Matthew 3:13-17          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 the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

Reflection           Maybe he wasn’t really thinking about where he was going, or maybe he had a plan from the start. It was a full day’s walk from Nazareth of Galilee to the river Jordan. I wonder if the psalmist’s song, “The voice of the Lord is upon the waters... the voice of the Lord splits the flames of fire...” echoed in Jesus’ heart as he crossed the desert and finally ascended the rocky ridge from which he caught his first glimpse of his cousin John and the people, oh so many people, some wet and resting in the sun, some standing at the river’s edge waiting for their time with the prophet? I wonder how many baptisms Jesus watched before he left his lookout, wound his way among the waiting crowd to the river bank? 

The warm water of the Jordan must have felt fantastic on his dust encrusted feet. I wonder if the psalmist’s song, “The voice of the Lord is upon the waters....” rose in Jesus’ heart as he approached his cousin John? I wonder how Jesus felt as he yielded his weight to John’s outstretched arms? as he caught his breath and surrendered to the watery grave? I wonder if the psalmists’ song “The voice fo the Lord is upon the waters...” was bursting in his chest as he “came up from the water, (and) suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. I wonder how fast his heart was pounding as he caught his breath and heard “.. a voice from heaven (say) “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased?” 

I wonder, how would it be if this tree breaking, wilderness shaking, fire splitting altered state experience  happened to you.. or to me? I hate to admit it but I must. If this happened to me there is every chance it would go straight to my head and I would sizzle,  “Aren’t I special!”  Heaven was torn open to me! A dove flew down from heaven and landed on me! I am afraid I would be tempted to make the experience of the Spirit of God all about me. 

Perhaps that’s why the prophet John warned that the one who came after him would baptize by the Spirit and fire. Maybe the fire John the baptizer mentions has to do with tempering the Spirit? Maybe baptism by fire has to do with seperating the wheat from the chaff, breaking the shell and getting rid of the hard edges of our human minds and personalities. Maybe the fire is about refining the haughty bits of our human condition which tempt us to think of our selves as special, as god?

With that in mind it makes sense that immediately following his baptism,  “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” (Matt 4.1) where we will meet Jesus in next week's gospel text. Stay tuned.

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Gospel text for Sunday 18 August 2013

Luke 12:49-56     Jesus said, "I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided:

father against son

and son against father,

mother against daughter

and daughter against mother,

mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law

and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, `It is going to rain'; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, `There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?"

Reflection      “The very existence of flame-throwers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, ‘You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I’m just not close enought to get the job done.” (George Carlin)

Apparently Jesus knew that he was close enough to get the job done, to set the people on fire!. Jesus knew his mission was to “bring fire to the earth,” which is to say, he came to ignite passion for the living God within the heart of humanity. And, Jesus was not naiive. He understood the divisive effect of passion inflamed for the living God in the context of pagan or secular culture.  

So Jesus warned the disciples (and us); throughout the earth, passion of and in and for living God will divide alliances, separate families, cull supporters of the common good from promoters of self interest, distinguish keepers of peace and reconciliation from protectors of the status quo and cull comunities of compassion from states of enmity. 

Jesus’ fire turns things upside down, and I don’t just mean moneychanger’s tables. Jesus’ fire makes me look in the mirror and ask, where am I straddling the gap? Where am I holding onto “the way things have always been” in order to avoid the divisiveness of standing with Jesus on the side of the hungry, the stranger, the rule breaker?  Where am I avoiding divisiveness in order to be liked, approved of, or to keep the peace? Where am I throwing water on my passion for living God in order to be socially acceptable? Ooops! If we are honest with ourselves we must admit, we make compromises all the time. Still, Jesus’ sorting process burns on, it has for two thousand years. 

Jesus is on a mission and there is no evidence that he will stop until it is accomplished. “His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." (Luke3.17) That stirs up images of hammering chunks of rock from the earth, crushing then heating them to extreme temperatures, all the while hoping to extract a smidge of gold. The Spirit of Jesus within humanity is the refiner’s fire. It is passion burning from the inside out driving believers to distinguish ourselves from the secular realm. Yes, the process of being refined is not particularly pleasant, but it is not optional.

It is a matter of passion. What is it that drives us? What is it that moves us to get up in the morning, step out into the world and do whatever we do? I beleive Pierre Teilhard de Chardin answered this question when he wrote,“Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will discover fire.” 

“Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” The Spirit, the fire, the passion of Jesus within will not rest in peace until humanity’s heart of compassion is restored in each and every one of us and our passion is allied with God's own passion.. “Do you not know how to interpret the present time?"