Baptism in the Great White North

 

                                                           Baptism of Jesus from the St. John's Bible 

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.  John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”  But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from the heavens said, “This is my Son, the Beloved,[a] with whom I am well pleased.

                                                     Matthew 3:13-17 NRSVue

This is Baptism of Jesus Sunday in the Christian liturgical calendar, as lots of you will hear today. The gospel lesson reminds us of Jesus' immersion in the waters of the Jordan River by his cousin, John. Above hovered a dove, symbol of the Holy Spirit, and the voice of God declares approval -- "God in three persons, blessed Trinity." 

It always struck me as odd timing in the Great White North when lots of our bodies of water are either frigid or frozen. Not that we actually baptize outdoors, for the most part, but the symbolism is chilly. While in decades past there were years when I presided at lots of infant baptisms it seemed that there were seldom candidates for this particular Sunday. 

In three months, to the day, we will be in Israel, celebrating Easter, providing so much disruptions such as unrest in Israel, or a resurgence of the virus whose name we dare not speak.  Ruth has a step-sister who has lived there for 35 years and while she and her husband have worked and raised a family there they will retire next year and return to the States. So, "now or never." I have visited three times but always as "tour nanny". This will be an opportunity to choose where we go and without doing a head-count to ensure everyone is on board.

We're not all that interested in visiting the baptism sites set up by the Israeli and Jordanian governments. That's right, there are several. In the north, where there is more water in the Jordan, there is a pretty location which simply couldn't be historically accurate. Just north of the Dead Sea there are two sites, across the river from each other and they are prone to running dry thaks to the siphoning away of water for agriculture and other purposed. In Jordan about a quarter million people a year visited, pre-pandemic with 750,000 on the Israeli side. Not exactly the setting for a contemplative experience. 

Who knows, we may have the freedom to visit the Jordan somewhere less hectic and we may actually have a sense of Christ's presence with us. 

Today is also the opportunity to renew baptismal vows, often made by parents which we are unable to recall. We don't have to get out the chainsaw to cut a hole in the ice to do so. 

Here is what our United Church of Canada "A Song of Faith" says about this sacrament:

Baptism by water in the name of the Holy Trinity
is the means by which we are received, at any age,
into the covenanted community of the church.
It is the ritual that signifies our rebirth in faith
and cleansing by the power of God.
Baptism signifies the nurturing, sustaining,
and transforming power of God’s love
and our grateful response to that grace. A Song of Faith UCC