There’s a story about a sister and brother getting baptized. The sister, who was one year old, sailed through the whole procedure. No cries, no screaming, the kind of picture-perfect baptism. Her brother, who was 3 years old, was a little different. The pastor lifted him up, positioned him over the font, and as he poured the water over this child’s head, the boy cried out… “Help me! Someone help me!” The congregation erupted with laughter. As funny as it was, the little boy was actually saying something pretty profound by saying, “Help me.”
In the gospel reading for Advent 2, we encounter John the Baptist, that prophet who came sporting camel’s hair clothes, and a diet of wild locusts and honey. He was baptizing people in the River Jordan. John says, “I baptize you with water for repentance” (Matthew 3:11). The Greek word for repentance is “metanoia,” which means a change of mind, reorientation or turning around.
Sometimes when I’m driving, I end up going the wrong way. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention and missed my exit. Maybe I was sure I was going the right way, so I just kept going. But in order to change course, I first had to acknowledge that I was going the wrong way. Before GPS this included pulling over and asking for directions. It includes asking for help.
I suppose this is why the church likes to celebrate baptisms as a part of corporate worship. We acknowledge that in this journey of life, this child or adult is going to need help along the way. More than ever, we need to rely on each other, and the church exists so that no one has to walk this road alone.
Metanoia, this turning around, is at the heart of this season of Advent. This call to repentance to prepare for Jesus’ arrival also includes getting rid of any roadblocks. John uses images of cutting down fruitless trees and burning the chaff. This is a time to get rid of the clutter and distractions, to allow the thief in the night to steal those things in our lives that are just getting in the way.
How are our actions out of step with God’s desire for peace and justice? Eugene Peterson’s The Message translates Matthew 3:11 this way: “I’m baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life.” Metanoia is about turning from the destructive things of this world in favor of aligning ourselves with the beautiful things of the Kingdom of God.
Metanoia is a fundamental transformation of outlook, of one's vision of the world and of themselves, and a new way of loving others and God. Indeed, these are some of the promises made in the Rite of Baptism, to “care for others and the world God made, and work for justice and peace.” This is the kind of “fruit worthy of repentance” John was referring to (Matt. 3:8).
In this journey of life, it’s not hard to lose our way, especially in the wilderness. But in the wilderness, along with this call to repentance, comes a promise: “for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” John harkens back to Isaiah’s image of a highway in the desert: “the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain (Isaiah 40:4).” We also get this image: “Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert (Isaiah 35:6).”
In the midst of our parched lives, we remember our baptism. We need to wade in the water. For Martin Luther, this was a daily practice where our old selves are drowned in these waters and “that day after day a new self should arise to live with God in righteousness and purity forever (Small Catechism).” He made a recommendation that people should begin their day by reference to baptism. An appendix to his Small Catechism says: “In the morning, as soon as you get out of bed, you are to make the sign of the holy cross and say: ‘God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit watch over me. Amen.”
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This week's Advent Reflection is written by Pastor Josh Ebener, Director of Evangelical Mission in the Northern Illinois Synod.
