Baptism of the Lord
January 2011
Today’s feast; the Baptism of Jesus of Nazareth by John the Baptist in the river Jordan, is another epiphany. Firstly an epiphany to Jesus himself regarding his mission in life and secondly an epiphany to John as to the identity of ‘the one who was to come.’
From now on John began to steer his followers in the direction of Jesus; he revealed to them who Jesus was.
This epiphany of who Jesus was, was a traumatic event for John and brought a total change to John’s standing and mission in life.
Up to now the focus was on John. Huge crowds followed him as he urged them to repent and change their lives in preparation for the ‘one who was to come.’
He baptised (washed) them in the river as a symbol of this inner repentance.
He was at centre stage.
Now all this changed. He himself set Jesus up at centre stage and directed and urged his many followers to become followers of Jesus. From being central he became a mere signpost.
For Jesus of Nazareth this epiphany during his Baptism was also traumatic. From being the local village carpenter whose life was and would me dictated by life within his village (marrying a local girl, rearing and preparing a family for life within the same village and burial in the village cemetery) he was faced with an uncertain life as an itinerant preacher/prophet who generally came to a sticky end, either at the hands of the Jews own political and religious leaders or at the hands of the Roman invaders.
No wonder he retreated into the wilderness for a while to think and pray about this epiphany.
This was underlined soon after Jesus started preaching when John the Baptist was arrested and beheaded and Jesus had to take refuge in a deserted place to avoid the same fate.
As Stephen told the High Priest and his council before they killed him;
‘Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One.’
Am I open to an epiphany? Are you open to an epiphany?
Be warned that if you are open to an epiphany, open to the suggestions of your God, and do something in response to it, it will bring changes to your life.
It’s much easier to forget about epiphanies and carry on as usual.