Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, December 29, 2019
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: The promises given to Jesus in baptism are promises to us, too.
Jesus came on the scene with a bang! In his early thirties, with almost no word about him until this point, his arrival was abrupt and noticeable.
First, his arrival was proclaimed by one of the most prominent prophets of Jesus’ time—John the Baptist. The proclamation highlighted the Jewish prophets—Isaiah had indicated his arrival nearly 8 centuries prior. All signs pointed toward Jesus’ coming.
When Jesus did arrive, his baptism shocked and perplexed many who were present. Not only was it a meaningful event, but it is an event that mirrors the meaning baptism has for us today. The things that happened in Jesus’ baptism are what happen to us when we are baptized.
First, the heavens were torn apart. The heavens were a barrier between God and humanity. Similarly, the curtain in the temple represented the divide between God and people. When Jesus was baptized, the heavens were torn apart—the barrier that separated us from God was gone! God was loose in the world in a way God never had been before. (When Jesus was crucified, the temple curtain was torn also—another sign that the barrier between God and people was rent.) Just as in Jesus’ day, our baptism is a promise that we will never be separated from God.
Next, the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus. We too, are given the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is an advocate and a guide—a power line between God and us.
Third, a voice claimed Jesus as its own. We too, are claimed by God in our baptism. We are claimed as children of God—beloved and inheritors of God’s kingdom.
Finally, Jesus was driven into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tested and tried. Our lives are also filled with trials and temptations. Baptism does not promise an easy, challenge-free life. But it does promise we will never walk alone.
Thank you, God, that with you I am never alone. Amen.
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