Introduction
The world is full of examples of leaders who set out to glorify themselves. Demagogues proclaim simple solutions to complex problems and slogans that appeal to popular anger. What does today’s account of the baptism of Jesus, and the inauguration if his earthly ministry, have to say us as we look at issues of leadership, power and commitment on the threshold of a new year?
Context
We are standing on the edge of a new year facing a leap into unknown and difficult challenges ahead.
It is traditionally a time when resolutions are made and soon broken.
In the year ahead, Mark Zuckerberg plans to speak with people about their vision for life.
How can we share stories of hope and faith when both seem lacking?
Last year saw unprecedented movements of people across the world as conflicts made life intolerable. Complex problems face this country as Brexit is taken forward and the reality of some of its repercussions begins to feed through society. Sir Ivan Rogers, the UK’s ambassador to the EU, has resigned amid muddle and accusation. In a letter to staff, he encourages them to continue to ask the difficult questions and ‘speak to truth to power’. How might we ask ‘difficult questions’ when they are needed?
Hate crime has risen by 42% across Britain since the referendum and public discourse has been toxified by division. Angry zeal or genuinely conciliatory talk? Reconciliation is still needed.
Climate change is producing consequences that make finding solutions an imperative.
In Syria the ceasefire seems very fragile and the conflict in Yemen continues to wreak havoc and destruction.
Donald Trump's inauguration as President of the United States will take place on 20th January, and nothing in the world order seems certain any more. What is truth in a ‘post-factual’ word?
Maybe it is because of all of this (and so many other threats) that our minds are challenged in these weeks following Christmas. Given the time of year, we begin to reconsider where our choices have led us and what our new commitments should be. Choices have consequences. Hope is badly needed in our world and Christians have a calling to live by it.
Reflection
Our readings in the weeks after Christmas take us from the child in the manger to the beginning of the ministry of the grown up Jesus, reminding us that this is what the power of God looks like. We are challenged by stories of choice, cost and commitment, and the boundary between right and wrong, death and life, love and loss is often so blurred. We want to do the right thing we want to follow Jesus, but sometimes the way ahead is so hard and other choices compete for our love, commitment and attention. We have choices to make about where we stand on issues that affect us all; about where we place our allegiance; and about doing what is required of us to build the kingdom where we are. It is also our calling to find hope where we are. In Matthew’s account of the baptism of Jesus we see a very public commitment to the will of God, and a reminder in the imagery of baptism, of the life and death consequences of this commitment.
This is the first appearance of Jesus since he was 12 years old, when we heard the account of him teaching the teachers in the temple – speaking the truth to power. Following these ‘silent years’ we now see Jesus beginning his public ministry – but it is ‘of a piece’ with the child in the manger and the vulnerable love of God at the heart of the Trinity. At his baptism, Jesus identifies with sinners – an indication of the upside down values of the kingdom he is bringing in, just as had been foretold in Isaiah’s account of the suffering servant (Isaiah 53). The dove was a bird of sacrifice for sin for the lowliest of people, because doves were affordable for people who could not pay for goats or bulls. It is a symbol of power in gentleness. With whom will we identify as we face the issues of the world around us – the powerful or the dispossessed? What kind of ‘speaking the truth to power’ is needed today on behalf of the voiceless and powerless? What would Jesus do?
This baptism with water (and the imagery of going down through the waters of death) is the beginning of the ministry of Jesus as the suffering servant, the one whose power is revealed in vulnerability – as demonstrated in the ‘Word made flesh’, and which will be later be revealed on the cross. This baptism the beginning of a ministry committed to the will of God – a ministry where power is made perfect in weakness and a new and different way.
What does this kind of power look like for us, and how can we demonstrate it in the way we make decisions and in the way in which we deal with conflict? How can we as Christian communities ‘speak the truth to power’? What does this call to ‘speak truth to power’ look like for us at work or at school? What might be the cost?
As we look at the story of Jesus coming to baptism and beginning his ministry centred on the values of the kingdom of God, what might our commitment to God require of us this coming year?
Prayer
You might like to use this prayer (it works well as a personal prayer) as you review the year past and look forward with hope.
On the threshold of a new year,
may we be honest about our failings
and truthful with our selves.
Nurture your hope within us,
and root us deeply in your love.
Give us courage to stand up for what is right,
faith to look forwards with hope,
grace to face the challenges ahead,
strength to honour our commitment to follow Jesus,
and love enough to live in vulnerability –
where your power is truly seen.
Amen.
Questions
What is giving you hope for 2017?
How can we nurture hope in our communities and become a people of hope?
Action
A reflective exercise for the new year.
Watch out for what signs of hope you can see in the world around you and in your local communities. Watch for signs of love and forgiveness for changes of heart; for lives that are changed for the better even in some small way; for arguments that come to an end; for the movement of God’s spirit prompting change, challenge, growth and hope. You might like to record these in some way and share them with others, e.g. in a home group.
Young people
Share your hopes and dreams for the year ahead (personal and corporate), and reflect on the issues and challenges that get in the way.
Diane Craven is a freelance Education Consultant. She is a licensed lay minister in York Minster
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