Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, June 1, 2025
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: While we are not called to set ourselves above others, baptism calls us to set ourselves apart so that we might uplift, accept and love all.
The early Christian church struggled mightily with what it meant to believe in Jesus, to be offered salvation, and to live as a child of God apart from the laws of Moses, yet still identified by the patriarchy of Abraham. God chose Israel to be set apart, yet Jesus was now welcoming the entire world into the blessings promised to Jews. And in an irony of ironies, Paul set baptism as the mark that distinguished people who were no longer to distinguish between Jew or Greek, slave or free. Paul proclaimed that believers should not put up barriers that would separate people by labels, and at the same time encouraged those who wanted to live like that to get baptized as a way to set themselves apart.
But while the segregation of people by race, religion, gender, size, or other construct usually leans toward discrimination, baptism may be the one marker whose intent is not separation, but love and acceptance.
Baptism is not a marker for separating God’s chosen from everyone else. It is a gift from God for all people. And for those who identify as Christian, it is a sacred, healing, welcoming event. It is not meant to place the baptized above others—if anything it demands that we put ourselves below, in the place of a servant for all others. It marks us as people dedicated to the uplifting of all. It also demands that we continually ask ourselves how are we doing? We must challenge ourselves to ask, in what areas are we continuing to separate, discriminate, or degrade? We are also invited to see and celebrate the areas in which we are uplifting, accepting, and loving.
So, while we are not called to set ourselves above, we can embrace baptism, which sets us apart. We are hardwired to seek meaning, purpose, and belonging. Baptism helps us to find those things within ourselves and among others, and demands that we never forget the gift that it truly is.
