Show-and-Tell, Matthew 3:13-17

Today is the first Sunday in Epiphany. The word “Epiphany” comes from two Greek words, epi, which means “on,” or “to,” and phainein, “to show.” The Day of Epiphany was Friday, and the reading for the day is always the story of the wise men honoring Jesus as the king of our lives and giving him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. This is the season of God-made-known, expressed in unexpected ways and places that bring hope and new life in defiance of death.

It is what I like to call the ultimate show-and-tell time, well maybe the penultimate or second best show-and-tell next to Easter. It is bigger than Christmas Eve, in a sense, because the shepherds are, after all, just shepherds, and while they tell the Jewish people of all that they had seen and heard, the wise men represent the gentile world coming to honor or worship Jesus as king, or Lord of all.

 In this show-and-tell season, we will also see Jesus being baptized. We will hear him preach to the people on the mountain, and from a mountain we will witness Jesus talking with Elijah and Moses. But before we enter too far into this joyous season, let us take some time to review what has been happening in Matthew’s Gospel. We have read some of the things in worship since Advent began, some things are generally known to us, and maybe some things are not often thought about.

Thus far, in the book of Matthew, we have been presented with the great genealogy of God’s chosen people that begins with Abraham and ends with Joseph. We have heard how Joseph, guided by dreams, chooses to take Mary for his wife because of God’s work through the Holy Spirit. We know the story of the wise men who saw a star appear in the heavens at the time of Jesus’ birth; and after traveling for some time (as much as two years), they ask King Herod about the newborn king (supposing they will find a king among kings). We know also that the wise men, finding Jesus at home in Bethlehem, recognize him as king and give him royal gifts. We know that the wise men, directed by an angel, journeyed home by a different route to avoid King Herod’s wrath. We know of King Herod’s rage and his slaughter of all the children in Bethlehem two years old and under.

In the midst of the comings and goings of these different groups of people, in the midst of political intrigue, in the midst of joys and sorrow, Joseph, led by dreams, moves his family, first to Egypt and then to Nazareth, in Galilee, where Jesus grows up. At the same time, another person is living among God’s people who discerns God’s activity in the currents of time and history. His name is John, and he is actively working to prepare God’s people for receiving and recognizing God’s presence through repentance and cleansing in baptism.

That brings us to today’s gospel. John is proclaiming that the Kingdom of God has drawn near and that God’s people need to rethink their relationship with God. He is baptizing (cleansing, or anointing with water) those who are able to embrace this new way of thinking, those who are committed to changing the way they live in relationship with God, when the cause for that change, Jesus, appears before him. What a show-and-tell moment!

We are not surprised to see a subject of the king submit to the authority of the king. Therefore, we are not surprised that John might think that he should be baptized by Jesus. And, knowing Jesus to be sinless himself, we are puzzled by Jesus presenting himself to be baptized. Why should Jesus need this baptism of repentance? Confused, with John, we wonder in greater scope, not just whether John should be baptized by Jesus but whether the whole world shouldn’t be crowding in to be baptized by Jesus.

Then, with the first words Jesus speaks in this Gospel, Jesus tells John and us something that will direct much of the conversation that we will be having throughout the rest of Matthew’s account of Jesus’ teaching, trial, death, and resurrection life. Jesus’ first words in this gospel are: “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.”

This statement seems so mundane. In fact, for all my life I have generally passed over these words thinking that they were divine theo-speak or God-talk for “I know, I know, but this is what is expected of me, so let’s get it over with.”

Indeed, until this year, I have always jumped past them to the big words and drama—the heavens opening, the dove descending, those stentorian words, “This is my son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” It seems so natural to go to God’s great endorsement of Jesus. “This is my son.” After that, it’s like “Well, there you have it. God said it; I believe it. What more is there to say? Go home knowing that God has spoken. Thanks be to God.”

But God’s words are only the final stamp of approval. They follow at the end of a long series of revelations. That is why there is a genealogy, Joseph’s acceptance of the angel’s words, the new star that shines in the heavens, the witness of the Wise Men, even the rage of Herod, and the exodus of the Holy Family to Egypt and back again. All of this speaks to Jesus being the one who saves, our Emmanuel, God revealed to us as human among humans.

Although this dramatic event is recalled in all the Gospels, Jesus’ words, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness”, are recorded only in Matthew, and somehow, they get passed over, even ignored. Matthew must think that they are important because it would be so easy to leave them out.

So what does “all righteousness” mean. Back in Advent, we talked about righteousness because Joseph was a righteous man. We talked about righteousness as being living by the law and doing God’s justice. Today we discover that there might even be more. What might it mean to fulfill all righteousness? Elizabeth Achtemeier writes, “’Righteousness,’ throughout the Bible, is the fulfillment of the demands of a relationship.” So, fulfilling all righteousness has something to do with living into the demands and expectations required of the relationship we have with God.

If it is expected that all people should be baptized, then Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us as being, truly human, must also be baptized. But is it necessary? Douglas John Hall, in his book, God and Human Suffering writes, “Though sinless himself, Christ suffers the consequences of sin, i.e., he suffers temptation, alienation, anxiety, and limitation.” As such, Jesus’ baptism models a new relationship for dealing with both the dying to the causes of sin and a sustaining relationship transcending the consequences of sin. This new relationship includes forgiveness, grace, mercy, presence, peace and wholeness, and eternal life.

At Bible camp one year, I was the counselor for a group of boys who ranged from eight to thirteen years old. Many of them were openly challenging the rules of safety established by the camp. I had determined that violators of the law would suffer the punishment of having to clean the bathroom beyond their usual daily cleaning responsibilities. As an incentive, I told them that if they were good, I would clean the bathroom.

Each day, one group or another of my boys managed to get in trouble. By the end of the week all of the boys had had an opportunity to learn the skills of cleaning the bathroom except two eight-year-old boys who were particularly compliant in all things.

The night before we were to go home, these two boys came to me. They looked embarrassed. They had difficulty looking at me. They were shuffling their feet and mumbling a lot. Finally, I asked them if there was a problem? One boy finally looked at me and asked, “How bad do we have to be in order to clean the bathroom tomorrow?” I told them that questioning my judgment about punishments was enough.

The next day, these two boys started cleaning the bathroom. The others came and asked what those two had done to deserve it? When the two boys refused to answer, the older boys began to think that those two had really done something wrong. And then, one by one, the older boys said something like, “Let me help you with that.” Before I knew it, all fourteen boys were in there cleaning, scrubbing and sweeping the bathroom. My two eight-year-olds were grinning from ear-to-ear. Somehow, the demands of the relationship of belonging included cleaning the bathroom, and they had made the grade. That time, fulfilling all righteousness included cleaning the bathroom.

I was proud of my boys that week at camp. They had found a way to value each other without exception. Jesus’ statement claims that fulfilling all righteousness includes baptism and models a new way of living together in relationship with one another. I can’t help but think that God’s endorsement of Jesus’ work at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry is no less proud.

In the coming weeks, we will witness Jesus fully entering into our world where he will suffer all of the consequences of sin, but he will also show-and-tell new ways of being in relationship with one another. He will preach new ways of thinking about the law. He will teach new ways of thinking about giving value to all of God’s creation and the people in it. He will model new healing ways of wholeness that will challenge the way we live. In all of this, Jesus will challenge the way we think about death and our eternal relationship with God.

So, let us begin our time of learning the new demand of this new relationship we have with God and one another. Let us stand before the world in this show-and-tell time of Epiphany to claim God’s word revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ. “Let us do so now, for it is proper, in this way, to fulfill all righteousness.” And fulfilling all righteousness, let the mercy, redemption, and liberation of God’s rule cover the world as Christ’s baptismal waters have covered us.