For the The Baptism of the Lord…
After Jesus was baptized,
he came up from the water and behold,
the heavens were opened for him,
and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and coming upon him.
And a voice came from the heavens, saying,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:16-17
If we were filming a movie, we’d be cueing the dramatic voice-over and the special effects: God is speaking aloud here in the first person. He is gushing about his Beloved Son, Jesus. This is the same voice that spoke the universe into being, made from nothing. And now the Father breaks into human history to introduce Jesus personally at the start of his public ministry.
Let’s recall our own Baptism as we consider this biblical drama. The same use of holy water and the holy Word was spoken over us.
Almighty God is crazy in love with us! Baptism is the great sign of that love! Just as Jesus is the Beloved Son of God, Baptism allows us to share in that belovedness as daughters and sons of God.
Heavenly Father, thank you for making me your beloved child. Help me to rely on the powerful grace of my Baptism to live with you both now, and one fine day, in Heaven with Jesus.
