JOURNEY OF REVELATION
SERMON PREACHED BY FR. TONY NOBLE ON JANUARY 13th, 2008
Matthew 3:17 "Lo, a voice from heaven, saying, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased'."
In just seven days we have taken a leap from the baby Jesus at Bethlehem, to the man who is baptized in the River Jordan. This raises a number of questions - but first let us consider the season of Epiphany. Last Sunday we celebrated the feast day of the Epiphany - the visit of the wise men. This event is the conclusion of Christmas. The name "Epiphany" means "Manifestation", as in the title in the Book of Common Prayer - The Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.
The title "Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles" suggests moving on quickly from Christmas. The Incarnation happens in the Holy Land, in David's town, within the chosen people of Israel - but its purpose is not confined there. Christ is for the whole world, He is manifest to the whole world.
The wise men complete the Christmas story, but they thrust us into this season of manifesting Jesus to the world. These Sundays after Epiphany - this season of manifestation – begins today with the Baptism of Jesus, where he is revealed as the Christ, the anointed one.
Moving on from his baptism, we then hear about the beginning of Jesus' ministry, his first miracles, and the call of the twelve Apostles. In these signs of revelation there is a pattern we can observe. The journey of the Magi; the Baptism of Jesus; the call of the twelve Apostles - these all reveal a movement of mind and will that enables the glory of God to be seen; as it was in the manger at Bethlehem; as it is today in the baptism of the man; and as it is in his various miracles.
Jesus’ baptism has a four-fold process which we find in the other manifestations. It begins with a journey; there is immersion in creation; there is engagement with society; and there is underlining all this, the obedience to God's Word.
The journey of the Magi was the most dramatic of the journeys, involving a fair distance which crossed culture and languages. Similarly, Jesus' baptism was a journey away from temple and synagogue to a fiery prophet at the Jordan. A moving from the Old Covenant to the New. The River Jordan, of course, is a key river in the Old Testament. On this day it becomes a junction between the Old and the New. In this dangerous landscape the Christ is revealed - He is made manifest.
It was not just a journey in theological understanding - it was also a journey for Jesus himself. A journey from a childhood pondering of who he is, to the initiation of his public ministry. When the Father says: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased" it was for Jesus' benefit to hear these words - and also for the benefit of those who were standing around. It was a divine revelation.
Just as the revelation to the Magi was made with and through creation - in their case the star in the sky - so now the water of the Jordan is the means of manifestation. Similarly, we the brothers and sisters of this same Jesus, should not neglect creation, but enjoy it, and immerse ourselves in it, and care for it.
Who amongst us hasn't stood on a mountain, or at the sea-front, and not caught a glimpse in our hearts of God's glory? For in creation the glory of God is to be found.
Not that we believe that God is contained within creation, but that it is the means through which he reveals himself. That is what happens today in Jesus’ baptism. For different people, engagement with creation can have different significances. For the Magi the watching and observing of the sky led them to their adoration of Christ.
In the Epiphany signs, the world and its affairs also play a significant part. The Magi visit Herod's court where the affairs of men were decided, and there they hear the Scriptures for the first time. At his baptism Jesus also immerses himself in the affairs of the world; for there he identifies himself with all those who had been drawn to the Jordan
John's baptism was not a cosy meeting of happy-clappy Christians! It was a gathering of sinners - of those who were both the exploiters and the exploited, the abused and the abusers. And that is where Christ is revealed.
And there is no revelation without humble obedience to God's Word. The Magi did go to Bethlehem as the prophet foretold. Jesus did insist on baptism because Isaiah had already sung of righteousness in his book.
But what did Jesus mean when he said: "Let it be so, to fulfill all righteousness"? It is, firstly, an example for us - but much more than an example. By being baptized, this sinless Son of God identifies himself with humanity, and particularly its sinful nature.
Here we see Jesus' baptism as an extension of the Incarnation - just as God becoming man identifies himself with us, so in his baptism Jesus identifies himself with the world.
On this occasion a new concept is revealed:
Here the Trinity is revealed together for the first time since creation. Truly Jesus' baptism ushers in a new understanding of God - a New Covenant made with water and the Spirit. So this leads naturally to our own baptisms - when we were initiated into the new covenant by water and the Spirit.
The season of Epiphany encourages all of us to live out the baptismal covenant - the covenant which Jesus inaugurated that day at the River Jordan.
This season encourages us, therefore to live as if creation is God's gift to us, and to engage on a journey like those before us - the journey of life, which is also the journey of faith that leads from glory to glory, until finally Christ in all his glory is truly manifest and revealed to us.