Christmas 2014 Meditation Three

The Jordan River
Matthew 3:1-17

Today we go to the Jordan River. There we meet John the Baptist, "the voice calling out in the wilderness." He must have been quite a spectacle in his clothes made from camel's hair eating locusts and honey. John was not interested in making friends and influencing people with statements like, "You children of snakes!...Produce fruit that shows you have changed your hearts and lives." John said these things to the Pharisees and Sadducees who had come to him to be baptized. This is not usually how we welcome visitors!

Then Jesus, John's cousin, enters the scene. I think there may have been a bit of tenderness in John's voice when he said to Jesus, "I need to be baptized by you, yet you come to me?" One minute John is preaching fire and brimstone and warning those listening of the upcoming judgement and the next he is humbling himself before his cousin. Again I imagine a tenderness, soft-spoken but firm response from Jesus, "Allow me to be baptized now. This is necessary to fulfill all righteousness."

John did as Jesus requested (maybe commanded) but I wonder if he was still thinking, "this doesn't make sense." Did John dunk Jesus in the Jordan River while muttering "this is crazy?" What did Jesus expect to happen?

Well, what happened is amazing! "When Jesus was baptized, he immediately came up out of the water. Heaven was opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and resting on him. A voice from heaven said, "This is my Son whom I dearly love; I find happiness in him."

I wonder what John and those who witnessed this were thinking. Did some run away or faint from fear? Did anyone fall to their knees to praise God? Matthew stops the story with the voice from heaven so I guess it doesn't really matter. But if I put myself into the story I think I would be scared, yet curious. I would wonder what all this means. Perhaps I would follow Jesus as he walked away. Maybe I would just keep track of what he did from a distance.

That leads me to standing at the Jordan River renewing my Baptismal Covenant. I stood at the bank of the river proclaiming my belief in God, the Father; Jesus, the Son; and the Holy Spirit. Not only did I proclaim my belief, but I also renounced evil and rejected sin. I said that I would turn from evil and turn toward God. I said that I would follow Jesus, live a life worthy of His sacrifice. But I can't do it alone, I need the help of the Holy Spirit and my Christian community. Standing there at the shore I never felt closer to or more sure of that community. I know that the other pilgrims with me will always be there to support me. But their job is not only to offer support, they must also hold me accountable for my actions.

Sometimes that means saying the hard things, telling me I'm wrong. They must point out when I have turned away from God. This is a really difficult part of the Christian life. No one wants to come across as judging another, especially since Jesus tells us not to judge others. No one wants to sound superior, but sometimes we must be the reminder of God's call to us. Maybe that is why John the Baptist is so important, he is a reminder that we must sometimes say the hard things to bring people back to God.

I'm not suggesting we should call anyone a "child of snakes," but perhaps we do need to remind others that they are children of God, followers of Christ and with that comes certain responsibilities. We must live our lives worthy of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us; we must follow His example of love, peace and forgiveness. And we must remember that sometimes another will bring us the message of God. Following Jesus means that we hear that message, prayerfully consider it and repent of our sin if necessary. We must turn back toward God and be thankful for the faithful servant who helped us see our way back.