The first reading this weekend from Isaiah is a pretty good description of Jesus. It begins by describing the servant “with whom I am well pleased” (Isaiah 42:1). These are the words of the voice from the heavens that was heard at Jesus’ baptism. The most significant difference is that the voice calls Jesus “beloved Son,” not just servant. And Isaiah gives us more hints about who Jesus is.

The verses that say that he will not break the bruised reed or quench the smoldering wick (Isaiah 42:3) are descriptive of Jesus’ mercy toward sinners. The reed and the wick were disposed of because they were useless. But God, out of love for us, never sees sinners as useless. God is always ready to forgive them and give them another chance, so God sent Jesus to forgive sinners, not reject them. In the Gospel, John at first refuses to baptize Jesus, because John’s baptism was a sign of repentance for sin. He knew Jesus was not a sinner, so he had no need to repent. But Jesus identified himself with sinners and welcomed them back to God’s love. We can ask God to help us see our sinfulness and bring it to him for healing.

Isaiah also says that the servant is a “covenant of the people.”  A covenant was an agreement between unequal partners, in which the stronger one agreed to protect or defend the weaker one, while the weaker agreed to pay taxes or obey laws required by the stronger. God is offering a new covenant through Jesus, not just for the Jews, but for all peoples. But we still must live that covenant, by loving God and our neighbor. When we teach others about God’s love and mercy, “we open the eyes of the blind”, as Isaiah says. When we forgive each other, we are setting free prisoners of sin. When people see God’s love acted out in our lives, we are a light to the world. As we learn to do these things, we will find that God is also well pleased with us.                    – Tom Schmidt, Diocesan Publications

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TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION

Through the centuries, artists and craftspeople have depicted Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River by John. First in mosaics and frescoes, and later in tapestries, stained glass, and paintings, the scene is familiar. Jesus is standing waist‑high in flowing water. Above him, standing on dry land, John the Baptist pours water over Jesus. The first artists to depict this were sketching from memory. This is exactly how most people were baptized in the early days: as adults, standing or kneeling in the water, with water poured over their heads.

This method of baptizing, called immersion, is the favored way today. An adult enters a font, or an infant is lowered a bit into the water supported by a parent’s hand, and water is poured or splashed over them. The treasures of baptistry art attest that submersion, or plunging beneath the water’s surface, is not really in our tradition, and that “infusion,” the mere pouring of a few drops of water, yields too narrow an understanding of what it means to be plunged into Christ’s life. Jesus Christ has gone before us into the water and waits for us there with abundant gifts. No wonder the tradition calls for abundant symbols!

 

—Rev. James Field, Diocesan Publications