First Words

This sermon was delivered at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on January 13, 2008, the 1st Sunday of Ordinary Time, Baptism of the Lord Sunday.

Isaiah 42:1-9
Psalm 29
Acts 10:34-43
Matthew 3:13-17

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen

Between 1984 and 2004, Kelsey Grammar played psychiatrist and radio personality Frasier Crane on the TV shows “Cheers” and “Frasier.” The only person to play a character as long on television was James Arness playing Marshall Matt Dillon on “Gunsmoke.”[1] One episode of “Cheers” showed what happened when Frasier and his wife Lilith had to “[cope] with the fact that their son Frederick needs more care from them.”[2] Among the things that happened was an argument between Frasier and Lilith because Lilith objected to Frasier bringing baby Frederick to the bar with him.

During this argument, the resident barfly Norm came into the bar, and as with every time he came on scene, everyone in the bar erupted with the greeting, “Norm!” And as suddenly as Norm came into the bar, and immediately after the bar erupted with Norm’s customary greeting, Frederick says his first word, Norm.

Generally a baby’s first words are “mama” or “dada” or something else familiar, so if little Freddy had spent much time in the bar, it may not have been so unusual that his first word was “Norm.” First words mean so much to parents, even fictional parents that this utterance caused the fight to end and a celebration to erupt.

Fights and celebrations seem to be the norm for first words today, because the first words that Jesus speaks in Matthew’s gospel also leave us with a small fight and a joyous celebration.

Jesus’ first words weren’t some great proclamation. He did not come announcing to everyone at the Jordan his presence or his reason for being there. In fact, according to Matthew’s gospel, Jesus’ first words were an answer to a question.

John says “I need to be baptized by you,” then he asks Jesus, “do you come to me?” John knows his role. Matthew 3:11 makes this clear as John says to the Pharisees and the Sadducees, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” So John knows well that he is not the one, he is the one who makes his path straight. John knows Jesus doesn’t need his baptism, he needs Jesus’.

But in a word, Jesus let John know he needed John’s baptism and everything was right in creation. John knew Jesus’ first words were the answer to his question, the words that overcome his objection. “It is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” This is when John acquiesced to let the drama unfold this way, the way it had been ordained.

“It is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Righteousness, in a word, in a moment, John knew what this meant, so what does it mean to us?

Our reading from Isaiah reminds us that the Lord has called the prophet in righteousness. The Lord has given him to the people as a light to the nations so that he might open the eyes that are blind, bring out the prisoners from the dungeon and release from prison those who sit in darkness. The Lord gave Isaiah to the world to show us that the former things have come to pass, and the new things the Lord now declares will be shared with the prophet before he shares them with the rest of the world.

The Lord tells Isaiah the former things have come to pass, and Isaiah will be told of the new things now declared before they spring forth. These are not the sort of things that one would tell a causal acquaintance, someone on the street. There was a relationship, [3] a relationship between the Lord and the prophet, an intimacy I can scarcely imagine. But I do imagine that John was experiencing this same intimacy with the Lord Jesus in the waters of the Jordan. John knew that righteousness exists in relationship.

And there is more to this righteousness.

The obvious question that comes from this reading from Matthew is why in the world Jesus would need a baptism for repentance of sin? He is without sin, so of course he didn’t. But in presenting himself for baptism, Jesus emphasizes doing what is right. The action which he fulfills in this moment and will continue to fulfill throughout his life on earth is what he was supposed to do, what he had to do.[4] It is in his actions, emptying himself of all Godly status and privilege; accepting life on earth as a human being; human life to the point of facing its ultimate death, even death upon the cross.

He wasn’t forced to do these things. But being Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of Man, integrity demanded he could do nothing else.

Jesus could have come to the river to establish righteousness, but that is not what he had come to do, not in this moment in time. When John consented to Jesus’ coming to the river, Jesus was immersed into the waters of the Jordan. When he arose from the waters, Jesus saw the heavens open. He saw the Spirit of God descending on him like a dove and lighting upon him. And then a voice was heard from heaven.

Hear the words of the psalmist who wrote:

The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD, is upon the mighty waters.
The voice of the LORD is a powerful voice;
the voice of the LORD is a voice of splendor.[5]

As our gospel reading comes to an end, the voice of the Lord is heard over the waters, a voice of power and full of splendor. The voice which thunders over the mighty waters tells all who are assembled,[6] “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

In due time, Jesus would give the world a new righteousness, a new relationship with the Lord open to all of us, not just the prophets of the Old Testament. But this was not the reason he came to the river. Jesus had come to the river to do the right thing. He came to accept the baptism of John. And in his obedience to righteousness he did what was pleasing to God, receiving the anointing of the Holy Spirit, hearing the glorious voice of the Lord.

First words mean so much to parents. The Sunday Teen Study just finished “The Gospel According to the Simpsons.”[7] One episode of “The Simpsons” is the story of the first words of the Simpson children.[8] Bart’s first words are “aye carumba” because of something he sees. Lisa’s first word is “Bart” because she adores her older brother. And Maggie’s first word, and to date the only word she has spoken in the series, is “daddy.”

Jesus’ first words weren’t some great proclamation. He did not come announcing to everyone at the Jordan his presence or his reason for being there. His proclamation would come soon enough, a proclamation so wonderful that in two millennia people have not tired of telling the same glorious story. But what he does is a glorious proclamation. Today he comes to the river to fulfill all righteousness. In the fulfilling of righteousness, Jesus identifies with us, with our struggles, and with our plight. He shows the world that he has emptied himself of his Godly continence and exchanged it for a human face.

And in this moment of identification, the Spirit which is his to begin with alights upon him. The Spirit comes to show that his Godly continence has never left him. He has been, is, and will always be fully human and fully divine.

Then all of creation hears the words from on high “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” In this way, Matthew’s gospel shows us that righteousness is a gift which God gives to those who ask for it.[9]

From this pulpit I have spoken of remembering our baptism. I have said that as others are baptized, like Asher and Maddie, we are called to remember our baptism. In our reading today, through the Baptism of the Lord, we are again called to remember our own baptism. Our baptism is a bath, a tomb, a womb. Our baptism is a gift which identifies us with the community Jesus calls into existence every day. A community he founded and a community he joined in the waters of his baptism, done through a righteousness which is a gift freely offered which we freely ask.

Ask, seek, and remember. Then taste and see that the Lord is good.

[1] Wikipedia.com, “Frasier Crane” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frasier_Crane, retrieved on January 10, 2008.
[2] TV.com, “Cheers” episode summary, http://www.tv.com/cheers/breaking-in-is-hard-to-do/episode/14273/summary.html, retrieved on January 10, 2008.
[3] Kittel, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, volume II, page 195.
[4] Ibid, page 198.
[5] This version of the Psalm is found in the Presbyterian Church Book of Worship.
[6] Not all scholars agree that the assembly heard the words of the Lord. But because Matthew’s gospel says, “This is my Son” instead of “You are my Son,” I am inclined to side with the scholars that say everyone heard the words. On the other side, I believe only Jesus saw the Spirit come based on the pronouns used in Matthew’s gospel, “…the heavens open to him and he saw the Spirit…”
[7] Pinsky, Mark, “The Gospel According to the Simpsons.” 2nd Edition. Louisville, Westminster—John Knox Press, 2007. Study guide for the first edition is also available.
[8] The Simpsons, Lisa’s First Word, Season 4, Episode 10
[9] Kittel, page 198