Remember, You Are Baptized

"And when Jesus had been baptized,

just as he came up from the water,

suddenly the heavens were opened to him

and he saw the Spirit of God

descending like a dove and alighting on him."

(From Matt. 3:13-17)

God was with Jesus.

God certainly traveled with Jesus on his road trip from Bethlehem.

Jesus was almost killed by Herod who ordered the slaughter of boys under two; He traveled as a refugee from Bethlehem to Egypt; his family couldn't return to their hometown so they lived in Nazareth. 

Decades later, Jesus travels to Galilee where his cousin John is baptizing in the wilderness.

Jesus wades into the Jordan is baptized, comes up from the water, a dove descends, and a voice from heaven speaks, "This is my Son the Beloved".

In this glimpse of glory, Jesus' baptism is God's sign of hope announcing Him as the one who will redeem Israel. 

For decades prophets such as Amos, Micah, and Hosea have been speaking God's word, which seems unheard, so through this glimpse of glory, God's redemption plan is revealed through Jesus, giving Israel hope.

God is with us.

So, 2023 arrives, and just one week old, is filled with horrendous suffering, suspicion, and faithlessness. Starvation, not salvation. Floods, not streams. Blizzards, not flurries. Terror not assurances. Our society needs redemption.

For Christians, Sunday offers hope in a glimpse of glory.

Our worship service provides hope with the assurance God is with us especially with Communion and baptism.

Our baptism is not just a personal act, it is a small, hopeful-filled, glimpse of glory as Jesus builds God's realm kingdom through baptized Christians.

On the Sunday we remember the Baptism of the Lord, we may approach a font filled with water and confirm our choice to follow Jesus by resisting evil, injustice and oppression in any form. 

How will you renounce evil, injustice, or oppression to provide hope in a society needing salvation.?