Divine Vocation (Jesus' Baptism)

DIVINE VOCATION

It is commonly agreed that St Mark's Gospel is the earliest of the four gospels in the New Testament, being written about 64AD.

Since he was not one of the twelve apostles, Mark was obviously dependent upon others for his information, though it is sometimes suggested that it was in his home in Jerusalem that the last supper took place, and that he was also the young teenager whose robe became caught in the bushes in the Garden of Gethsemane, resulting in him becoming the first streaker, since the incident is only recorded in his Gospel.

If he was dependent upon others for his information, from whom did he get it?

The second century Bishop of Hieropolis is reported to have said on the authority of an 'elder': "This is also the presbyter used to say: Mark indeed who became the interpreter of Peter, wrote accurately as far as he remembered them, the things said or done by the Lord, but not however in order. For he had neither heard the Lord, nor been his personal follower." In other words, it is suggested that Mark was dependent upon Peter for his information concerning the life and teaching of Jesus Christ as contained in his gospel.

However, there is at least one incident recorded in his gospel about which Peter must have been dependent upon Jesus himself - namely his Baptism.

True he was able to report to Mark about the outward circumstances concerning his baptism, namely, how Jesus, like a growing number of people of his time, had been a follower of John the Baptist.

He was also able to report how one day Jesus himself sought to identify himself with the crowds by also seeking the baptism of repentance by John.

And he was also able to report that John personally baptised him.

Peter was able to describe these external factors to Mark, either by being a personal witness or by hearing about them from others.

However, what he could not describe to Mark, was the inward significance of the Baptism of Jesus.

For this he was totally dependent upon Jesus himself,

Thus Jesus recalls to Peter, and Peter recalls to Mark, that "as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the

heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove upon him. And a voice came from heaven: 'You are my Son, the Beloved with you I am well pleased'".

Nobody else saw this. Nobody else heard this. It was a personal religious experience of Jesus himself.

Now, l don't for a second suggest that Jesus actually saw the "heavens torn apart" physically. What he is saying is that the invisible curtain that separates humankind from God was pulled back and he experienced the direct presence of the unseen God in a very real and personal way.

Likewise I would not suggest that he actually saw "the Spirit descending like a dove upon him". The Spirit, like wind, cannot be seen. One can only see its effects, like trees bending in the breeze. What Jesus is saying is that just as the spirit brought order out of chaos at creation, so order was established in his life at Baptism by the unseen presence of God. In other words, when Jesus looked back upon his baptism he saw it as the turning point in his life.

Finally, I would not suggest that Jesus suddenly heard either the booming voice of God or the still quiet voice of God, speaking in Aramaic, from the clouds above saying "You are my Son my Beloved; with you I am well pleased".

Rather, what Jesus is saying is that at his Baptism he became acutely aware that there was a special relationship between God and himself.

In my attempt to understand what happened at the Baptism of Jesus, I am not trying to water down the supernatural element. What I am trying to do is to get inside the mind of Jesus. I am suggesting that he had a personal religious experience, which he later looked back upon and saw as the decisive moment of his life. It was the time when he became uniquely aware of the presence of God, which marked a turning point in his life, and that he felt assured that he was very special to God. In other words, Jesus is using the language of symbolism to express his personal religious experience, which he later shared with Peter, who in turn shared it with Mark, and who, through his Gospel, has shared it with us.

And in sharing this personal religious experience with us, he encourages us to look back upon our lives and identify those occasions when we too have encountered the living God in a unique way and become aware of how special we are to him and which in turn have marked a turning point in our lives.

As regards my Baptism, I cannot recall anything about it because I was far too young. However, I do recall at the age of thirteen, on a certain dark November evening, as I walked past Broad Oak Nursing Home, Burlington Road in Ipswich, that I became acutely aware of the presence of God and how special I was to him. As a consequence, it became the turning point of my life, with the result that I stand before you today.

And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased" or "You are my daughter, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased".

Yes, you and I are adopted sons and daughters of God, our heavenly Father. Not a God like that of John the Baptist, who is always angry and seeking to punish us unless we repent, but a God who affirms us, who loves us, who sees what we are capable of becoming, with the help of His grace. A God who has a unique vocation for each one of us.

Through his Spirit, he seeks to bring order out of the chaos of our lives, as he did in the in the first days of creation. We may not be aware of this at the time but when we look back upon our lives, we can see his guiding influence, as did Jesus.

What a privilege it is to be God's adopted son or daughter! What a joy it is to know that we 'please' him. And what an opportunity we have to respond to that love by fulfilling our unique vocation to which he calls us.