Initial Thoughts
Baptism of Our Lord
January 8, 2012

Initial Thoughts
by David von Schlichten

JESUS' BAPTISM has been a conundrum for many of us in the Church. Why was Jesus baptized? Was he being a role model for us? Did the baptism teach him something about himself? Why does it matter to us that our Lord was baptized?

OUR BAPTISM: We preachers often use this day to reflect on baptism in general. One message that people need to hear is that baptism confers upon us humans an identity-change that demands a change in our behavior while also empowering us to make that change.

Genesis 1: God's voice creates light. The Word of God produces light that leads us. How does the voice of God generate light in our lives?

Acts 19: What does it mean to receive the Holy Spirit? We How can we tell if someone has the Holy Spirit?

Mark 1:4-11: Jesus' baptism features the ripping open of heaven, the descent of the Spirit in dove form, and the Voice declaring that the Son is the Beloved with whom God is well-pleased.

The ripping open of heaven foreshadows the ripping of the Temple curtain at the end of Mark. In both cases, we have the tearing away of a boundary between God and people.

The Spirit's descent is not a gentle lighting but a swooping penetrating.

In other words, the baptism of Jesus is not a sentimental moment but a shocking moment, and the same is true when some cute little baby gets baptized.

Baptism is shocking, radical, an exorcism, an inversion and invasion, not something cutsy, thanks be to Trinity.

(from www.goodpreacher.com/blog/)