Wade into the Deep End: Isaiah 42: 1-9; Matthew 3: 13-17
Growing up, my uncle had a pool at his house, and during the summer, that was often a very nice place to find a break from the heat outside. I remember, though, when I was little there was always a very stern warning. There was a shallow end of about 4 feet which dropped off suddenly to a much deeper end of about 9-10 feet. I was told very, very clearly as a child, “Do NOT wade into the deep end of the pool.” I listened carefully. I processed fully. I understood completely.
And then I deliberately and obnoxiously chose to constantly wade as close to the drop off as I could and pretended that it was an accident just get a rise out of the family. Now, Mom, if you’re watching, Jesus teaches grace, not a 32-year delayed consequence. I’m just saying.
We’re often trained that way from a young age: don’t wade into the deep end; don’t get too close to the edge; don’t get too wrapped up in it, just leave it be and keep to yourself. It makes me think of an old poem by Shel Silverstein: “Listen to the Mustn’ts.” It goes, “Listen to the Mustn’ts, child, listen to the Don’ts. / Listen to the Shouldn’ts, the Impossibles, the Won’ts. / Listen to the Never Haves, then listen close to me./ Anything can happen, child, Anything can be.”
We read in today’s Gospel that Jesus came to be baptized of John the Baptist. But as he came close, John protested what was about to happen. Matthew weaves into this Gospel the concept that John the Baptist knew and recognized the power of Jesus. This is one of those few stories contained in all four Gospels. Mark’s is very to the point. Jesus is baptized and the Holy Spirit’s dove appears. Luke is identical to Mark. And John gives a wildly complex and different version as John’s gospel is apt to do. Matthew, though, is simple and to the point.
Jesus is baptized, as he says God requires, and Isaiah 42 is publicly fulfilled when the Spirit comes upon Jesus in the form of the dove. John the Baptist came in preparation, but Jesus came in power. This was the public proclamation of Jesus’s ministry beginning. For a people who clung to signs and wonders, the dove-like Holy Spirit and the heavenly voice was indisputable proof of Jesus’s mission and power. John had prepared, and Jesus came in power.
Baptism marks the same for us. In our hearts we repent, and we feel that something is amiss without God’s love and presence with us each day. It’s easy to choose belief, but that step of faith and public proclamation at baptism signals our commitment not just to believe in Jesus, but to actually follow him as well. Growing up, we probably all heard about Jesus knocking on our heart’s door and that we need to believe and let him in. I hate to pull the rug out from under you, but that’s the shallow end of the pool. If you want to wade into the deep end, you need to actually follow the wisdom and example Jesus left us.
Isaiah gives us that glimpse of Jesus’s call. There is no shouting, crushing, crashing and banging. Jesus used his power not for conquest and abuse, but to bring justice, breath, and life to all. Then, Christ becomes the light which guides the nations with sight to the blind, freedom to the imprisoned, release to the oppressed, and grace to us all. It is a very big job.
So, what does all of this mean to us? We are each one baptized just as Jesus was, where we publicly proclaim our covenant with all the people of God to follow Christ with faith and mission in this world. Some days, many days, maybe most days, this feels like a losing battle. But we serve a living, loving God who will never be defeated in the work of hope.
For us it can be pretty specific. If we are called to follow Christ, where does our next step lead us? We have a lovely building and campus. We have a neighborhood with a high rate of folks without a church home. We have grounds and space to bring a community in even as we take our faith outside these walls. We have a strong motivation, a faith family that is one of the most welcoming and loving I’ve ever seen in a church building. The truth is there’s enough here to fill up the shallow end of the pool to overflowing, but do we dare wade into the deeper waters of faith?
The song we heard, “Wade in the Water,” is an old spiritual used to signal those escaping slavery to freedom about potential dangers along the way. When they heard the song saying to wade into the water, those running for freedom knew they had to wade out into deeper water to keep from being tracked by hounds. I’m sure wading into deep water in the dark was terrifying. But they had a mission to get to freedom, which their very lives depended on. Following the leader out into deep water may have been frightening, but it was the safest place they could be led. It was the only place they could potentially find freedom and hope.
The truth of life is that we think things are safer on the shallow end of the pool. That’s why we’re so often taught to stay there, not to go out too deep, not to get too close to the edge, not to get all that involved. Stay at a safe distance! It’s what we’ve been taught all along. But what do we do when we commit to following Jesus, and then he wades right out into the deep end of the pool, turns around, and waits for us? We have this choice. Do we remain right here where we think it’s safe, where we’ve been taught to stay put, where we know for sure the water won’t go over our heads? Or, do we trust Jesus and wade out into the deep end to meet him? The truth is that the safest place to be is right where Jesus is. And he quite literally waded out into the water.
I guess it comes down to this: when we go under the baptismal waters, and then feel that presence of God in the Spirit with us, do we hear God say, “This is my beloved in whom I’m well pleased,” when we stay in the safety of the shallow end, or do we hear it when we trust Jesus and wade out into deep water? No matter how many times we hear, “Do NOT wade into the deep end,” the reality is that the shallow end is not so safe. We must instead hear those words of Shel Silverstein, “Anything is possible, Anything can be,” and prepare our hearts to trust because it all comes down to trusting Jesus in the end and being willing to follow him from that covenant we make in faith and baptism. Jesus is calling us to wade out into the deep water and meet him. And I believe we will find those deep waters just beyond the threshold of that door if we are willing to go and do.
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