River
Swanson, John August. River, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58577 [retrieved January 7, 2023]. Original source: Estate of John August Swanson, https://www.johnaugustswanson.com/.
Baptism of Christ
Zelenka, Dave. Baptism of Christ, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56385 [retrieved January 7, 2023]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baptism-of-Christ.jpg.
Stepping in the Mud
The mud of human evil
is very deep,
it stinks forcefully,
it is full of dangerous gases,
and there was Jesus,
in front of John,
asking to be allowed
to bend down in that mud.
And John,
no wonder,
hesitated.
But he, Jesus,
he went down,
and when he came up,
the mud still streaming ...
HEAVEN OPENED,
and a voice was heard ...
a new Spirit
a new life
and a new heart
were announced,
glory, glory, alleluia.
He was bathed in light ...
drowned in God's voice ...
full of spirit;
but what about the mud,
was he going to forget it?
... [No]
because once he got the spirit,
that Spirit drove him ...
to do his work
in this world,
to struggle with evil in us, ...
in this world, in order to overcome it.
John Donders
The mud of human evil
is very deep,
it stinks forcefully,
it is full of dangerous gases,
and there was Jesus,
in front of John,
asking to be allowed
to bend down in that mud.
And John,
no wonder,
hesitated.
But he, Jesus,
he went down,
and when he came up,
the mud still streaming ...
HEAVEN OPENED,
and a voice was heard ...
a new Spirit
a new life
and a new heart
were announced,
glory, glory, alleluia.
He was bathed in light ...
drowned in God's voice ...
full of spirit;
but what about the mud,
was he going to forget it?
... [No]
because once he got the spirit,
that Spirit drove him ...
to do his work
in this world,
to struggle with evil in us, ...
in this world, in order to overcome it.
John Donders
Imaging the World Volume 3
Exploring the Text: The preeminence of Jesus
In his first open act to launch his ministry, Jesus comes to John to be baptized. Of all the people gathered around him, only John knows who Jesus is. Naturally, he hesitates, he objects. He should be baptized by Jesus, not the other way around. Why is Jesus coming to him to be baptized? This is not the way things should be.
Yet Jesus persists, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” John relents and reluctantly baptizes Jesus. As soon as he does, he recognizes why. The Holy Spirit descends on Jesus in the form of a dove and the voice of God speaks from heaven declaring, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
With this one statement, God sets Jesus above all that had come before, and all that would come after. He declares that Jesus is greater than Moses, greater that Elijah, greater than David, greater that Solomon. With that one statement Jesus is placed above the Law, the prophets, the poets, and the sages. He is greater than Peter, greater than Paul, greater than any of the other apostles.
There are lots of people we can admire, lots of voices we can listen to, lots of voices we can listen to, but only one that was every declared by God to be the Son of God is Jesus. With that one statement God placed him above all else, and we should do the same.
In his first open act to launch his ministry, Jesus comes to John to be baptized. Of all the people gathered around him, only John knows who Jesus is. Naturally, he hesitates, he objects. He should be baptized by Jesus, not the other way around. Why is Jesus coming to him to be baptized? This is not the way things should be.
Yet Jesus persists, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” John relents and reluctantly baptizes Jesus. As soon as he does, he recognizes why. The Holy Spirit descends on Jesus in the form of a dove and the voice of God speaks from heaven declaring, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
With this one statement, God sets Jesus above all that had come before, and all that would come after. He declares that Jesus is greater than Moses, greater that Elijah, greater than David, greater that Solomon. With that one statement Jesus is placed above the Law, the prophets, the poets, and the sages. He is greater than Peter, greater than Paul, greater than any of the other apostles.
There are lots of people we can admire, lots of voices we can listen to, lots of voices we can listen to, but only one that was every declared by God to be the Son of God is Jesus. With that one statement God placed him above all else, and we should do the same.