Just a few weeks ago, the church celebrated the Baptism of
Jesus in the Jordan. This has always been a rather interesting celebration for
me, because I’ve always thought, “Wait a minute. If Jesus was the Son of God,
he didn’t need to get baptised. He was already without sin.” It didn’t seem to
make sense to be “cleansed” of something that didn’t quite apply to you; sort
of like preaching to the choir or bringing coals to Newcastle. But recently, I
read a whole new perspective on this scriptural passage.
“When we are baptised, we are plugged into
waters that cleanse us from sin. When Christ came unto Jordan, He came sinless,
but this time in the maturity of manhood, at a point at which His human will,
identified with the will of God, made Him a self-offering; He brought Himself
there to begin, to start the way to the Cross. Thousands were baptised in the
Jordan, and each of them proclaimed his sins and these waters of Jordan were
heavy with the murderous sins of men. Christ had no sin to proclaim and to
confess, and when He entered into these waters of Jordan, He entered, to use an
image of a contemporary divine, as one plunges, walks into a dye — He was dyed
with the darkness of our sins. He came out of it carrying all the sins of the
world. He came out of the waters of Jordan loaded with the condemnations that
lay upon the world. And this is the time when He begins His ascent to the Cross.” (Anthony Bloom)
What
an insightful and meaningful interpretation of this biblical event! Like the
Gospel itself, it turns our previous interpretation of things on its head. The
story is not about Jesus being cleansed from sin, but rather poignantly
represents Jesus taking on the sins of others.
We
are not unfamiliar with this sort of acceptance of the burdens of others, the
sins of others, for the sake or for the good of those others. Parents know this
all too well, as do good teachers and anyone in leadership positions. Lucy knew
this “I love humanity. It’s people I can’t stand.” And it’s found in good stories
throughout history, from Brothers Karamazov, The Odyssey, Dante’s Inferno, and
Nicholas Nickelby to Frodo and Katnis Everdeen and Avatar. One of our best
human characteristics is drawn out in this capacity for sacrifice, for moving
beyond self interest. Being in community leads us to want to trust in the
goodness of others, despite their faults and foibles, or perhaps because of
their faults and foibles. One way in which we address our own sins and
limitations is by becoming ever more conscious of, and charitable towards, the
sins and limitations of others, even to the point of absorbing their effects,
embracing them within a larger perspective. “There but for the grace of God go
I.”
