Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, January 12, 2025
by Pr. Sara Gorman, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: Baptism brings about new beginnings.
It is not uncommon for an individual to be baptized when they are young. I was three months old, when I was baptized, and so even if I was paid one million dollars, I wouldn’t be able to give you any details about that particular day. But I can tell you about all the new beginnings I’ve had since then.
New beginnings are often scary because we don’t know what’s coming next. We don’t know if the new beginning will lead to something better than before, or if the new beginning will make us wish we stayed where we were.
Moving is a physical new beginning. It’s something where you literally pack up your life, and move it to a different location. Sometimes that location is in a better neighborhood, or even in a different state. Sometimes that location is away from some sort of trauma and really truly brings a new beginning. Whatever that beginning may look like, we can be reminded that we are not alone.
Jesus, the son of God, was baptized, and experienced a new beginning, even when it didn’t make sense. For some, being baptized marks a new beginning in their faith life, and for others being baptized marks the beginning of them claiming their faith life as their own. There’s no right way to feel when such a thing happens. Because every feeling, every experience, every situation is different and part of its own narrative.
While we may be baptized once in our lives, we are reminded of our baptism daily through the washing of our hands, our bodies, our whole selves. And each time we wash, or are washed in water, we are given the chance to begin again. We might see baptism as an event, but it is also a process. It’s a process that is constantly ebbing and flowing depending on the day and what’s going on in our lives. It’s a process that leads to new beginnings one at a time.
