Dear Epiphany People,

Hope, life, and light to you all!

This Sunday our focus is drawn to baptism. Before we can get to anything in Jesus' earthly ministry, we must start at his baptism. That's where it begins. To be clear, Jesus' baptism is not Christian baptism; yet, paying attention to his baptism enables us to pay attention to the identity conferred and the call received in our baptisms.

As the Gospel accounts tell us, John the Baptist was in the wilderness conducting some sort of renewal program with people from everywhere coming to hear him and be baptized by him in the Jordan River. They sensed that something was wrong with their lives, both individually and as a community of people, and baptism was a way to ritually wash away the past and start anew. The Greek word from which we get "to baptize" literally means "to wash." A visit to the archeological ruins at Qumran and the Jewish fortress, Masada, both in the Jordan River Valley near the Dead Sea, reveals the importance of ritual washing in their day. With many expecting the imminent arrival of God's messiah and the ushering in of a new age, ritual washing was a way to prepare for that eventuality.

The picture at the Jordan River is that of a sea of people filled with expectation and lining up to be washed by John in the river. It is during this activity that Jesus shows up. He chooses to get baptized with the rest of the people. It is his way of saying, "I am with you." Click here to continue reading

pastorrick@epiphanysuwanee.org