The Gospel Story for today’s Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is (Matthew 3:13-17). Is Jesus being baptized by John. The majority opinion sees this as a story about Jesus beginning his public life, and as a reminder of the importance of Baptism for us. It’s worth noting, however, the Jesus’ baptism and ours are significantly different. The minority report, as usual, can be very different, but not contradictory.
The Alleluia Verse reflects the Story: “Alleluia, The heavens were opened and the voice of the Father thundered: “This is my beloved Son, listen to him”. “Listen”. Listening is a most important part of scripture and theology. The first word of the Rule of St Benedict, which thousands of monks and nuns throughout history base their communal lives on, is “Listen”. For many of us prayer is talking to Abba, often with a specific list of what we want. But prayer is listening also. Ideally we listen to what Abba, Christ, the Spirit say to us. Abba is constantly speaking to us, and not necessarily in words. Perhaps an unexpected happening, a change in how we see things, an insight.
With all that is going on around us these days, the violence, the ICE shootings, the terrible polarization and anger, the Venezuela affair, other threats, it is not easy to be still. Pope Leo said this week, “War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading”, which is something clearly seen in the headlines. There are the unbelievable attempts by various “leaders” to distort Gospel teaching for their own purposes, many of whom are describing the Gospel in politically expedient terms. The violence against police officers is disturbing. This is our reality today, and where we meet Abba.
These words by Episcopal Bishop Deon K. Johnson certainly reflect how I feel these days: “Holy God, I am tired! Tired of the fear-filled news, Tired of the cruelty toward neighbors, Tired of the deafening silence from leaders, Tired of being always on edge, Tired of screaming into the void, Tired of holding hope against despair. Meet me in my tiredness, O God. Meet me in the ache of these long days And breathe your strength into my bones. For the sake of your love. Amen.“ And yet, Abba says “Listen to him” in the midst of all this stuff.
“Meet me in my tiredness, O God.” It is in our tiredness that we meet Abba, because this tiredness is our reality. A popular phrase from Psalm 46:10 says “Be still, and know that I am God”. There might be another way to understand or experience this phrase. In the Book of Exodus, when Moses asks God how he should answer Pharaoh’s question about who is sending him, God says tell him I AM is sending you. God identifies himself as I AM. Perhaps we can read this Psalm verse as “Be still and know I AM, be still and know me”. Not know about me, but know me. We can know everything about Abba, and still not know Abba. This becomes for us a deeply personal experience, one that affects every part of our life. Wherever we are in our life, we are exactly in the right place for this to happen. We come to know, to experience, Abba is very real, in whom we live, move, and have our being. Perhaps I can ask the grace just to “be still”. I am coming to know the quiet place deep within me where I am still, and one
A friend who is a pastoral minister in a parish community sent this to me last week when I wrote about the impact several of her homilies have had on my life: “my call to preach aligns with your call to listen. Maybe this means God has us exactly where God wants us!”. It certainly does. Every one of us is exactly where Abba wants us. What brings us together is grace. What keeps us apart is fear, fear of the unknown, fear of being different, fear of change. The only place we will ever know Abba is where we are with all the folks who are in our life right now. Abba is not an escape from what bothers us, Abba is a way through and with what bothers us. I AM led Moses and Israel from slavery, though challenges, to the Promised Land. This Exodus Story is a metaphor for what Abba does in our life, when we are open and allow him to be himself in our life, leading us from our own experience of slavery to our own promised land, always a sense of freedom and safety of some sort.
Some friends are beginning a relationship together. When they talk about their journey, it seems to me they are encountering I AM, though they probably don’t know it: “we often talk about giving each other a very safe and open space to explore, grow, and develop to be the true version of who we were both meant to be”. This is what Abba is always offering us, a safe and open space to grown into whom we are created to be. In our prayer time we might ask the grace to recognize and accept what is, because this is where we encounter Abba — our reality as it is, which might not be where we want it to be. Perhaps we are being asked to do something, and perhaps to be something.
These days many among us are hurting for many reasons. And John O’Donohue: “For those who risk their lives each day for peace, May their hearts glimpse providence at the heart of history. That those who make riches from violence and war Might hear in their dreams the cries of the lost. That we might see through our fear of each other A new vision to heal our fatal attraction to aggression. That those who enjoy the privilege of peace Might not forget their tormented brothers and sisters”.
Renee Nicole Good, may her memory be a blessing, asks us to “make room for wonder”. While we mourn the rampant violence and loss of life, we ask the grace of wisdom and courage to move beyond our slavery to fear and let I AM lead us to where we are asked to be, perhaps do whatever we are being asked to do. Not called to do, which portrays Abba as “out there’ but asked, invited by Abba who is in us as we are in him. “This is my beloved Son, listen to him”. . . “Be still and know I AM”. “Be still and know”. “Be still”. “Be”. Quite a progression. Just sayin . . .