Baptism, Initialisation of the Intimate in Sacrament

Jesus' Baptism is not like ours today. We get a lot of ceremony, we give baptismal gifts, some may have been baptised as an infant, others when they were old enough to "choose". The readings for Jesus' baptism give a clear indication that God works in the world, the voice of the Father, the Spirit of God break through from the heavens to be in creation. Isaiah 42.1-2 gives a description of the Lord and servant, the servant to be filled with the spirit of the Lord. When this was written it did not symbolise the Trinity, we need to uphold that in Hebrew scriptures as sometimes we can get lost.

However, the great works of God for the Jewish people (and all people), are seen as the Passage continues, Isaiah 42.5-9

Thus says God, the Lord,
    who created the heavens and stretched them out,
    who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
    and spirit to those who walk in it:
I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
    I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
    a light to the nations,
    to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
    from the prison those who sit in darkness.
I am the Lord, that is my name;
    my glory I give to no other,
    nor my praise to idols.
See, the former things have come to pass,
    and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth,
    I tell you of them.

God the Father speaks explosively into creation, continuing his work. The breath is breathed to give life to people, the Spirit gives life and the new thing that they are waiting for we know and believe is Jesus. (And Peter believes too, Acts 10.43).

Additionally, we see this explosive entry focused on our baptism narratives, with Matthew 3.13-17 showing Jesus, asking to be Baptised by John, who is also uplifted as a prophet. —I am sure many a PhD has focused on the relationship of Jesus letting humans serve him, though we can also expect that when Jesus came into the world as an infant, he didn't perform miracles to keep himself sustained— John baptises Jesus an act of service before God, and the Heavens opened, God spoke and the Spirit descended. Matthew describes this dramatic act as only being visible to Jesus, John 1.32-33 suggests both Jesus and John saw it. The early writers of the Gospels maintained it.

Baptisms are personal experiences, between the baptisee and God, (potentially the baptiser as a representative in the moment). The personal experience described in the Gospels shows this Trinitarian relationship that Jesus is a part of. For us it is the same; we don't expect the heavens to rip open when a baptism takes place, what we do expect is a relationship between God and the individual. God knows every human being, and is relational to all even to those who turn the other way. The grand Creator who could rip creation in two gently waits on us, as if he was the servant. Baptism, the washing clean, is how God wants to see all of us. It symbolises new life, the life gained by the washing in the blood of Christ. Christ's baptism is different, Christ needs no washing of Sin, but at least one thing it shows is the personal relationship of God and the intimate nature of that moment in the believer's life.

God, Trinity, three in one,
the giver of all Sacraments and also the partaker in all sacraments.
Help us reflect on the relationship showed by Jesus,
that we may know our acceptance into the relationship with you through baptism.
In the name of Christ, Amen.