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.
