THIS WEEK’S GOSPEL: LUKE 3:15-17, 21-22 (MESSAGE)
The interest of the people by now was
building. They were all beginning to wonder, “Could this John be the Messiah?” But John intervened: “I’m baptizing you here
in the river. The main character in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand,
will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you
from the inside out. He’s going to clean house—make a clean sweep of your
lives. He’ll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything
false he’ll put out with the trash to be burned.”
After all the people were baptized,
Jesus was baptized. As he was praying, the sky opened up and the Holy Spirit,
like a dove descending, came down on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice:
“You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life.”
Each week we take a look at our lesson through Eugene
Peterson’s paraphrase The Message. This week the words that the voice speaks
in blessing Jesus are fresh and beautiful.
“You are my Son,” the voice says, “chosen and marked by my love, pride
of my life.”
Has anyone ever said that they were proud of you? Did this proclamation make a difference in
the way you chose to behave, the way you chose to live?
It is amazing what a little affirmation will do for
people. In my own life, I know that I
reflect more fully my best self when I am affirmed as Jesus was for who I am
not just what I do.
In what ways do we accept this affirmation of our
baptisms (i.e., that we are much loved children of God) and share it with
others through our choices, through the way we live? Do our lives encourage others to be their
best God-created selves?
Please join us this Sunday, January 13 at 10 am in
Christ Church for the celebration of the Baptism of our Lord when we are
reminded that we belong to God and are loved by God through the renewal of our
baptismal vows. This will be a joyful
celebration for everyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment