Scripture: Mark 1:5
And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to John, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
Thought for the Day: John the Baptist was a very interesting character, but there was something about him and his message that connected with the people. I picture people from all different background streaming to this bizarrely dressed individual with a very odd dietary yearning for insects. We learn in Luke’s Gospel that John came from a priestly family that had returned from the time of the Babylonian Exile. John’s family story is that of a God who called people to return, and that story includes a God who made a way for that return to happen. Baptism is not simply an event that happened one day when we were 12 years old or an infant or some other point in life. It is a retelling of God’s story that is embodied over and over and over again. Let us be mindful of how God might be telling that story again this day, a story by which God might be beckoning us to return through an acknowledgement of our sins and shortcomings.
Prayer: Whether it’s in the waters of baptism or simply the flow of life, let me feel your Spirit guiding me back to the life of faith. This is my request in your name, O Lord of the Journey. Amen.
Let’s Join Together Tomorrow For Worship
Bruce’s Sermon is on Baptism
