This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased

 

 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.  And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are you coming to me?"  But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."  Then he allowed Him. 

 

When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water;  and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

 

- Matthew 3:13–17 

 

Yesterday we read that when St. John the Baptist saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

 

 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.  And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are you coming to me?"  But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."  Then he allowed Him.  My study Bible comments that Jesus does not need purification.  But by making the purification of humanity His own, several things are accomplished.  He washes away humanity's sin, grants regeneration, and reveal the mystery of the Holy Trinity.  So, therefore, His baptism was necessary for the fulfillment of God's righteous plan of salvation.  Gregory of Nyssa is quoted here as saying, "Jesus enters the filthy, sinful, waters of the world and when He comes out, brings up and purifies the entire world with Him."   

 

 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water;  and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  Just as the Spirit of God hovered over the waters at the first creation (Genesis 1:2), so now the Holy Spirit comes in the form of a dove in order to anoint the Messiah, the Son of God, at the beginning of the new creation.  My study Bible explains that Jesus does not become the Son of God on this day.  Instead we are to understand that this as a revelation given to all on this day that He is the Son of God.  The Holy Spirit has always rested upon Christ; this is an eternal reality (see John 1:1).  In the Orthodox Tradition, the feast day of Epiphany (meaning manifestation or revelation) or Theophany (meaning a manifestation of God) is celebrated on January 6th and commemorates this day.  In the very early Church, on this day was also celebrated Christ's Nativity (Christmas), coupled with Theophany or Epiphany.  In the Armenian Apostolic Church, these two feast days were never separated and remain celebrated on January 6th; that is, the beginning of Christ's earthly life is celebrated together with the beginning of His public ministry. 

 

"And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  This is a quotation from Psalm 2:7:  "You are My Son, / Today I have begotten You."  My study Bible asks us to note how the Baptism of Jesus reveals the great mystery of the Trinity:  the Father speaks; the Holy Spirit descends; the Incarnate Son is baptized.  

 

 "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  Right from the beginning, St. Matthew's Gospel tells us these important things about Jesus:  that He is the Son, that He is the Second Person of the Trinity, that He is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.  It is this claiming of identity as Son for which He will be judged a blasphemer and handed over to be crucified by the Roman authorities on a false charge of treason against Caesar (Matthew 26:64-65).  For most of His ministry, Jesus will take precautions against revealing this secret openly and fully, for even His disciples will have to come to know and to understand Him.  Moreover the popular expectations of the Messiah among the people interfere with the grasping of the true nature of His ministry, mission, and Kingdom.  But we believers are let in on this secret, this reality that is hidden yet revealed in Christ's baptism at the Jordan by St. John the Baptist.  It is "manifest," it "shows forth" as the Greek words Epiphany and Theophany indicate.  It's an interesting angle to ponder that as Christ asserts to John the Baptist that it is fitting to fulfill all righteousness, so this showing forth of true reality breaking through our perception of life is manifest.  It's another dimension of the reality of Christ's baptism to ponder the spiritual significance of His being submerged in the waters, and coming up to begin His ministry:  Just as He will "trample death by death" (as the Orthodox Easter hymn declares) in His Passion and Crucifixion, so by going into the depth of the waters it is not He who spiritually dies to be reborn but rather He sanctifies the waters of the world for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire that He is to bring into the world.  Moreover as He rises from the waters so a new reality -- not for Him, but for all people -- is made manifest, shown forth, revealed.  Christ will call His own death a baptism (Matthew 20:22), and here we have a foreshadowing of all that His death and Resurrection will achieve and mean, ongoing for the world to come.  Jesus' ministry will balance His need for secrecy regarding His identity with His care and nurturing of His disciples, growing His ministry, sending them out as apostles, until the time comes for His Passion and open confrontation in Jerusalem.  Let us watch Him evolve His ministry and mission, teaching as He must, midst the challenges He will face, and the fullness of His gospel and the Kingdom He brings closer for us all.

 

 

 

 

 

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire

 

 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

 

- Matthew 3:7–12 

 

In yesterday's lectionary reading we were given sections from two chapters of St. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 1 and chapter 3.  First we were given St. Matthew's genealogy of Jesus:  The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:  Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.  Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.  Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.  Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.  David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.  Solomon begot Rehoboam, Reoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.  Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah.  Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah.  Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah.  Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.  And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor.  Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud.  Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob.  And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.  So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.   Then, the lectionary skipped to chapter 3, where we  begin reading about Christ's public ministry, which starts with the mission of St. John the Baptist:  In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight.'" Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.   Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. 

 

  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"  My study Bible explains here that Sadducees were members of the high priestly and landowning class who controlled the temple and the internal political affairs of the Jews.  The Sadducees differed from the Pharisees in that they denied the resurrection of the dead, did not believe in the existence of angels, and had no messianic hope beyond our earthly life.  The Pharisees formed a lay religious movement which was centered on the study of the Law, and strict observance of its regulations  Moreover they developed secondary traditions around the Law, which they scrupulously followed.  They believed in the resurrection of the dead, and also a messianic hope, but they taught that righteousness is found on the strength of one's works according to the Law.  Additionally, my study Bible explains, they believed that the Messiah would be merely a glorious man.  St. John the Baptist's title for them, brood of vipers, will later be used by Jesus (Matthew 12:34; 23:33).  It's an image of their deception and malice, and their being under the influence of Satan.  

 

"Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, . . . "  According to my study Bible, repentance, confession, and baptism lead to fruits worthy of repentance.  That is, a way of life consistent with the Kingdom of God (see Galatians 5:22-25).  My study Bible comments that if a fruitful life doesn't follow, then sacramental acts and spiritual discipline are useless.  So, therefore, in many icons of the Baptism of Christ, an ax is pictured chopping a fruitless tree in accordance with the Baptist's image given in verse 10.

 

 ". . . and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones."   This warning that from these stones (in Hebrew 'ebanim) God can raise up children (Hebrew banim) is a play on words.  My study Bible comments that God will not admit fruitless children into His house, but adopts other children from the Gentiles.  

 

"And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  This statement is tied to the Baptist's earlier command to bear fruits worthy of repentance.  My study Bible comments that fire here refers to divine judgment (see Isaiah 33:11; 66:24; Ezekiel 38:22; 39:6; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9).  See also the reference to fire in the following verse.

 

"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."  Christ baptizes in the fire of the Holy Spirit, which my study Bible says is the power and grace of God divinely poured out on all believers at baptism.  It is the same Power and the same Spirit which both enlivens the faithful and destroys the faithless.   Additionally, in the Baptist's culture, a slave would carry the king's sandals.  So, my study Bible explains, John is declaring himself to be even lower than a slave of Jesus.  His inability to carry Christ's sandals also has a second meaning.  To carry another's sandal indicated that one was taking someone else's responsibility (Ruth 4:7).  Here, according to my study Bible, it shows that John could not have carried the responsibility that Christ carries, and that the Law could not redeem the world as Christ has come to do.  

 

"His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."  Winnowing is a process that separates grain from the chaff, so as to save the edible grain and toss the inedible chaff.  My study Bible explains that this is a metaphor for the divine judgment, which will separate good from evil.  

 

In last week's lectionary readings, we were given Christ's Farewell Discourse to the disciples.  In Friday's reading, Jesus said to them, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth.  It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.  And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:  of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."  The Helper, in this discourse, is the Holy Spirit.  In today's reading, St. John the Baptist speaks of the Messiah (or Christ) as He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.  Again, my study Bible teaches us that this is the fire of the power and truth of God, yet this same fire is also the fire of judgment.  It is similar to a flame that purifies metals like gold, by burning away the impurities and leaving the pure metal.  It matches St. John's metaphor of the winnowing fan in yet another way, for a winnowing fan uses airflow to separate the lighter chaff from the heavier grain (modern winnowing machines use industrial technology essentially to perform the same task by efficiently blowing air to separate both).  In Greek, the word for Spirit is Πνευμα/Pneuma.  This is the same word used for the Holy Spirit, and the more general word spirit.  It also means breath, or wind.  The same is true for the Hebrew word Ruach.  Jesus likens the Holy Spirit and His effects to the wind when He teaches Nicodemus about Baptism in St. John's Gospel (see John 3:5-8, especially verse 8).  The same fire that purifies gold and burns impurities can be likened to the wind that separates wheat from chaff, as metaphor for the work of the Holy Spirit, whose job it is not only to illumine spiritual truth for those who will accept it, but also to "convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment."  So, we take St. John the Baptist's prophetic words here to indicate what the coming of the Lord means for all the people, including the coming of the Holy Spirit for all, and particularly within Christian Baptism.  Moreover, John's words speak with the prophetic power of the meaning of the coming of the Messiah for all people, in that he speaks eschatologically.  That is, his words indicate the coming of judgment:  "His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."  This is a prophecy of "end times," which in the historic mind of the Church began with Christ's Incarnation and will continue until His Second Coming.  Just as Christ indicated in His Farewell Discourse to the disciples at the Last Supper, the coming of Christ is a mission which will initiate also the work of the Holy Spirit, alive like a spiritual fire always working in the world, always testing and purifying, with His power working to reveal truth as well as what needs to be burned away.  Let us remember the power of our Baptism given by Christ, and seek to fulfill its promise with the true fruits of the Spirit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The voice of one crying in the wilderness

 

 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:  Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.  Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.  Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.  Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.  

 

David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.  Solomon begot Rehoboam, Reoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.  Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah.  Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah.  Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah.  Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.  

 

And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor.  Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud.  Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob.  And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.  

 

So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.  

 

 * * * 

 

 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the LORD;

Make His paths straight.'"

Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.   Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.  

 

- Matthew 1:1–17; 3:1–6 

 

 In our readings from last week, the lectionary gave us the Final Discourse of Jesus, which He gave to the disciples at the Last Supper.  On Saturday, we read His final words in this discourse, just prior to His prayer before going to His arrest and the Cross.  He told the disciples, "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father."  Then some of His disciples said among themselves, "What is this that He says to us, 'A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'; and 'because I go to the Father'?"  They said therefore, "What is this that He says, 'A little while'?  We do not know what He is saying."  Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, "Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, 'A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'?  Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.  A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.  Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.  And in that day you will ask Me nothing.  Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.  Until now you have asked nothing in My name.  Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.  These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father.  In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have  loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.  I came forth from the Father and have come into the world.  Again, I leave the world and go to the Father."  His disciples said to Him, "See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech!  Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You.  By this we believe that You came forth from God."  Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?  Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone.  And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.  These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

 

 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:  Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.  My study Bible comments that while St. Luke's genealogy runs from Jesus back to Adam (Luke 3:23-38), St. Matthew's list descends from Abraham, with whom was established the Old Covenant of circumcision, to Jesus, who is the author of the New Covenant.  God promised to bless all the tribes of the earth in Abraham (Genesis 12:3; 28:14).  This promise is fulfilled in Abraham's greatest Son, Jesus Christ.

 

 Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.  Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.  Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.  Traditionally, Jewish genealogical lists included only men.  Here, the mention of women -- Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba -- is unusual.  Each one, according to my study Bible, is either a Gentile or a sinner.  The inclusion of these women, it notes, declares God's graciousness and prefigures the calling of the Gentiles into the Church.  Additionally, it underscores the role of women in God's plan of salvation, and at the same time anticipates the place of the Virgin Mary in that place. 

 

 David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.  Solomon begot Rehoboam, Reoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.  Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah.  Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah.  Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah.  Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.   Through his anointing by Samuel, David was made king  (1 Samuel 16:1-13).  Through his psalms, David was revealed as a great prophet.  So, according to my study Bible, David foreshadows both the royal and the prophetic nature of Jesus Christ (Psalm 110). As an adulterer and a murderer, David is also a type for all repentant sinners. 

 

 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor.  Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud.  Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob.  And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.  My study Bible says that Joseph can be named as Jesus' immediate predecessor since Old Testament marriage laws confer hereditary rights on adopted as well as biological sons.  According to the Church Fathers, Mary also was descended from David; and in the phrase Mary, of whom was born Jesus, "of whom" is in a feminine singular case, therefore referring only to Mary.  So, therefore, Jesus is shown to be born of Mary, and not begotten of Joseph.  

 

 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.  Christ's ancestors in St. Matthew's genealogy are arranged in three groups of fourteen generations.  Fourteen is the numerical equivalent of the consonants in the name David, and thereby, my study Bible says, it underlines Jesus' descent from David.  This arrangement also shows the division of the leadership of the Jews, who were under judges until David, under kings until Babylon, and under priests until Christ.  

 

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight.'"  The wilderness of Judea is the barren region which descends from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea (map).  The preparation for Christ's ministry began with John the Baptist's call to repent.  My study Bible comments that repentance, which accompanies faith, is a total about-face.  The word in Greek (μετανοια/metanoia) literally means to change one's mind, or more generally, to turn around.  It explains that repentance is a radical change of one's spirit, mind, thought, and heart, a complete reorientation of the whole of one's life.  This is the necessary first step in the way of the LORD.  It is accompanied by the confession of sins and the act of baptism (verse 6), and is followed by a life filled with fruits worthy of this change (verse 8).  

 

 Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. My study explains that John's ascetic life conformed to that of the Jewish sects such as the Essenes, who lived in the wilderness.  Their purpose was to prepare for the coming Kingdom of God.  John's clothing is typical of a prophet, and echoes descriptions of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8).  In the early Church, the monastic movement was patterned after St. John the Baptist's manner of life. 

 

 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.  My study Bible remarks that the confession of sins is essential to baptism under both the Old Covenant and the New.  John's baptism, however, is a sign of repentance and the forgiveness of sins only.  It did not confer the power of total regeneration nor adoption as a child of God in the way that Christian baptism does (verse 11).  

 

As we have just passed through Lent and into Easter (or Pascha), it might be time to consider paradox and the role that it plays in our faith.  Holy Week gives us vividly the most striking paradox of all; that is, death and life, rebirth -- the Cross of the Crucifixion and the empty tomb and joyous good news of Resurrection from an angel to Christ's followers.  In today's reading, we begin not simply with Christ's birth, but with His entire genealogy from Abraham, the one whose faith in God was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6).   This beginning gives us a complete focus for the Gospel of Matthew as we enter into readings in this Gospel through the lectionary, a focus on faith and its role in adoption as children of God.  This is a genealogy that links faith to Christ, and gives us a host of ancestors who, by faith, lead us to the Son of God.  My study Bible points out the unusual four women who are included in this genealogy, each one either a Gentile or a sinner.  But each plays the role in the salvation history we must come to understand as faithful.  And without faith, that understanding becomes impossible.  For God's work in the world isn't to our human standards, but rather comes through revelation and our receipt of that reality.  We learn about and come into relationship with God through God's grace and revelation to us.  Without this, how could we understand the paradoxes of life in Christ, of the Cross and of the Resurrection?  That is, that which St. Paul termed "to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks foolishness" (1 Corinthians 1:23).  From this long history of beginning and renewal in the genealogy we receive the beginning of Christ's ministry, given to us in the person and ministry of St. John the Baptist.  He comes into the story of salvation at a particular moment in which expectations are high that the Messiah would be coming; this also involves a great deal of false expectation which will play a role in the story of Jesus.  He foreshadows the baptism that is to come, preparing people through repentance, and repeating the words of the prophet Isaiah who came before him.  In this the Gospel gives us yet another parallel lineage that plays its own great role in the story of salvation, that of the prophets.  St. John the Baptist is considered in the Church to be the last and greatest of the Old Testament type prophets, and in yet another paradox, he plays his role in ushering in and preparing for the New Covenant to come.  Just as the voice in the prophecy of Isaiah, his mission and ministry are in the wilderness, and all are coming to him.  He lives in a radical poverty, echoing that of another prophet, Elijah -- the one who was prophesied to return before the Messiah (Malachi 4:5-6).  Jesus Himself will point out that we are also to see John's role as that of Elijah's return in spirit (Matthew 17:12-13).  So today, let us consider the paradox of the old and the new, the extension and renewal of covenant and of the ongoing saving mission of God in the world.  Baptism itself is a model of renewal, death and rebirth, turning from one way and facing another -- making a path straight for the Lord, in the words of Isaiah (Isaiah 40:3).  John's mission is in the wilderness of desert, just as Isaiah's words reflect.  There is the old, and there is renewal, and John's baptism will also be renewed in the Baptism that is to come in the Holy Spirit.  Let us embrace paradox and renewal, the old fulfilled in the new -- and God's always surprising revelation where our understanding isn't adequate without also faith in order to receive it.  In the Revelation, the Lord says, "Behold, I make all things new" (Revelation 21:5); from the Greek, this is better translated, "I am always making all things new."  The paradox of faith is always unfolding for us if we can but accept it, for in this is the lifetime drama of repentance, a continual renewal.  If we can but receive it, Christ's death and renewal is always working within us and in our lives.   We begin with the voice of one crying in the wilderness, which leads to eternal Resurrection, if we can accept with faith.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness

Baptism of Christ, 15th cent. from Kythera;  Byzantine and Christian Museum, Athens, Greece 

 

 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.  And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"  But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."  Then he allowed Him.  

 

When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

 

- Matthew 3:13-17 

 

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.'"  Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.  Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.   But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." 

 

  Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.  And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"  But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."  Then he allowed Him.  My study Bible comments that Jesus does not need purification.  He makes the purification of humanity His own, and thereby washes away humanity's sin, grants regeneration, and reveals the mystery of the Holy Trinity.  So, therefore, Christ's baptism was necessary for the fulfillment of God's righteous plan of salvation.  St. Gregory of Nyssa comments, "Jesus enters the filthy, sinful waters of the world and when He comes out, brings up and purifies the entire world with Him."

 

 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  My study Bible says that the Spirit of God hovered over the water at the first creation (Genesis 1:2).  Now, the Holy Spirit comes in the form of a dove in order to anoint the Messiah, the Son of God, at this beginning of the new creation.  Jesus does not become the Son of God here on this day.  What is happening is that He is revealed to all as the Son of God at this occasion.  The Holy Spirit has always rested on Christ.  The feast day of Epiphany (meaning manifestation or revelation) or Theophany (meaning a manifestation of God), is celebrated on January 6th.  In the Eastern Churches it commemorates this occasion.  In the most ancient practices of the Church, Theophany and Nativity (Christmas) were celebrated together on January 6th; in the Armenian Apostolic Church, this practice is maintained today.

 

And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."   This quotation is from Psalm 2:7, "You are My Son, / Today I have begotten You."  My study Bible asks us to note how the Baptism of Jesus reveals the great mystery of the Trinity -- the Father speaks; the Holy Spirit descends; the Incarnate Son is baptized.  

 

In a particular sense, we can think of the occasion of Christ's Baptism as an icon, and it is among other things an icon of the Holy Trinity.  There is the voice of the Father, identifying Christ as God's Son, and the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of God) descending like a dove, all together, and declaring the tripartite God; that is, one God in three divine Persons.  This great mystery is revealed in this "icon" of Baptism, in which God has chosen to manifest God's realities for us human beings.  This greater revelation of God comes as Jesus encourages John the Baptist to baptize Him in order to fulfill all righteousness.  So here, at this very beginning of Christ's ministry, we are immediately offered a manifestation of God, the Holy Trinity.  That is, a revelation of God in an expanded sense.  While in second temple literature in the Jewish tradition, from the centuries just immediately prior to the coming of Christ, there existed opinions that there might be more Persons of God than One, here that is confirmed and expanded.  So this beginning of Christ's public ministry both reveals God in greater fullness than was known before, and at the same time inaugurates His preaching and teaching mission.  It's a way that we understand that He is the One who is Sent among us, as the Beloved Son.  So even as Christ is fulfilling all righteousness by being baptized by John the Baptist, the fruits of ministry have begun, and humanity is enlightened into an understanding of God in a fuller way than before.  As Christ's ministry unfolds, He will teach us that to see Him is to see the Father, and we will also witness the effects of the Spirit, even as Christ's ministry prepares us for Pentecost.  Let us take a moment to think of these gifts given to us, this illumination brought by Christ who is Sent, and manifest to us through the Holy Spirit, and be grateful for what we have been given, for even in this moment, the world is transformed and Christ's gifts and effects continue among us.  Christ is placed in the waters of Baptism, sanctifying the waters of the world for Holy Baptism to come, transfiguring what we know of God, giving us gifts that will continue to give and will not stop coming.  Let us not be dismayed by the evil that works in the world, for we know that He has come to enlist us in the fight for this world, and all that He does is for us.  Let us be blessed with this knowledge, this revelation, and with the gifts of the Spirit that continue to bless us, including baptism, holy water, our prayers, and all the sacraments and mysteries this moment offers and opens up for the Church to come.  Let us learn from this icon of the Holy Trinity that where One Person of the Trinity is present, so there are all Three among us, with Christ who brings us this depth of connection to God.  For the whole world is blessed as sacrament from this moment fulfilling all righteousness.

 

 

 

 

 

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire

 

 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the LORD;

 Make His paths straight.'"

Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.  Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.   But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

 

- Matthew 3:1-12 

 

Yesterday we read that when the wise men who came to find the Christ Child had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him."  When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called My Son." Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male  children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.  Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:  "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."  Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead."  Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.  But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there.  And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.  And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, "He shall be called a Nazarene."

 

 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.'"  My study Bible comments that the wilderness of Judea is the barren region which descends from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea (see this map).  It says the preparation for the Savior's ministry begins with John the Baptist's call to repent.  Repentance, which accompanies faith, is a total about-face.  The word in Greek (μετανοια/metanoia) means literally to change one's mind, or more generally to turn around.  Repentance, my study Bible says, is a radical change of one's spirit, mind, thought, and heart.  That is, a complete reorientation of the whole of one's life.  This is the necessary first step in the way of the LORD, but it is an ongoing process throughout one's lifetime of movement more deeply toward God.  My study Bible tells us that it is accompanied by the confession of sins and the act of baptism, and it's followed by a life filled with fruits worthy of this change.  

 

 Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.  John the Baptist's ascetic life conformed to that of Jewish sects such as the Essenes.  My study Bible explains that they lived in the wilderness, and their purpose was to prepare for the coming of the Kingdom of God.  John is distinguished in his clothing as an image typical of a prophet (2 Kings 1:8).  The monastic movement in the early Church took inspiration and was patterned after John's manner of life.  

 

 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.   The confession of sins is essential to baptism under both the Old Covenant and the New, my study Bible says.  But John's baptism was a sign of repentance and the forgiveness of sins only.  It did not give the power of total regeneration nor adoption as a child of God; that will come with Christian baptism.

 

  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"  My study Bible explains that Sadducees were members of the high-priestly and landowning class, who controlled the temple and the internal political affairs of the Jews.  It says they denied the resurrection of the dead and had no messianic hope beyond this life.  The Pharisees formed a lay religious movement centered on the study of the Law and on strict observance of its regulations.  They believed in the resurrection of the dead, and they also cherished a messianic hope.  But they taught that righteousness is based on the strength of one's works according to the Law.  Moreover their understanding was that the Messiah would be a glorious man.  John calls them brood of vipers here, but Jesus will later do the same (Matthew 12:34; 23:33).  My study Bible adds that this term indicates their deception and malice and their being under the influence of Satan.

 

"Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance . . . "  My study Bible comments that repentance, confession, and baptism lead to fruits worthy of repentance; in other words, a way of life consistent with the Kingdom of God (see Galatians 5:22-25).  If a fruitful life doesn't follow, it notes, sacramental acts and spiritual discipline are useless.  Therefore in many icons of the Baptism of Christ, an ax is imaged chopping a fruitless tree (verse 10).  

 

. . .  and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones."  This warning that from these stones (Hebrew 'ebanim) God can raise up children (Hebrew banim) is a play on words.  My study Bible says that God will not admit fruitless children into His house, but adopts other children from the Gentiles.

 

 "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."  This first reference to fire (every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire) refers to divine judgment (see Isaiah 33:11, 66:24; Ezekiel 38:22, 39:6; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9).  Christ baptizes in the fire of Holy Spirit, which my study Bible calls the power and grace of God divinely poured out on all believers at baptism.  But the fire of judgment is the same fire of the Holy Spirit; it burns what cannot stand in it and enlivens and enlightens those who will receive it.  John says that he is not worthy to carry Christ's sandals: in John's culture, a slave would carry the sandals of the king, so John is declaring himself to be lower than a slave of Jesus.  His inability to carry Christ's sandal has a second meaning cited by my study Bible, and that is that carrying another's sandal once meant to take someone else's responsibility (Ruth 4:7).  So John is showing that he could not have carried the responsibility that Christ carries, and also that the Law could not redeem the world as Christ has come to do.  Winnowing is a metaphor for divine judgment, as it separated the threshed grain from the chaff, and thus images the separation of good and evil.

 

Today's reading may prompt us to wonder, what is a prophet?  Both St. Matthew and St. Luke report Jesus as saying of John the Baptist, "But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet" (Matthew 11:9; Luke 7:26).  In accordance with the traditional view of the Church, we could call John the prophet of prophets, or perhaps even more literally, the prophet to end all prophets.  It is John, after all, who is the last in the line of Old Testament prophets, for he is the one proclaiming the time of the Messiah and the Kingdom at hand, preparing the people for Christ's public ministry.  As my study Bible points out, John comes dressed in the clothing distinctive of the prophet Elijah (John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey).  This is a reflection of the prophecy that Elijah would return before the Messiah came.  In the prophesy of Malachi we read, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse" (Malachi 4:5-6).  Jesus will later tell the disciples, "I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands."   Through this the disciples understood He was speaking about John the Baptist, who came Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist, who came "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17).  In all of this understanding, and more, John is considered to be the last and greatest of the Old Testament prophets.  But what is the function of a prophet?  Is it simply to tell of future events?  When we look at the prophets of the Old Testament, what we see are servants of God calling the people back to God, reminding them of the promises to Abraham and his descendants, and challenging their lack of loyalty to the Lord.  These prophets are the ones who warned of hardships to come for the people's lack of fidelity to God, a community's failure to stick with the Lord who loved Israel.  But then, the return to the Beloved is also found in the prophecies, and the redemption of Israel's fortunes.  So John's warnings come not only with the great good news of the coming of the Lord, but also with the warnings to those whom he calls a brood of vipers, the religious leaders who betray their calling with corruption.  Repentance is the word given here, and it is a word given to all:  in repentance is found the preparation for the Lord's coming into the world and for His ministry.  For in repentance we find a commitment to turn and face God, to shake away or burn off the things that cannot stand with God, to turn from the things God wants us to leave behind, and to find God's way forward for us.  A call for repentance from a prophet cannot be without this reminder, this knowledge that we need to prepare for the time, and to take it seriously, for there are effects created by our choices.  Why do people so often seem to wish to see prophesy only as that which can "tell the future" as if some grand thing will be gained by knowing the time of Christ's return, or what new thing will happen that we don't yet know about?  So often, no one wants to hear the warning and the message of repentance, to look in the mirror or even toward the Cross and to say, "What do I need to do for You?"  Let us consider that it is the love of God which calls us forward and our own refusal that holds us back.  For as Jesus said, "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be" (Matthew 24:36-37).  Replacing all the prophets of old, Christ teaches repeatedly that we are to be awake and aware, prepared for His return (Matthew 25:1-13), and above all that we are to endure in our faith through all things, for just like ancient Israel, the Lord is our first love and the One upon whom we must depend.  So every day, we may prepare the way of the LORD; and make His paths straight, even if the cry comes from a lone voice in the wilderness of the world.  For we are baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire, and that promise also will be kept.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness

 

The Baptism of Christ (Theophany), 15th century, Kythera.  Byzantine and Christian Museum, Athens, Greece (photo by the author)

 

 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.  And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"  But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."  Then he allowed Him.

 

When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

 

- Matthew 3:13–17 

 

Yesterday we read that when John the Baptist saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

 

  Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.  And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"  But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."  Then he allowed Him.  My study Bible notes here for us that Jesus does not need purification.  By making the purification of humanity His own, Jesus would wash away humanity's sin, grant regeneration, and reveal the mystery of the Holy Trinity.  So, in this light, Christ's baptism was necessary for the fulfillment of God's righteous plan of salvation.   It quotes from St. Gregory of Nyssa, "Jesus enters the filthy, sinful waters of the world and when He comes out, brings up and purifies the entire world with Him."

When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  My study Bible reminds us that the Spirit of God hovered over the water at the first creation (Genesis 1:2).  Now, the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove  to anoint the Messiah, the Son of God, at the beginning of the new creation.  Jesus does not become the Son of God on this day; He is revealed to all as the Son of God on this day.  The Holy Spirit has always rested on Him.  In the Orthodox Churches, the feast day of Epiphany (meaning manifestation or revelation in Greek) or Theophany (a manifestation or "showing" of God), is celebrated on January 6th.  It commemorates this day, and points to the age to come.  In the earliest days of Christianity, the Church celebrated both Nativity (Christmas) and Christ's Baptism together on this day; in the Armenian Apostolic (Orthodox) Church, that tradition continues today.

 

  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  This is a quotation from Psalm 2:7, "You are My Son, / Today I have begotten You."  My study Bible asks us to note how the Baptism of Jesus reveals the great mystery of the Trinity -- the Father speaks, the Holy Spirit descends, the Incarnate Son is baptized.  

In the Baptism of Jesus, as my study Bible indicates, we can see that Christ takes on all the life of humanity, and, as Son, reveals that He is here to heal the world with holiness and grace.  The quotation from St. Gregory of Nyssa teaches us to understand how to see the Baptism of Jesus.  Although He does not need this baptism, for He has no sin, He is here in the world in order to restore humanity to God, and takes on everything that we are -- even all the creation in this natural body of water, the river Jordan -- and undergoes the transformation He will ask all of us to undergo.  To be "buried" in the water is symbolic of death, and we know that He is destined for death and Resurrection also, so that we may follow.  As He is covered in this water, He sanctifies and makes holy the waters of the world for Holy Baptism for all the rest of us.  So Jesus' public ministry, His first public act, begins here, with this revelation of the Trinity and His identity as Son, His participation in all the things that He will ask of us, so that we can follow Him.  Even as the Holy Spirit descends upon Him, revealing His identity as Son, so we also may become "sons of God" through adoption by baptism and chrismation, receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit.  All of this is made possible through Christ's ministry, and especially His voluntary death and Resurrection, the final and ultimate forever sacrifice offered to all of us in the Eucharist, so that we may participate in His life and righteousness, and be with Him.  Let us note how righteousness has figured already in these beginning readings of Matthew's Gospel (see the commentary from Monday and Tuesday).  Christ's righteousness is voluntary obedience -- faithfulness -- to God in all things.  In that faithfulness is love and loyalty.  He gives us the light of His life, so that we may follow in that light (John 8:12).  Let us note in the icon above, all the life of the world, in the life in the water, the disciples who observe and will distribute the New Covenant, John the Baptist the final and greatest prophet of the Old Covenant, even the "old man" under the water (Colossians 3:8-11), locks and keys that keep us in bondage, even the ax laid to the trees in judgment.  For Christ came for the life of not only humanity but all of creation (John 6:51).  In His righteousness of faithfulness, He fulfills His mission, so that we may follow and do the same, playing our own role in the redemption and renewal of the world through faithfulness.

 

 

For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones

 

 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

 

- Matthew 3:7–12 

 

Yesterday we read that in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.'"  Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.  Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. 

 

  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"  My study Bible explains that Sadducees were members of the high-priestly and landowning class who controlled the temple as well as the internal political affairs of the Jews.  In a sense, therefore, they were a type of aristocratic class.  They denied the resurrection of the dead and they had no messianic hope beyond this life.  The Pharisees, it notes, on the contrary, formed a lay religious movement.  This movement was focused on the study of the Law (or Torah) and strict observance of its regulations.  They believed in the resurrection of the dead and also cherished a messianic hope.  However, they taught that righteousness is achieved on the basis of one's works according to the Law, and my study Bible adds that they believed the Messiah would be simply a glorious man.  John the Baptist's title for them here, brood of vipers, will later be used by Jesus as well (Matthew 12:34; 23:33).  My study Bible explains that this title is a description of their deception and malice, and being under the influence of Satan -- vipers being an image of the character of the demonic.

"Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance . . . "  My study Bible comments that repentance, confession, and baptism lead to fruits worthy of repentance, a way of life which is consistent with the kingdom of God (see Galatians 5:22-25).  If a fruitful life does not follow, it notes, sacramental acts and spiritual discipline are of little use.  So, therefore, in many Orthodox icons of the Baptism of Christ, there is an ax portrayed chopping a fruitless tree (in the image given by John the Baptist here in verse 10).  

 

 ". . . and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones."  This warning is a memorable play on words in Hebrew:  from these stones (Hebrew 'ebanim) God can raise up children (Hebrew banim).  My study Bible adds that God will not admit fruitless children into God's house, but adopts other children from the Gentiles.   This is John's warning to the religious leaders.

"And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  See the commentary at verse 8, above.  Fire here is a reference to divine judgment, my study Bible notes (see Isaiah 33:11, 66:24; Ezekiel 38:22, 39:6; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9).  See also fire in the next verse.

"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."  My study Bible comments that Christ baptizes in the fire of the Holy Spirit, the power and grace of God which is divinely poured out on all believers at baptism.  Note how fire figures also in the verse above.  Furthermore, my study Bible tells us that in the culture of John the Baptist, a slave would carry the sandals of the king.  Therefore, what John is saying here is that he is lower than a slave of Jesus.  John's inability to carry the sandal of Christ also has another meaning -- carrying someone else's sandal once meant to take someone else's responsibility (Ruth 4:7).  Used here, it tells us that John is declaring he could not have carried the responsibility that Christ does -- and that the Law could not redeem the world as Christ has come to do.  John the Baptist himself is a figure of the Law, in that he is considered to be the last and greatest prophet of the Old Testament.

 

"His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."  A winnowing fan was used to separate the threshed wheat from the chaff, the nourishing grain from the inedible parts of the plant.  This is a metaphor for divine judgment, which will separate good from evil.

Fire figures largely and in seemingly different ways in today's reading.  Let us first note that fire is an image of energy.  If we turn to the story of the Burning Bush in Exodus 3 we see a bush consumed with fire.  But the bush, as Moses observes, is not consumed; it is burning but the fire does not actually burn the bush.  "And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Then Moses said, 'I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn ' " (Exodus 3:2, 3).   Out of this burning bush that does not actually burn in the fire comes the voice of the Lord to Moses.  The fire energy renders the place holy, as the "angel of the Lord" tells Moses, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground" (Exodus 3:5).  The Lord gives Moses instructions, and tells Moses the Name of the Lord:  "I AM WHO I AM." And the Lord said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.' " (Exodus 3:14).  So this energy of fire, of the "angel of the Lord" and the voice of the Lord guiding Moses, is an energy that consecrates, out of which God speaks and encounters God's servant Moses, and although it is burning, it does not consume the bush.  In today's reading, John the Baptist speaks of fire in these senses, and in another:  the fire of judgment.  The fire of judgment is the same fire of the Burning Bush, but that same fire has an effect on soul and spirit:  it is a purifying fire.  It burns that which cannot stand in its energy, and sustains that which can receive it and find compatibility with it.  In a similar passage to today's reading, Luke 3:16-17, my study Bible comments about Christ's baptism as John the Baptist prophesies here, that fire in this context has the primary meaning of the gift of the Holy Spirit, given to the world at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4, in which we note the tongues of fire that appeared on the apostles).  It is moreover a declaration of the judgment of Christ, in which the faithless will burn.  But we must note that this fire is one -- it is the same power and the same Spirit which both enlivens the faithful and destroys the faithless.  John the Baptist preaches repentance for the people -- and the religious leaders -- to prepare for a new age ushered in by the Messiah, the Christ who is coming, bringing the kingdom of heaven which is at hand (see yesterday's reading, above).  This new age is brought to us with Christ's Incarnation, and John the Baptist prepares the people for His public ministry, ushering in what are truly the "end times" which will culminate in the judgment at the end of the age.  Let us for now be assured that it is the same fire of love, of the mercies of God, that judges, burning that which cannot stand in it, vivifying and renewing all of creation to be brought into the Kingdom.  May we cherish this gift for faithfulness that leads us on the path to such a joyful reconciliation, through a world that so remarkably needs it.   John tells the religious leaders of his time, "For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones."  The power of God is life absolute.  Let us ask for the power of God to raise us up as children to Abraham, to teach us to live that same faithfulness of Abraham, the living stones about whom St. Peter will so effectively preach (1 Peter 2:4-5).

 

 

Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight

 

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: 

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the LORD;

Make His paths straight.'"

Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.  Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. 

 

- Matthew (1:1-17) 3:1–6 

 

 In today's lectionary reading we are given Matthew 1:1-17 as a parenthetical beginning.  Matthew begins his Gospel by giving us the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the history and lineage of His birth.  Let us consider some significant factors and meanings to the genealogy given here in Matthew.  Jesus means "O Lord, save," which refers to His role as Savior.  Christ means "Anointed One," giving us the Messiah, the One who is filled with the Holy Spirit (see John 1:33).  My study Bible reminds us that although the Son alone became a human being, God the Father and the Holy Spirit work in Jesus Christ to save us.  Matthew's genealogy begins by referring to Jesus as the son of David, the son of Abraham -- David being the greatest king of Israel and prototype of the royal Messiah, and Abraham the father not just of all Jews, but of the "people of God," whose faithfulness was accounted as righteousness (Genesis 15:6).  My study Bible comments that Matthew's genealogy reveals that the Son of God so identifies with the human condition that He takes it all on Himself and become part of it.  It notes for us that Christ's ancestry includes both righteous and wicked people, faithful kings and murderers, Jews and Gentiles, kings and peasants.  

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight.'"  My study Bible comments that the wilderness of Judea is the barren region descending from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea.  The preparation for the Savior's ministry begins with John the Baptist's call to repent.  Repentance, which accompanies faith, is a total about-face.  The word in Greek means literally "change of mind," or more generally, to turn around.  My study Bible characterizes repentance as a radical change of one's spirit, mind, thought, and heart, a complete reorientation of the whole of one's life.  It is the needed first step in the way of the LORD.  Moreover, my study Bible adds, it is accompanied by the confession of sins and the act of baptism (see the final verse in today's reading), and followed by a life filled with fruits which are worthy of this change (see verse 8, part of tomorrow's reading).  The Gospel quotes from Isaiah 40:3, which appears in this "beginning" of the story of Christ's ministry in all four Gospels (see also Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23).  

Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.  My study Bible explains that John's ascetic life conformed to that of the Jewish sects such as the Essenes, who lived in the wilderness and whose purpose was to prepare for the coming Kingdom of God.  John's clothing was typical of a prophet, and most clearly resembled that of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8).  The monastic movement in the early Church, my study Bible adds, was patterned after John manner of life. 

 

Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.   My study Bible says that the confession of sins is essential to baptism under both the Old Covenant and the New.  But John's baptism was a sign only of repentance and the forgiveness of sins.  It did not confer the power of total regeneration nor adoption as a child of God as does Christian baptism (see verse 11).  

As noted above, Matthew's genealogy of Jesus Christ begins by noting Christ as a son of David.  This is another title for the Messiah ("Son of David").  In fact, in several places in Matthew's Gospel, people use this title in addressing Jesus; see Matthew 9:27, 15:22, 20:30.  But perhaps for today it's important to place a focus on the true beginning of the genealogy, which starts with Abraham, the father of all Jews, the first patriarch.  As we commented already, Genesis 15:6 tells us of Abraham, "And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness."  This is highly important, because as patriarch of all Jews (and even of faithful people to come out of the Gentiles), Abraham is not accounted as righteous by God because he followed and kept the Law or Torah perfectly.  This is long before the Torah existed, and before Moses was born.  Abraham is the father of all the faithful because of his own faithfulness.  He responded to God's call to him by being faithful in what God asked him to do.  It is as profoundly simple as that.  David also is the epitome of a faithful king.  If we look at both of these men, however, we do not see perfect men.  We see people who have failed on occasion, and who have sinned.  All of this is important because these ancestors of Christ have nonetheless lived their faith, they have exercised what many would call "faithfulness" by living that faith, and thus righteousness is reckoned to them -- as it can and must also be reckoned to us.  In John's chapter 6, after being fed by Jesus in the wilderness, the people seek to make Him their king, and they pursue Him.  But He turns to them and tells them that they're simply after Him because He gave them food.  He teaches them, "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  They then ask Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  Jesus answers, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  In Greek, that word for "believe" does not simply convey an intellectual idea we agree with.  It is, at its root, a word meaning trust.  This trust is what faithfulness is all about -- a loyalty to God, a deeply willingness to please and obey the things of God.  This is what true faith and faithfulness and trust is all about.  Jesus asks the people to put their trust in Him, and to live that trust.  As my study Bible's comments allude in speaking of the baptism of John the Baptist, John comes into this beginning of Christ's ministry in the world to prepare the people for the Messiah, and John teaches them repentance, giving them a baptism of repentance.  This is to turn and to face the Lord and receive Him.  But Jesus will give us Holy Baptism, so that we may receive the Holy Spirit, the Helper or Counselor, the great gift to us of help for our own faithfulness, so that we might be righteous in the same way as the patriarch Abraham, and by adoption become "sons of God."  Faithfulness remains the thread that carries us through all the Bible, and to Christ, making us a part of His family tree by adoption.  St. Paul uses the analogy of an olive tree in Romans 11, to speak to those believing Gentiles who've been "grafted on" to a cultivated tree from a wild one -- meaning they who once did not live in obedience and faithfulness to God now may pursue and live such faithfulness.  Let us consider the faithfulness that runs all through this tree, how we become "children of God," and a part of the people of God.  Let us remember that it is lived faithfulness and trust in Christ that constitutes righteousness in the sight of God, as we go through Matthew's Gospel.  St. John the Baptist does his part in this great economy of salvation; he is faithful to the part God gives him to play.  May we all choose to do likewise.