The Baptism of the Lord

Jan 24 2025

God Makes the Ordinary Extra-ordinary

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.

Jan 24 2025

Scripture Study for

The reading from Isaiah comes from the post-Exilic period, a time when Israel was tempted to question God’s continued commitment to the relationship after the history of infidelity that led to the Exile. Isaiah assures that God remains committed to the relationship, if only Israel would turn to God (“Heed me . . .”) and accept the offer of forgiveness. Sandwiched between two such calls to Israel is the assurance that the restoration of Israel will be such that other nations will be drawn to Israel because of her generously forgiving and restoring God. The graciousness of God toward Israel will act as a magnet, drawing many others to “seek the Lord while he may be found.”

The thought of the reading from the First Letter of John does not proceed in a straight line. The circular, intertwining language of the passage reflects the close and reciprocal connection between love of God and others, both of which find their center in faith in Jesus as Christ. This faith is grounded in the testimony of the Spirit, the water and the blood— “the testimony of God.” The water and the blood very likely refer specifically to the blood and water that came from Jesus’ side (John 19:34), although the imagery can also include Baptism and Eucharist. The point of the passage is that God has testified that Jesus is the Christ, begotten by God, and all those who believe God’s testimony are also begotten by God, with all this entails.

The Gospel reading is remarkable for its close association of baptism with the Holy Trinity. John has already proclaimed that the One who is to come after him will baptize with the Holy Spirit, who will sanctify the baptized and shape them into the people of God being gathered around Christ. Now Jesus comes to be baptized himself. Immediately the Holy Spirit descends upon him, reflecting back on John’s comment about Jesus baptizing with the Spirit. The scene concludes with the Father’s own voice announcing who Jesus is. Thus the Son, sent by the Father, is sealed with and becomes the agent of the Holy Spirit, the power of God in the world.

Jan 13 2025

Born to Serve

A favorite plot is the rags-to-riches story, the adversity-to-triumph story, the weakling-who-becomes-strong story. It touches on our hope for personal transformation, for a change for the better. We find it in fairy tales like Cinderella, in novels like David Copperfield, and in movies like Star Wars.

This is not, however, the plot we get in the Jesus story. Jesus, who starts out in Bethlehem wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, then grows up not to become the Messiah that Israel had hoped for—the strong warrior king who would restore the nation of Israel to the glory it had under King David. Instead, he grows up to become one who suffers for our sakes, who empties himself, who con

siders himself a servant—and calls on all who follow him to do the same. On this final Sunday of the Christmas season, the Church celebrates the baptism of Jesus, an event that identifies him as the servant described by Isaiah, who comes in gentleness, breaking no bruised reed, quenching no smoldering wick. No shouting, no crying out, no making his voice heard in the streets. Rather, he will open eyes and hearts, release from confinement, and deliver from the dungeon’s darkness.

The agenda was fairly simple, as Peter points out when preaching in the house of the Roman centurion Cornelius: Jesus went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil. He came not to be served but to serve. And this is what he asks of us.

Consider/Discuss

Why do we end the Christmas season with the celebration of Jesus’ baptism?
Do you think of your baptism as committing you to a life of service?

Responding to the Word

At our baptism, we became God’s adopted sons and daughters. We pray to God as beloved sons and daughters, asking that God will be “well pleased” with us, and that God will direct us in the way of serving the needs of others so that we may “do good” and bring healing to a wounded world.

Jan 13 2025

Scripture Study for

The reading from Isaiah is the first of four passages traditionally known as the “servant songs.” Most significant in this description of the servant is his endowment with God’s own spirit. Earlier Israelite leaders—the judges, kings, and prophets—were thought to have been seized by the spirit, thus empowering them to act within the community in some unique fashion. The servant will exercise justice, but not the harsh, exacting kind. Instead, it will be gentle and understanding, willing to wait for the establishment of God’s universal rule. This justice will not compound the distress of an already suffering people. Rather, it will be a source of consolation.

Acts of the Apostles describes a scene that took place in the house of Cornelius, a newly converted Roman centurion. Normally, an observant Jew like Peter would not enter the home of a Gentile. The first words of his discourse (“I see that God shows no partiality”) indicate that he was not always open to association with Gentiles as he is now (Acts 10:34). It was a newly gained insight about God that changed his view of those who did not have Jewish ancestry. Peter came to see that God shows no partiality, and Christ is Lord of all. The message of peace given initially to Israel now includes the Gentiles as well.

The Gospel reading opens with a statement about Jesus’ leaving the familiarity and security of his home in Galilee and journeying to the Jordan River where John was baptizing. There is no description of the actual baptism, but we do have an account of what happened afterwards: the heavens opened and the Spirit of God descended. The Trinitarian scene is completed with the voice from heaven identifying Jesus as “Son.” The words spoken combine an allusion to the “servant of the Lord” (see Isaiah 42:1) and the enthronement of the messianic king. He will accomplish this as “servant of the Lord.”

Jan 08 2025

The Spirit Breaks In, Expanding Our Vision

Imagine that you are a seagull casually flying in from the Mediterranean, hovering for a spell above the Jordan River. It is a beautifully hot day and the wind floats you aloft. All is good. All is peaceful.

Suddenly the heavens open. Power fills the sky. You can feel the air vibrate. The Spirit breaks in. A dove descends. The God of glory thunders, the voice of the Lord over the waters: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

You’re knocked off guard, for you haven’t seen pictures of a furry man pouring water over a guy with his head bowed, a little bird fluttering overhead; you haven’t heard this baptism of Jesus story before. This Spirit of God is not like any other dove that you have ever seen. This is not like any other day. What is going on?

Below you, people walk with their heads bowed, trudging in the dirt, tired by their humdrum existence. You want to caw out, “Looooook, loooook, looook, looook! Come and soar with me! The Spirit of God is here!” The voice of the Lord is power. The voice of the Lord is splendor. You are roused with courage, feeling that you could keep flying even through the worst of thunderstorms.

Who are these two men? One stays by the water. The other turns toward the desert, where he will remain for forty days. The dove disappears to lead the man to the desert, that power remains with the man who walks away. Who could this be? Wherever he goes, you want to go. Wherever he stops, you want to stop. Life is richer in his presence. The air still vibrates. The splendor has not gone away. Something just feels fitting and right and abundant. What was crooked is now straight. All is good. All is warm. God is here!

Consider/Discuss

How often do we take the story of the inbreaking of the Spirit at the baptism of the Lord for granted, as though we have seen it before? How often do we take the inbreaking of the Spirit in our own lives for granted—a nice story, but not very real?
The next time you hear a seagull crying or a bird calling, look up. Look around. The Spirit of God is here. The God of Glory Thunders. The God of splendor whispers. Do we have ears to hear?

Living and Praying with the Word

O Jesus, give us a heart for you. Spirit of God, fill us to the max! Help us to soar and to dance above the humdrum of life, to be empowered anew. You have done something fresh. Break into our lives as well. Thank you for your glory!