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Friends,
todays Gospel tells the story of the baptism of Jesus. The first thing
we must keep in mind about the baptism of Jesus was that it was
embarrassing. Here is the one that the first Christians maintained was
the Son of God, the sinless lamb who takes away the sins of the world,
the Word made flesh. So why the heck is he seeking a baptism of
repentance?
There
is no way around it: John was working in the country north of
Jerusalem, along the banks of the Jordan river. And his theme was
unambiguous: repent. Those who came to him were coming to have their
sins dealt with; they were admitting their guilt.
As
is usually the case with the Bible, there is an irony in the fire.
Before ever a word passes Jesus’ lips, he is teaching, in fact
communicating the heart of the faith, by this stunning reversal. In this
gesture, God lays aside his glory and humbly joins us in our
sinfulness, standing with us, assuming our burden.
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