"Doing It God's Way"

Isaiah 42:1-9; Matthew 3:13-17

Most of us are familiar with the song “My Way,” co-written by Paul Anka and Frank Sinatra in the late 1960’s.

For what is a man, what has he got?

If not himself, then he has naught.

To say the things, he truly feels,

And not the words, of one who kneels.

The record shows, I took the blows—

And did it my way!

I did it my way.

“My way” is a great song, whose engaging lyrics were beautifully sung by Frank Sinatra. Yet as appealing as this song is, contrast it with the life of Jesus.  This morning we read Matthew’s account of Jesus’ baptism. It marks the beginning of his ministry, the first act of his adult life.  What stands out so clearly at his baptism is how Jesus rejected the option of doing it “my way,” and instead chose to live in life God’s way.

The first glimpse Matthew gives us of the way Jesus’ life will be lived is in this account of his baptism.  Matthew’s gospel makes a substantial chronological leap from Jesus' birth directly to his baptism. For the past several weeks we have focused on the events surrounding the birth of Jesus.  We read about Joseph’s dream instructing him to take Mary as wife.  In the dream, Joseph was informed that the baby would fulfill the promise of Emmanuel—God with us—and that he is to be named Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. We considered the reaction of King Herod to Jesus’ birth: how the family fled to Egypt and, once the way was clear, returned to Nazareth. From these birth stories, Matthew simply fast-forwards some twenty years.  In today’s reading, the now adult Jesus leaves his home in Galilee and makes his way to the Jordan River, where John is baptizing sinners.  Once there, Jesus takes his place in line, waits his turn, and then steps into the river to be baptized by John.   

But John resists.  When he sees Jesus kneeling before him, he recoils in dismay:  “Wait just a minute,” John cries. “This isn’t the way things are supposed to work.  I should be the one being baptized by you, and yet you, the Messiah, have come to me.” Some suppose that John’s objection to baptizing Jesus is because his baptism is one of repentance for forgiveness of sin, and so John’s baptism would have been superfluous for the sinless Jesus. But more likely, John isn’t thinking of Jesus’ sinlessness, so much as of his status. In John’s estimation, Jesus is by far the greater, and he, John, is the lesser. Earlier John has spoken of the Messiah as one more powerful than he. In fact, John says that he is not worthy so much as to carry his sandals.  John declared that his baptism was limited to water, but the Messiah would baptism with Holy Spirit and fire.  Clearly, John looked to the Messiah as one bursting onto the world stage as a powerful judge, one who would clean house by casting out the wicked, sweeping away corruption in high places and promptly establishing God’s justice.  In short, John expected that all the woes of the world would find a quick solution once God’s Messiah took charge.

And surely we can understand John’s desire for the Messiah to be a change-maker of the first order.  As we all know, the mantra of the current presidential race has become, “We want change.”  Each candidate seeks to position himself or herself as the one most able to bring change.  It’s becoming clear that voters want to elect the person who seems most able take charge, shake up the status quo and solve the troubling issues of the day—health care, immigration, mounting debt, the war.  We look for a leader who can bring change, and the sooner the better.

Well, in a more all-encompassing sense, that’s what John wanted from Jesus—a powerful change-agent with a quick fix for a very broken world. Yet here came Jesus, Israel’s Messiah, Emmanuel, humbly submitting to the waters of baptism.  Instead of the powerful judge John had announced, Jesus presents himself as a lowly servant.  Rather than carrying out God’s wrath against sinners, he identifies himself with sinners.   No wonder John’s confused.  Jesus isn’t doing things the way John expected.  

But Jesus reassures John.  He tells John that he’s come to do things God’s way.  His baptism by John is necessary, Jesus explains, “for us to fulfill all righteousness.”  That phrase—“to fulfill all righteousness”—is a bit mysterious, isn’t it?  “Righteousness” is a kind of biblical code word that signals God’s intent to set everything right, and it encompasses the whole history of God’s covenant to bring justice and healing to the earth.  But in what way will God establish justice in the earth?  Jesus looked to the prophet Isaiah for the answer to that question.  It is through the ministry of God’s servant who embodies God’s compassion for the poor, the blind, the least among us that God’s hidden judgment and ultimate redemption of the earth is accomplished.  The prophet declares of the Servant, “A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench…”   At the Jordan River, Jesus showed his willingness to do things God’s way, to live as the Servant who gives himself for others.   

And clearly God approved. God gave complete affirmation to the way Jesus had chosen.  The heavens opened, a dove descended, a voice from heaven declared Jesus as the beloved, God’s Son, in whom God is well-pleased.  God is pleased because in Jesus the world will see God’s way revealed and God’s love  made known. 

Now this confession that Jesus is the Son of God is the confession that gives birth to the church.  Do you remember that the first followers of Jesus were simply called “People of The Way?”  They were disciples who had been baptized into the way of God that had been revealed by Jesus.  People of the Way knew not to seek God in lofty ideas of divinity, but rather in acts of simple compassion.  They knew that they would find the Lord in deeds of kindness toward the poor.  They remembered Jesus’ promise to them:   “As you have done it to one of the least of these, you have done it unto me.”

 At the risk of embarrassing a few people, I want to convey a story.  Last Tuesday morning during our assistance program a couple came in seeking help. The husband had lost his job. The wife was suffering from a brain tumor that had affected her speech and was growing again.  They hoped to get to Detroit where her mother, whom she hadn’t seen in eight years, lived and where they’d have a place to say.  The bus ticket was $320.00. We could give $50.00 from our Friendship Fund.  Bobbie Sanders, who is on the Micah 6 networking team called four other Micah 6 University area churches.  Each one agreed to help and the money for the bus ticket was raised in a short time.  David Wofford scurried around and found some warm coats for the Michigan winter and a rolling suitcase for the trip.  Bobbie gave the couple a ride to the bus station, and, as they were standing in line, the woman said to Bobbie, “We ain’t never been treated this good in our whole lives.” (Lift up some water from the font). 

You may be familiar with the poetry of Palestinian-American poet Naomi Nye.  In a poem called "Famous," she writes,

“I want to be famous to shuffling men

Who smile while crossing streets,

Sticky children in grocery lines,

Famous as the one who smiled back.

I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous,

Or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular,

But because it never forgot what it could do.

Friends, let’s remember what we can do as people of The Way.  In the waters of baptism, we have been joined to Jesus as God’s beloved children, given the Holy Spirit, and empowered to follow Jesus in the way of humble service.  Such a life is God’s way of bringing justice to the earth.  And now we invite all who so desire to come to these healing, dangerous, life-giving waters and renew your baptism as a disciple of God’s way.

The congregation comes to font, dips their fingers in the water and makes the sign of the cross while we sing:  “Come and fill our hearts with your peace. You alone, O Lord are holy.  Come and fill our hearts with your peace, Allelluia.”