Reflection on Matthew 3:13-17

 

Matthew 3:13-17

13 Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 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. 16 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. 17 And a voice from the heavens said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Reflection

Have you ever thought about pivotal moments in your life where making another decision would have altered your life completely?  I do.  Like, I think about what might have happened if I had chosen to go to the University of Nebraska in Lincoln to study theatre, rather than my small Lutheran school.  I might not have ever entered the ministry.  I might not have ever met my wife, Randele and had our kids.  I might be wearing one of those huge red sweatshirts with the big cornhusker N on them.  My heart beats fast in horror at just the thought of it. 

You see, there are certain decisions and events that mark a shift in life and they change everything.  These life altering decisions and events do not always lead somewhere positive either.  Taking that first drag or drink.  Stealing that first candy bar.  Choosing to chance going up to the top of the mountain, even though the storm is approaching. 

I cannot help but think of the “what ifs” that the enforcement officer who shot his gun in Minneapolis must be tumbling over and over in his mind right now.  The wife of the slain woman has already expressed heartache at having suggested that they drive down and protest.  What if they had just gone home?  And, of course, the slain woman cannot ask, “what if.”  It is all a heartbreaking mess.  Some decisions and events mark a dramatic shift in life and they change everything.

Maybe you are facing one of those decisions right now.  Maybe two roads diverge in a yellow wood, you look at both paths, and you have no idea which one will make all the difference in the world.  How do you choose?  On what basis do you make your decision?

Jesus has been there.  At around age thirty, Jesus had the choice of living out his life as the town’s trusted handyman (I can hear the people talking about the fine tables and chairs he provided, and his kind eyes at his hometown funeral right now), or walking down a path that eventually led to the horrors of the cross.  Did he know where the paths would lead?  Did he know about the resurrection and did that tip him off as to which path to take?  Or did he one day just make the decision to leave the tools behind and walk down to see John the Baptist at the Jordan River, not knowing what lay ahead? 

How did he choose?  On what basis did he make his decision?

Luckily for us, Matthew the evangelist lets us know.  And I think the answer he provides is a word of good news for us.  It is the guidance that we have been craving.  It leads to true life; living in the light of God.

And the answer can be found right here in the story of Jesus’ baptism.  As the Bible tells it, “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’” (Matthew 3:13-15). 

Now, when I am standing at the divergence in the path, wondering which road to take, I tend to be more than hesitant.  I am willing to stand right there at that fork in the road for days and days on end.  I am willing to punish myself with lack of sleep and loads and loads of empty calories while I stand there staring at my two options.  I camp out right there in the convenience store at the fork in the road, finding solace in unending Resees Peanut Butter Cups.

But do you notice who is the hesitant one when Jesus comes to the river?  John is the hesitant one, not Jesus.  “I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me?” (Matthew 3:14).  Jesus does not need a baptism of repentance.  What terrible acts and sins does he need to turn from?  Jesus is the one who should be in the river baptizing John so that he turns his life toward the better, not the other way around.

Jesus stands at a fork in the road and is not hesitant at all.  We find out why.  He says, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). 

And there it is.  How did Jesus know which road to take, which path in life to trod?  He took the path that fulfilled “all righteousness.”  And if you have no idea what that is all about, just remember that “righteousness” in the Bible means “right relationship.”  Jesus took the path that consists of “right relationship” with God and neighbor.

Can I ask you to use your imagination for just a second.  Imagine that you are trying to walk your way back to the Garden of Eden.  You see Eden way up on the mountain but before you ever get there you face some obstacles.  There are obstacles blocking your way up the mountain to the place where you can walk and talk with God once again.  To find some peace with God in the garden, first you will have to go through one of the four rivers that flow out of the garden.  To get back to the garden of life, love, peace, and heavenly relationship means wading through the waters.

And Jesus waded through the waters, became submersed, and on the other side of the waters he encountered God.  He saw “the heavens…opened to him and saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove…on him” (Matthew 3:16).  Choosing the path of right relationship with God and others means that you will, in fact, find a meaningful relationship with God and others.  You will find yourself standing in God’s garden, walking and talking with God.  “And a voice from the heavens said, ‘This is my son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

So, when standing at the dividing paths ahead, considering which way to take in life, Jesus chooses the one that builds right relationship with God and others.  And as we stand at the dividing path ahead of us, the Bible seems to be saying that the most important question we should be asking is: “Which path creates right relationships with God and others?”

Just to be clear, just because Jesus followed the path that eventually led to the cross, led to our redemption, and led to resurrection, the path of a loving servant who would die for those he loves, that does not mean that being a handyman is a terrible path.  Jesus’ path gave us the gift of right relationship with God.  It was choosing to have a right relationship with us, even when we choose otherwise.  Though that was his choice in the end, I just want to be clear that I have known plenty of people who work with their hands who also have chosen the path of right relationship.

Bill Sheston was one of them.  Bill was many things.  He was a teacher, a football and wrestling coach, a principal, and in retirement was a museum artifact restoration expert and knowledgeable museum guide.  But what Bill was to me was a woodcarver and spiritual guide. 

You see, between college and seminary my wife, Randele and I took a year off from school.  We needed a break from all the stress and studying.  And it was in the mundane scraping and painting job at a museum that I met Bill Sheston.  He would whittle away at blocks of wood while we took our lunch breaks on the benches by the river.  During one of those breaks, I found myself entertaining the idea that maybe I should simply abandon the stress of studying completely and not train to become a pastor.  This life on the maintenance crew was fine.  I was at one of those diverging paths. 

Bill listened for a while as I went back and forth, searching through my options.  He whittled away while we talked.  Finally, he stopped whittling, looked at me, and said, “I don’t know what could be more important to you than choosing a life preaching for the Lord.”  He handed me a small, delicately carved little statue of a preacher.  He said, “This is so you don’t forget who you are.”

Bill never forgot who he was either.  He was a woodcarver…for God.  He preached through his carvings and made right relationships from little gifts that he gave away almost daily after lunch.  He loved God and loved others through his carved figurines of wood.  He too had chosen the path of right relationship with God and others, just in a different way.

The little preacher can usually be found sitting in my office.  The little guy is the voice from heaven reminding me, “You are my child.  You are loved.  With you I am pleased.”

There is something special that happens when the path that leads to right relationship with God and others becomes clear.  Love happens. 

God’s love was right there the whole time, of course.  Jesus’ love for the whole world was shown on the cross for all to see.  It was there the whole time.  Jesus’ desire to make all our relationships right with God and between each other through his blood on the cross has been the reality under our feet the entire time.  Sometimes, we just forget.  Sometimes, we just forget to take God’s love into consideration when facing our choices.  Sometimes, we forget to consider what creates a right relationship with God and with our neighbors when looking at our options, when staring down the various paths in life.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37 and 39).

“If you forgive others…your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14).

“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12).

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

“Just as I have love you, you also should love one another” (John 13:34).

No, none of this will help you as you try to decide which cheese to buy at the grocery store (Gouda or Havarti?), but it is your guide when you face a major choice that could alter your life and the lives of those around you.  Which choice will ultimately bring you into closer relationship with others and with God.  Which choice would harm those relationships.  Which choice recognizes that you are a child of God?  Which choice recognizes that others are also a beloved child of God?

After-all, as the Apostle Paul says, “Because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba!  Father!  So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir though God” (Galatians 4:6-7).  We are God’s children.  We have been claimed by God’s love through the waters of baptism.  And who we are matters.  It guides our decisions.  It guides our relationships.  It guides everything.

Love like Jesus.

“Why do you keep loving me?” the young adult asked his parent after failing for what seemed like the millionth time.  “Why do you keep forgiving?  Why do you keep loving me?”

The parent looked into his eyes and answered, “Because I am loved, and that has made all the difference for me.”  Who knows, maybe at this pivotal moment in this parent and young adult’s life God will use this moment, this decision to show love, to shift his life from one of failure and disappointment into one that is truly blessed?