You are my Son, the beloved…
The Baptism of Christ, by Grigory Gagarin, c. 1840–1850. Photo: Public Domain.
The gospel reading of the Baptism of the Lord leaps ahead 30 years. Last week we pondered the Epiphany of the Lord - the three wise men who came looking for the infant king of the Jews and this week Jesus, a mature man by now, is baptised in the river Jordan by John the Baptist.
The gospel is only four verses long but full of deep truths which the author wants to bring to the notice of the early Christian community.
John the Baptist is the object of the readers’ attention originally, but then Jesus appears at this lonely place in the Jordan, having travelled all the way from Nazareth in Galilee and to be baptised by John.
The early Church had a struggle with the fact that John baptised Jesus, the inference being that John was greater than Jesus, that perhaps Jesus was initially a follower of John? The gospels of Matthew and Luke deal with the issue differently.
Mark, however, wants to get to the point and position Jesus as the focus of attention and to proclaim that Jesus is the one sent by God the Father. The plan that God has for humankind is moving ahead now picking up pace as we read the gospel according to Mark.
A powerful revelation from God to Jesus - there is no indication in Mark’s gospel that anyone else heard the voice of God extolling his son as he rose out of the water, but Jesus heard it: You are my Son, the beloved, my favour rests on you.
The heavens are torn apart, power is in the air and the heart of Jesus is changed.
As readers, we know the story, how it proceeds and how it ends. Such a blessing from God on Jesus! My Beloved Son! The exterior of the blessing is the dove descending on Jesus.
We think of baptism in the Church as a predictable sacrament yet the baptism of Jesus informs us that the Holy Spirit descends upon us, though we do not hear the voice of the Father. We know that we have become the beloved sons and daughters of God.
When Jesus rose from the waters of the Jordan he began his ministry. Mark is telling us that we have become like him, possessed with the same Holy Spirit and our destiny is to tell all people that God’s favour rests on them.
As we move deeper into the gospel of Mark, we come to see that Jesus had changed when he received the Holy Spirit, that he went home to Nazareth and spoke in the synagogue with such power and precision that his friends and villagers could not believe that it was himself that they knew so well.
He lived in the village, they knew his family, what has happened here! And they rejected him because he was different. Later his family come to take him home because they think he is unhinged. Yet to others not of his village, he was a prophet, a man come from God doing God’s work.
The ways of God are different, we must remember.
Columban Fr Gary Walker is currently living at the Columban house in Sandgate, Brisbane.
