Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Bear fruits worthy of repentance.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, January 10, 2021
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: At the time of Jesus’ baptism, some people opened their hearts; others closed them.
The political, social, and economic climate of Israel at the time of Jesus was volatile. Clearly, the rites, rituals, laws, and oppressive government had caused great tension between Jews and Rome, but also between Jews themselves. The rich were getting richer on the backs of the poor. Jews in power were gaining more power by aligning with Rome. Change was going to happen one way or another.
John, the son of a high priest of the temple, saw the corruption and became a prophet of God working to turn the tide. When crowds flocked to the wilderness to see and hear him, he scolded them. To John, it appeared they had come to the wilderness either to gawk at the spectacle or to implore John to fix their problems. John put the onus back on them: “Bear fruits worthy of repentance.” The work was in the hands of the people to affect change. The people would either hear him and be the change or they would reject him and dig their heels in deeper. They would either become open to change or closed to it.
Herod, although intrigued by John, remained closed. At the urging of his sister-in-law, whom he had taken for a wife following his divorce, Herod had John thrown in prison (and we would later learn executed).
When Jesus arrived on the scene, the landscape was ripe for a divisive event. When Jesus was baptized, the heavens were opened, and God’s Holy Spirit entered the world ready to alight on those willing to open their hearts to change, and to resist those whose hearts remained closed. The battle between those ready for change and those resisting it had begun.
