God Makes the Ordinary Extra-ordinary

The Baptism of the Lord

Reflecting on the Word

By Dr. Karla J. Bellinger

A baby is clothed in a fancy white garment. The priest or deacon,  using water, sprinkles (or pours or dunks) and says, “I baptize you  in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”  Thankfully, the child doesn’t cry. We eat a good meal and slice the  cake. It’s nice . . . 

When I visited Israel a few years ago, I rolled up my pant legs to  stand in the “spot” in the River Jordan. The water was warm. The  sun was hot. Hmm, I thought, so this is where Jesus was baptized.  Frankly, it didn’t look like much. Slow muddy water, sort of a creek  about ten feet across, with scrubby plants and reeds on either side . . . 

Then bam! The heavens are torn open! God does something new.  God is here. God is near. 

The action is fast in the Gospel of Mark. The man from Nazareth  is baptized by John; the mighty man of God goes to the desert to  wrestle with the devil; the wonder-worker heals the wounded; the  divine hero drives out demons. It all starts right here: Jesus arises  from that water and heaven’s floodgates burst open. The royal  Messiah has arrived. The kingdom of God has come. 

The Almighty, the All-Powerful, has come near to you and me  as well. The human actions and words of the sacrament of baptism  may not look like much, but God has done something fresh for us,  too. Lively and bubbling, the Spirit of God dwells within us. Where  access to the Divine had once been blocked, the barriers have been  burst open. Bam! This is God’s doing, not ours. The Lord of lords,  the King of kings, is near to us—always here, always new. 

Consider/Discuss 

  • Sometimes the January post-Christmas season can feel like slow muddy  water—it doesn’t look like much, it doesn’t feel like much. It can be easier  to focus on somber news rather than Good News. In this winter week,  concentrate on the excitement of the bubbling up of the Holy Spirit within  ordinary life. Where is God’s beauty? Goodness? Joy? 
  • The kingdom of God is here. Can you feel it? Can you sense it? The  kingdom of God is now! What does it mean to you that the Almighty has  come to dwell with you?

Living and Praying with the Word 

Everlasting One, we are thirsty. Though we have been baptized,  we still crave your living water. We seem to spend our money on  what is not bread and our time on what does not satisfy. Jesus, wash  us once more so that we draw water joyfully from your springs of  deliverance. Bathe us in your love, Spirit of God, and flood us with  your strength. Holy Trinity, One God, we give ourselves to you anew  this day.

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