The Baptism of Christ 2012

It may have been the seventeenth century Puritans who actually abolished it, but if it had been up to St Mark the Evangelist Christmas wouldn't be half as much fun as it is. The reader who scans his Gospel for traces of shepherds and angels, for stables, donkeys and wise men, even for a glimpse of 'baby Jesus' does so in vain, for there are none. Mark's Jesus strides into the Judean countryside and meets his kinsman John as a fully-grown adult. It's not that Mark has any doubts about who he is: 'The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God' he writes. But he needs evidence for his assertion, and there are no heavenly hosts, virgin births or bright stars to assist. Instead he finds his evidence in his account of what happens when Jesus meets John on the river bank. A heavenly voice speaks and conflates at least two Old Testament sources who will be familiar to Mark's audience. 'My Son' is a reference to the Psalms and marks Jesus out as a member of a royal household. 'With you I am well pleased' is a reference to the Prophets and marks Jesus out as the servant of God who will suffer in his master's cause. Thus Mark makes his case. Jesus is the scion of royalty; he is the suffering servant; he is the Son with whom the Father is well pleased. The Baptism of Christ establishes the identity of Christ. The reader is in no doubt about whose story Mark is to tell.

Nor can the reader be in any doubt as to the cosmic significance of the story. Mark wants us to understand that what has been unleashed upon the world at the the baptism is a new epoch in history. Water has a particular meaning in the iconography of the Old Testament, as the reading from Genesis very nearly reminded us this morning. 'Very nearly' because it abandoned the Creation narrative part-way through. Had it gone on just a little longer than it did we would have been reminded that God's first act in creating the universe was to part the waters over which his wind swept in the very beginning, thereby creating a space in which life could flourish. Water means chaos, and it is out of chaos that God draws order, a new order, a new chapter in his story. So when Christ emerges from the River Jordan, we are assured that a page is being turned. If that were not enough we have also the evidence of what happens in the heavens. They are torn apart. In other words, God is speaking to his people as they have longed for him to. The channels of communication are blown open. And in the descent of the Spirit there is yet a further sign. The prophet Joel speaks of the days to when God's Spirit will be poured out upon earth. Look, says Mark, it is happening. The Son is here: a new era has arrived.

And lastly, in this, the first episode of Jesus's ministry that he records, Mark also sets out the pattern for what is to come. He sets out the pattern for the final episodes in Jesus's ministry, for in the Baptism are the death and resurrection foreshadowed. As before the Sanhedrin, we find Jesus is in the company of sinners. As at the court of Herod the king, he is silent. As in the courtyard of Pilate's palace, he submits to the actions of men. And as at Golgotha, it is at this point, when he is surrounded by sinners, when he is silent and submissive, it is at this point that God acts - at the Baptism, to affirm him, and on Easter morning, to raise him up.

So Mark is clear about the meaning of the Baptism of Christ. It establishes his identity; it announces a new era; and it prefigures his destiny. What is less clear is what the Baptism of Christ means for the Baptism of us. If the familiar ingredients of the primary school nativity play are missing from Mark's Gospel, then the familiar ingredients of Christ's Baptism were probably missing from our Baptism. The heavens were not torn apart; a dove did not descend; and had a heavenly voice thundered then the vicar would probably have dropped us in the font.

Yet although these ingredients were probably missing, our Baptism had the significance for us that Christ's did for him. Voice or no voice, our Baptism established our identity as beloved children of God, of unique and eternal worth. The cross marked in oil on our foreheads has disappeared but the one whose badge it is will never disappear. Torn heavens or no torn heavens, our Baptism inaugurated a new era for God's church. Its ranks were swollen; heaven was enlarged, the great chorus sounded just a little louder, and all the baptized gained a new brother. And the more we allow ourselves to trust, the more we allow ourselves to listen, the more we allow ourselves to wait, the more we allow ourselves to be immersed in the divine life, the more will the life of the divine servant, baptized, dead, and risen, grow in us. Amen.