The Savior saves us.
Under the murky flow of the Jordan, Jesus, the Beloved Son of the Father, unveils a glory that unaided reason cannot see. The muddy current hides the Wonder from which all good things come. What is hidden from the naked eye does not stay concealed. The Lamb rises up, and His anointing in the power of the Holy Spirit is revealed. What could not be gazed upon under the flowing depths rises up in baptism to gaze on us in a way that no other human eyes have ever gazed on us before. Will we dare to open the eyes of our hearts to the Christ who saves us? Up from the river, the Messiah’s saving gaze is on us, for deep waters could not quench His love. Never passive but tirelessly at work, the Stem of Jesse, who was from the beginning, stands over the waters of the Jordan just as He stands over the depths of each heart. And the Morning Star works under the gentleness of the Holy Spirit, a sacrificial dove, a hope-filled promise after the storm. The Root of David anointed in this power of the Holy Spirit is the light who shines when the Father commands, “Behold, my Son in whom I am well pleased.”
Will we dare to open the eyes of our hearts to the Christ who saves us?
Faith sees, in John’s humble action, that the Friend of the Bridegroom has sent the Bridegroom to find his Bride. The Baptist commanded us to make straight the pathway, and this means the hard work of repentance, of forgiveness, of seeking forgiveness, of reconciliation, of restitution. Each of these activities helped us discover our utter poverty, for though they are the right thing to do, we cannot do the right thing on our own. We see that we need help. And with this realization, we are ready for the manifestation of the Messiah in our own midst.
Now this Voice in the Wilderness humbly sends the Messiah to find us. He knew himself too well and saw his own unworthiness, but he also saw the worthiness of the One who commanded him to baptize. Inadequate though he was, he baptized his cousin, knowing that the waters that threaten human dignity were drowning us in an abyss of misery. But, by his frail ministry, He who stands at the door and knocks has gained entry into the heart’s abyss. Baptized by the Baptist, the Savior comes not only into the heights of intelligence and thought, but into all that has been made subject to the power of sin and death: the depths of imagination, intuition, judgment, feeling, emotion, deep desire, bodily needs, into the source of human freedom and into the being of humanity itself. He plunges into all of this to raise up the whole mystery of who and what we are with Him, our every disobedience circumscribed by His obedient Sonship. This is an epiphany, not over and against humanity, but within its very fibers.
When the eyes of our heart meet His gaze, the Light of the World holds captive every thought and purifies the murky currents of our desires. Just as the Jordan Waters could not hold Him down, all the self-contradictions hidden in the depths of the heart lose their claim before His Face. If we would open our eyes, the Word, that very fount of eternal meaning and life, would pour forth now, even in this present moment, with the same force that He poured Himself out when He rose from the waters. If we would open our eyes to Him who went below the river that flows to the Dead Sea, we would see that this Good Shepherd is now for us the River of Life. In the midst of all the brokenness of the world, the graces, energies, powers and splendor flowing from this Lamb of God transform everything, leaving nothing as it once was, establishing such peace that no power on earth, below or above can take it away. Those who believe in the Baptized Lamb of God share in this new saving mystery. A Mystery of Light gazes into the faithful heart. The Wonderful Counselor speaks, and His Filial voice reverberates with saving harmonies. This Prince of Peace speaks not only with captivating words but mighty deeds—and by both word and deed, He who is the Life generates a new birth. The Healer of our Souls brings sight to the blind, cleansing to lepers, wholeness to the crippled, hearing to the deaf, speech to the mute, life to the dead. Nothing in this world can overcome Him because, in the very mystery of His baptized humanity, the King of Kings has risen out of the chaos to confront every adversary and obstacle to the friendship He has long yearned to restore.
When the eyes of our heart meet His gaze, the Light of the World holds captive every thought and purifies the murky currents of our desires.
Love Himself rises out of the chaos as the sun from its chamber, as a champion running his course, as the Bridegroom coming for His Bride. Not even the deep waters of death can quench His love for us. The love of this Mighty Lover is stronger than death. Indeed, in His baptism, the Thief who comes in the night was already robbing death, already stealing hearts, already stealing your own heart – if only you would let Him have it. The Mighty One freely entered into those dark waters that you have avoided at all cost. This Searcher of Fine Pearls enters delicately, tenderly, obedient to the Father, under the ministry of the greatest of men, to bear away even the least of sin and bring those who walk in darkness home. Faith comes from hearing, but to hear, we must silence ourselves before this mystery of Light. This means time spent with the intellect bowed before the Word. Such adoring faith knows that gentle desire that only He can stir. A soul of silence allows this holy ache to burn for as long as it can bear. In such patient silence, we hear the voice of the Father speaking blessing over His Spirit-anointed Son. When the Father speaks, it is always to the heart – for heart speaks to heart. When the Father speaks, it is always eternally meaningful, echoing with such beauty as to astonish the heart without the heart ever having realized all that had just happened.
When the Father speaks, it is always eternally meaningful.
This is how the baptized Jesus was manifest, though hardly anyone noticed. So does prayer work today: He bathes the soul in the wonder of this Christmas mystery but the thoughts, emotions, and fantasies have no idea of all that has been lavished upon them. We know what He has done by its effects, not by what we feel or our state of consciousness. Wherever there is contrition and a change of heart, peaceful confidence and holy resolve, deeper desire for the truth and new readiness to do what is right, these are all signs that this saving mystery has already been manifest to the heart. A mind may ponder this diligently for many years and barely scratch the surface of what this manifestation accomplishes. No mere cerebral affair nor feat of psychological prowess, the Word’s descent into the Jordan’s waters means a descent deep into one’s own hidden abysses the heart, deep caverns that no one knew were there, not even the soul itself, only God. It is out of these depths that a heart learns to hear the Father from within the mystery of divine Sonship. For the Son’s Heart is the Heart of the Father – in the Sacred Heart lives the Heart of God. And this Heart lives in our hearts to give eternal life.
When the Truth enters our hidden depths, He unveils hidden motives in which we would otherwise be engulfed and infuses these with new meaning. He allows Himself to be plunged into the dark waters that have engulfed us, and the Lamb does not rest until He finds his lost sheep and takes us home. The Word bathes away every false judgment and floods with saving insight. The tears of the sorrowful are wiped away even as they are seized with compunction, the falling finally find standing even as they stumble down before Him, the abandoned and destitute find salvation even as they abandon and rid themselves of anything that is not for his glory. For the Eternal Son gives the gentle Dove of the Holy Spirit to every soul that would plunge into the mystery of His death with Him. He yearns with great yearning that each of those to whom He gives this gift should stand with Him forever. Through the most gentle immersion into the currents of our hearts, the Son’s flesh and blood presence evokes and strengthens this pure gift until the Father’s love bears the fruit of eternal life.
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This post was originally published on Beginning to Pray and is reprinted here with permission.
