Scripture reflection for Jan. 10, 2010: The Baptism of the Lord, year C

Water is the matrix of creation, water is the sustaining element of life, water cleanses us, and according to the story of Passover in the Book of Exodus, it frees us. Here, in today’s Gospel reading, we see water commissioning the Christ to His mission. Interestingly, from a literary point of view, all these “waters” are significant in their positioning. The water of creation stood outside of time...at the edge of nothing and everything (sort of like womb-water to a fetus), the waters of the wells of our ancestors that sustained them stood at the edge of civilization, the Red Sea was placed at the edge of power, separating free land (the untamed Sinai desert) from the land of control (enslaved Egypt.) And the Jordan River in which the Christ stands, in today’s reading, is placed at the edge of the kingdom of Israel...between the land of blessing and the lands of the Gentile pagans...the border between faith and faithlessness. It is there, at the edge of things that newness begins. Are you feeling “at the edge?” Perhaps driven close to despair, or perhaps on the outside looking in? It is there that Divinity creates, sustains, cleanses, frees and commissions. Get ready for greatness. It’s coming YOUR way!!!