By The Rev. Craig A. Phillips, Ph.D.
As Jesus comes out of the waters of baptism, he is told by God that he is a “beloved son.” In the Bible to be called a “beloved son” is a sign of favor that comes with a warning– a sign of uncertainty, even danger. Isaac, you may remember, before he was almost sacrificed by Abraham, was called a “beloved son.” Joseph, the beloved son of his father, Jacob, was sold by his brothers into slavery. His family assumed he was dead. Joseph’s life was full of difficulties and hardships. Jesus, in our gospel reading today, is also called a “beloved son.” Where Isaac the beloved son of Abraham was spared death at the last minute, Jesus, the beloved son of God the Father, was not. Jesus’ life of faithfulness to God led directly to his death on the cross. We believe, of course, that God raised Jesus from the dead, but Jesus nonetheless had to endure suffering and death before that. So, you see, being a beloved son of God is not an easy calling. It signals a life of risk and danger!
Despite the fear that Jesus might have felt at the time of his baptism, he embraced his call and set out to proclaim the arrival of the kingdom of God– the reign and the rule of God’s own righteousness. Throughout his ministry, and despite the risks, Jesus was always faithful to the God the Father who called him to a ministry to the little, the last, the lost, the least, and even to the dead.
Most days I get up early in the morning, make coffee, and then sit down to read and listen to music for at least a half an hour. This quiet time of reading and reflection allows me to compose myself for the day. Over the past few weeks, I have been listening to a lot of Baroque music, Telemann, Corelli, and, of course, Johann Sebastian Bach. I especially love listening to the cantatas of Bach.
Bach was not a clergy person. He did not have to write a sermon each week. What he did, from my perspective at least, was infinitely more difficult. He wrote a new cantata each week – a full composition lasting more than half an hour in most cases, based on the appointed Lutheran lectionary readings for the day. As I began to think about the baptism of Jesus, I began to wonder what, if anything, Bach had to say about it. I soon found that Bach wrote the cantata, Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam (“Jesus our Lord came to the Jordan,” (BWV 7) for the liturgical commemoration of the baptism of Jesus using the lyrics of a hymn Martin Luther had written in 1541.
Being a beloved son is a mark of danger. The final chorus of the hymn/cantata shows that Luther understood the connection between the baptism of Jesus and the cross on which Jesus, the beloved Son of God shed his blood for us and died.
The eye sees only water as human beings pour water;
Only faith understands the power of the blood of Jesus Christ.
And for faith it is a red stream colored by Christ’s blood,
Which heals all the injuries we inherited from Adam
As well as those we have brought upon ourselves.
At baptism, our human eyes see only water, but the faithful Christian sees far more than that. That water is colored red by the blood of Jesus Christ. The baptism of Jesus Christ, in other words, is inextricably linked to the cross of Jesus Christ. At Jesus’ baptism, he begins a life full of risk as he strives to be faithful to the God, whom he calls his Father, who called him.
Jesus went ahead with his ministry because he also knew that even in the face of that risk, he was a beloved son of God. He knew that he would face challenges even unto death, but at the same time he knew that God would be with him always, even in his death.
The Baptismal Covenant (our promises to God and to one another) of the Episcopal Church is found in The Book of Common Prayer (1979). The website of the Episcopal Church states that the baptismal covenant “is widely regarded as the normative statement of what it means to follow Christ” and in the questions and answers found in it, “the congregation expresses the ways each of the faithful will live their faith both inside and outside the church walls” (See BCP, 304-5).
Our Baptismal Covenant evolves from biblical covenants between God and humanity (with Noah, Abraham, Moses, etc.) establishing a framework of divine promise and human response. This finds further development in early Christian catechesis, liturgical and credal affirmations, and subsequent liturgical reforms. Today, its current form reflects both ancient roots and modern commitments to living out faith in daily life.
Our nation is divided. Whatever our political leanings, as Christians–we each promise to be faithful to the God who calls us. That is what a covenant is. It is an agreement between people in the presence of God. That is why marriage also is called a covenant. It is a promise made between two people in the presence of God. In the Baptismal Covenant of the Episcopal Church we promise to one another and to God that we will live by the following principles and will do that by doing the following things. Let me now read from the covenant itself.
Celebrant
Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and
fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the
prayers?
People
I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant
Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever
you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?
People
I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant
Will you proclaim by word and example the Good
News of God in Christ?
People
I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving
your neighbor as yourself?
People
I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant
Will you strive for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of every human
being?
Considering the divisions in our nation, I would like to focus my attention on three of the questions of the Baptismal Covenant.
Let’s look first at the verbs that are used. Will you persevere in resisting evil? Will you repent and return? Will you seek and serve Christ. Will you strive and respect? Persevere, repent, strive, and respect.
In the baptismal covenant we promise to be resilient and to strive for justice for everyone, no matter who they are. We promise continually to strive to love and respect the dignity of every human being — every human being, not just those of our own race, clan, nation, or people.
To do this means that we will have to take some risks. We each may feel compelled to speak and act, but we must always do so in such a way that we respect the dignity of every human being. Each of you will have to determine what that means for you. I cannot tell you that. You will have to discern that yourself in the situations in which you find yourself. No one else can do that for you. You must do that yourself. Remember, we are not left alone here. We are guided by the promises that we have made to God in the Baptismal Covenant and the vision of God’s justice that we hold as a community. Since it is a Covenant, God is a partner in this relationship.
Risk is the hallmark of nearly every story of a call in the Bible. Think of all the prophets whom God calls. The prophet, if he or she even hears the initial call, responds with apprehension. “I am not worthy. Go find someone else. Go find someone more elegant, more courageous, someone of greater faith. Someone else, by certainly not me!” That is how, in one way or another, Jacob, Moses, Jeremiah, Jonah, and Peter responded reluctantly to God’s call to them. Most clergy will tell you that that too is their experience. I am talking not so much about the call of clergy to the ministry, but more generally about God’s call to each one of us, clergy and laity. God calls, we object, and God wrestles with us and we wrestle with God, striving to determine how we will respond to that call. Jacob, wrestled with God all through the night and in the morning, God gave him a new name, Israel, which in Hebrew means “he who wrestles or strives with God.” That is why the baptismal covenant says that we must strive to do the things that God calls us to do even when we are confused or disappointed. To strive is to persevere and to maintain the hope that God has given to us in his Son. It means that we must work ceaselessly to make real, both in our nation and in our world, the righteousness and justice to which God calls us.
In our wrestling with God and our striving, God again and again, as we read in the scriptures, assures the reluctant that they will not be alone. Don’t worry about what you will have to say because I will put the words into your mouth when you need them. I will be with you. Don’t worry. Don’t be afraid. Now go!
Did Jesus fully understand all the risks and uncertainty he was going to face? Probably not. But he went. He went to the people and places to which God called him because he knew he was the beloved Son of God. He was faithful in the face of risk and danger.
You are God’s beloved sons and daughters. All who are baptized are called to go into the world to work for peace and reconciliation. Strive ceaselessly to love and respect every human being. Jesus promises that he will be with you. He will never desert you. Don’t be afraid. Now go!
The Rev. Craig A. Phillips, Ph.D. is a retired Episcopal priest and Professor of Religion. He currently teaches as an adjunct Lecturer at St. Anselm College in Manchester, NH. His blog may be found at https://craigphillips.co.