospel, connecting us to God’s presence in every aspect of our lives. Clothed in mystery, the sacrament of Baptism goes beyond what we can understand and explain. Yet through our senses, we experience and know God’s love for us; just as Jesus’ experience of being the beloved and knowing he was infinitely loved.” And we too are beloved, for we are welcomed into Holy Communion with our Lord as God’s children. Through our own baptism, we partake in Christ’s life, death and resurrection. We become one with Christ, restored to relationship with God through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Yet beyond Baptism, there is another blessing. John Wesley called it “a second blessing.” And it is this second blessing in which we are truly reborn, made anew in becoming a new creation by the Holy Spirit. It is this “second blessing” that completely transforms our lives. It is the Spirit of fire that gently warms the heart, that touches the soul with a kiss, that is felt deeply within.
Though some may receive the simultaneous bestowal of forgiveness and receipt of the Holy Spirit during Baptism, the two can be separated by a considerable lapse of time, as shown in today’s reading of Acts chapter 8, verses14 through 17.[20] Peter and John went to Samaria, to pray for them, “that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”[21] When Peter and John “laid their hands on them,” “they received the Holy Spirit.”[22] “The power to transmit the Spirit can be given to anyone indiscriminately,” [23] and at any time. Nor does it require the laying on of human hands, though this too can be a symbolic gesture.
For we know that the Holy Spirit touched John Wesley in his heart-warming Aldersgate experience when hearing the reading of Luther’s Preface to the Epistle to the Romans. As recorded in his journal, Wesley wrote, “I felt my heart strangely warmed…I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” [24]
The Holy Spirit moves freely and touches one’s heart indiscriminately, giving us the assurance of God’s love and faithfulness; giving us a life changing experience that no matter what happens in our lives, we know that “God is.”[25] And, “God is Love.[26] It is an experience of being in relationship with our Lord God “who revealed Himself to prophets and [the] apostles” as “the God of love.” [27] God’s “love is the very essence of God’s divine nature.” [28] “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.” [29] God’s love has been revealed to us in and through Christ Jesus- in the incarnation, in his ministry upon this earth, by his death, resurrection and ascension into Heaven. [30] And it is God’s love that gives us life and gives us purpose in life.
The love of God is an outpouring that actively seeks to replace our attitudes of self-interest and self-fulfillment with love for God. We are given caring hearts that have compassion and love for others and for all of creation. Given freely without expectations or obligation, God’s love is what binds us to God, to all of humanity, and creation. We love because God first loved us.[31]
So, on this day, as we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord, let us celebrate our own Baptism which brought us into knowing the light and love of our Savior Jesus Christ.
And let us pray that we too might receive the Holy Spirit’s blessing upon us, that we may be transformed more into the likeness of Jesus Christ as we journey toward Christian Perfection.
Would you pray with me:
Holy Lord, by your baptism you were strengthened to begin your ministry upon this earth, even unto death upon the cross and resurrection into new life, giving us the same promise that through our own baptism, we partake in Your life, death and resurrection. We ask for Your holy blessing upon us this day, that we might more fully live into the life you will for us. We ask this in your Holy Name, by the power of the Holy Spirit for the Glory of God the Father. Amen.
[1] Isaiah 40:3, NIV
[2] Mark 1:4-5, NRSV
[3] Luke 3:15, NIV
[4] Grant R. Osborne, Luke Verse by Verse (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018), 95.
[5] Luke 3:16, NIV
[6] Mark 1:6, NRSV
[7] J. L May. The Harpercollins Bible Commentary, Rev. ed. (New York: HarperOne, 1988), 933.
[8] Ibid., 933.
[9] Luke 3:21-22, NIV
[10] Henri Nouwen, Beyond the Mirror (Spring Valley, New York: Crossroad Publishing Co. 2006), 56-58.
[11] Andrew Park, “Week 8 Class Meeting”, WebEx, United Theological Seminary, Dayton, OH, November 9, 2021.
[12] 1 Thessalonians 5:23, NRSV
[13] Andrew Park, “Week 5 Class Meeting”, WebEx, United Theological Seminary, Dayton, OH, October 12, 2021.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Henri Nouwen, Beyond the Mirror (Spring Valley, New York: Crossroad Publishing Co. 2006) 56-58.
[18] Ibid., 56-58.
[19] Ibid., 56-58.
[20] J. L May. The Harpercollins Bible Commentary, Rev. ed. (New York: HarperOne, 1988), 997.
[21] Acts 8:14-15, NRSV
[22] Acts 8:17, NRSV
[23] J. L May. The Harpercollins Bible Commentary, Rev. ed. (New York: HarperOne, 1988), 998.
[24] W. Reginald Ward and Richard P. Heitzenrater, eds. The Works of John Wesley: Journals and Diaries, vols. 18-24 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1988-2003), 18:249-50.
[25] J. Rodman Williams, Renewal Theology, Systematic Theology from a Charismatic Perspective (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), 47.
[26] 1 John 4:8, NRSV
[27] J. Rodman Williams, Renewal Theology, Systematic Theology from a Charismatic Perspective (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), 63.
[28] Ibid., 63.
[29] John 3:16, NRSV
[30] J. Rodman Williams, Renewal Theology, Systematic Theology from a Charismatic Perspective (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), 63.
[31] 1 John 4:19. NRSV
Works Cited:
May, J. L. The Harpercollins Bible Commentary, Rev. ed. New York: HarperOne, 1988.
Nouwen, Henri. Beyond the Mirror. Spring Valley, New York: Crossroad Publishing Co., 2006.
Osborne, Grant R. Luke Verse by Verse. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018.
Park, Andrew. “Week 5 Class Meeting”, WebEx, United Theological Seminary, Dayton, OH, October 12, 2021.
---------------. “Week 8 Class Meeting”, WebEx, United Theological Seminary, Dayton, OH, November 9, 2021.
Williams, J. Rodman. Renewal Theology, Systematic Theology from a Charismatic Perspective. Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1996.
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