Some no doubt have come to the Jordan to gawk or ridicule or even spy on John; but very many others convinced by his impassioned appeal for repentance and conversion of heart have come to seek his baptism. They will remove their outer garments first of all. John will then immerse them; holding them firmly by the shoulders and drawing them down into the cool water, perhaps calling out a prayer as he does so. People are coming up from the water, splashing and gasping for air. Maybe they too murmur prayers and promises to God; maybe there are tears. Probably it is all a bit chaotic.
Jesus too has been deeply moved, captivated by the Baptist’s call to repentance and renewal, and he senses that something crucial is occurring for Israel. And so he wants to be with his people for the unprecedented covenantal gathering which he perceives is being enacted here at the Jordan. For in response to John’s preaching, the people of Israel have become conscious of their sinfulness and conscious of their need for God as never before.
Now John has been so busy lowering people into the water that he hasn’t noticed the next person in line. Quietly Jesus steps forward to be baptized, John’s cousin. Jesus smiles shyly. John stops, looks around then comes close to Jesus and whispers, “Ah, what are you doing here? Please don’t do this. Go. I’m not doing it; I’m not baptizing you. If anything, you should be baptizing me.” We can well imagine John’s astonishment.
Why is Jesus here of all places? He has nothing to repent of. Why would he choose to do this? Somehow he knows he has to be there. Indeed, it would seem that all through today’s Gospel, we are witness to Jesus’ growing self-understanding. Jesus goes down into the cool waters of the River Jordan to mark God’s absolute bond with us in all things. Only the passion of his love can explain this-- his desire for baptism, or his desire to take our flesh in the first place. Love defers; love lowers itself. God in Christ has plunged into the dark waters of our humanness, to embrace our truth in all its soggy embarrassing reality.
And as the heavens are opened, the Father’s voice and the Spirit’s hovering confirm who Jesus is: the Beloved Son who always does what the Father wants. “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” This Gospel passage thus establishes Jesus’ identity as his ministry begins- his credentials as Savior. He is confirmed as God’s Mercy and Compassion in Person. He the Beloved Son has descended into the watery depths of our human misery to mercy it into new life. This is why Jesus has come - to reconcile the world to Godself, not to count our transgressions against us. No. For our freedom and redemption, God has made Him who did not know sin, to be sin, so that through him we might become with him, like him the beloved ones of God. And so his response to John’s resistance is tender but insistent, “Allow it now, please let it happen. Baptize me. It is right and just in the Father’s eyes.”
Here at the Jordan Jesus understands his vocation as never before, his mission to accomplish a new exodus for his people. Jesus himself as Redeemer will be the pillar of cloud and fire leading his people to freedom, redeeming them forever from the bondage of sin. As he steps into the Jordan River, Jesus steps into his vocation as Messiah.
Jesus is ever and always here with us in the murky water that is our humanity. He waits for us down there- in all that embarrasses and burdens us, our regrets and our failures and foolishness, all of our soggy sad truth. Jesus has immersed himself in all of it, descended into the reality of it all. But like John we may ask, “What are you doing there of all places?” That is why that word: allow is so momentous. Jesus asks John to allow him to be baptized. Jesus asks each of us, “Please allow me to be who I am for you. I have become your sin to rescue you from it. I bear all your burdens with you. Please allow it.” Do we hesitate? Can we allow him to meet us there in all the places that seem most unlikely, most unresolved, messy, and even sinful? Do I have the humility to take my humanity seriously as sacred place of encounter with him? The way up is down. Saint Benedict got it right.
My sisters and brothers, God in Christ has come down to “share unreservedly” in our reality at Bethlehem, at Nazareth, today in the Jordan, and very soon on the cross. And his descent into the water is a kind of prelude to the dereliction of the cross, where he will be totally drenched in our sinfulness and bear it unto death and resurrected life. And this morning as Jesus our Lord wipes his face, drags his hands over the dripping ringlets of his dark hair and strides out of the water soaking wet, we have a glimpse of Easter morning.
In a few moments at this altar we will hear an echo of the Father’s voice, “This is my Son, my beloved” in the words of consecration: “This is my body, given for you.” All his grace, all this underserved divine favor, the totality of our invincible reconciliation with God, this gift that Jesus is for us becomes tangible, edible reality in this Most Blessed Sacrament that we will receive together.
