Washed Clean
Stories
Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit
Series VI, Cycle C
Object:
You may have seen the movie that came out several years ago called O Brother, Where Art Thou?1 the whimsical retelling of Homer's Odyssey set in Mississippi in 1937. Not a bad film, but not exactly Academy Award stuff either. The hero of the piece is a dapper, smooth-talking con man named Ulysses Everett McGill (played by George Clooney). Everett (he goes by his middle name) escapes from a chain gang and brings along the two fellow prisoners chained to him, Pete and Delmar, with the promise of recovering buried treasure from a heist. In truth, he wants to get back to his wife and their seven daughters before his wife marries another man.
One scene has the three desperados hiding out in the woods, running from the law. There they encounter a procession of white-robed faithful going down to the lake to be baptized. As the ceremony begins, Delmar is overwhelmed by the mystery and majesty of it all. He runs into the water and is baptized by the minister. As he returns to his companions, he declares that he is now saved and "neither God nor man's got nothin' on me now." He explains that the minister has told him that all his sins have been washed away, even when he stole the pig for which he had been convicted.
"But you said you were innocent of that," one of his fellow convicts exclaims.
"I lied," he says, "and that's been washed away, too!"
Amen! Yes, that is our understanding of baptism. And that is why there is some misunderstanding of the scene from the gospels that we encounter at the beginning of each year -- Jesus' baptism. Jesus had no sin to be washed away, but he was baptized anyway. There is an old Russian Orthodox belief that any two babies baptized in the same church, on the same day, are as brother or sister. Perhaps that is the way we should understand Jesus' baptism. He does not need it for himself, but he does it to share our humanity, to be our brother. Now let's get on with our work.
There is indeed something about getting washed clean that gives a new start and an impetus to get on with the business at hand. Several years ago, America said farewell to a man who may have understood that better than most, President Gerald Ford.
It was late summer, 1974. The US had been struggling with the quagmire of Vietnam and the political disaster of Watergate. In August, Richard Nixon resigned the presidency rather than face certain impeachment and conviction. Gerald Ford, himself appointed to the office of vice president less than a year before, became our nation's leader. In his remarks following his swearing in, he declared, "Our long national nightmare is over."
But it was not over. There was still palpable anger in the country over what had occurred, and there seemed to be a thirst for vengeance on those who had brought us to this point, most particularly, Richard Nixon. It was ugly.
On September 8, 1974, 11:05 Sunday morning, President Ford spoke from the oval office and granted Richard Nixon "a full, free, and absolute pardon" for any crimes he may have committed while serving as president. The slate was washed clean.
We were not in a very pardoning mood back then. Most of us were incensed at the idea of Nixon getting off scot free, incensed at the timing of the announcement with the appearance of Mr. Ford trying to "sneak it through" while we were off in church, incensed that this might just be "same ol', same ol' " Washington with some secret backroom deal having been made to let the guilty go free. Jerry Ford immediately went from being the likable Mr. Everyman who made his own breakfast in the White House to being the central figure in what looked for all the world like an evil conspiracy. People still remembered it two years later when they went into the voting booth and elected Jimmy Carter as president instead of Gerald Ford.
Many years have passed now. President Ford said he did it to help the nation move forward, beyond the Watergate scandal. He said in his address that day that this "is an American tragedy in which we all have played a part. It could go on and on and on, or someone must write the end to it. I have concluded that only I can do that, and if I can, I must." And he did.
They say, "Time heals all wounds," and, in this case, that is certainly true. Time also brings perspective. Gerald Ford's instinct to forgive and move on was absolutely correct, just as he was right to offer clemency to Vietnam-era draft evaders and deserters.
Polls show that the majority of Americans agree. In 2001, President Ford was given the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for making that incredibly difficult, and costly, decision. In his acceptance speech, he said he was "profoundly grateful" for the recognition. Finally, we had come to understand.
There is something powerful about being washed clean. In O Brother, Where Art Thou? Delmar was not made perfect by his baptism any more than any of the rest of us are made perfect by our own. But he was conscious that his baptism meant a new beginning. Perhaps that is why when the three of them stole a pie from a kitchen windowsill, he went back later and put a dollar down.
We are washed clean by baptism. Now we can get on with life.
____________
1. O Brother, Where Are Thou? written and directed by Ethan and Joel Coen, Touchstone Pictures/Universal Pictures, 2000.
One scene has the three desperados hiding out in the woods, running from the law. There they encounter a procession of white-robed faithful going down to the lake to be baptized. As the ceremony begins, Delmar is overwhelmed by the mystery and majesty of it all. He runs into the water and is baptized by the minister. As he returns to his companions, he declares that he is now saved and "neither God nor man's got nothin' on me now." He explains that the minister has told him that all his sins have been washed away, even when he stole the pig for which he had been convicted.
"But you said you were innocent of that," one of his fellow convicts exclaims.
"I lied," he says, "and that's been washed away, too!"
Amen! Yes, that is our understanding of baptism. And that is why there is some misunderstanding of the scene from the gospels that we encounter at the beginning of each year -- Jesus' baptism. Jesus had no sin to be washed away, but he was baptized anyway. There is an old Russian Orthodox belief that any two babies baptized in the same church, on the same day, are as brother or sister. Perhaps that is the way we should understand Jesus' baptism. He does not need it for himself, but he does it to share our humanity, to be our brother. Now let's get on with our work.
There is indeed something about getting washed clean that gives a new start and an impetus to get on with the business at hand. Several years ago, America said farewell to a man who may have understood that better than most, President Gerald Ford.
It was late summer, 1974. The US had been struggling with the quagmire of Vietnam and the political disaster of Watergate. In August, Richard Nixon resigned the presidency rather than face certain impeachment and conviction. Gerald Ford, himself appointed to the office of vice president less than a year before, became our nation's leader. In his remarks following his swearing in, he declared, "Our long national nightmare is over."
But it was not over. There was still palpable anger in the country over what had occurred, and there seemed to be a thirst for vengeance on those who had brought us to this point, most particularly, Richard Nixon. It was ugly.
On September 8, 1974, 11:05 Sunday morning, President Ford spoke from the oval office and granted Richard Nixon "a full, free, and absolute pardon" for any crimes he may have committed while serving as president. The slate was washed clean.
We were not in a very pardoning mood back then. Most of us were incensed at the idea of Nixon getting off scot free, incensed at the timing of the announcement with the appearance of Mr. Ford trying to "sneak it through" while we were off in church, incensed that this might just be "same ol', same ol' " Washington with some secret backroom deal having been made to let the guilty go free. Jerry Ford immediately went from being the likable Mr. Everyman who made his own breakfast in the White House to being the central figure in what looked for all the world like an evil conspiracy. People still remembered it two years later when they went into the voting booth and elected Jimmy Carter as president instead of Gerald Ford.
Many years have passed now. President Ford said he did it to help the nation move forward, beyond the Watergate scandal. He said in his address that day that this "is an American tragedy in which we all have played a part. It could go on and on and on, or someone must write the end to it. I have concluded that only I can do that, and if I can, I must." And he did.
They say, "Time heals all wounds," and, in this case, that is certainly true. Time also brings perspective. Gerald Ford's instinct to forgive and move on was absolutely correct, just as he was right to offer clemency to Vietnam-era draft evaders and deserters.
Polls show that the majority of Americans agree. In 2001, President Ford was given the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for making that incredibly difficult, and costly, decision. In his acceptance speech, he said he was "profoundly grateful" for the recognition. Finally, we had come to understand.
There is something powerful about being washed clean. In O Brother, Where Art Thou? Delmar was not made perfect by his baptism any more than any of the rest of us are made perfect by our own. But he was conscious that his baptism meant a new beginning. Perhaps that is why when the three of them stole a pie from a kitchen windowsill, he went back later and put a dollar down.
We are washed clean by baptism. Now we can get on with life.
____________
1. O Brother, Where Are Thou? written and directed by Ethan and Joel Coen, Touchstone Pictures/Universal Pictures, 2000.
