The Baptism of Jesus: God with Us!

Luke 3: 15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." 21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 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." (NRSV)

The beautiful graphic used today in the email version of ConCafe comes from the artist He Qi. Her gallery can be found at www.hequigallery.com. You can see the graphic by going to http://www.sevenwholedays.org/2012/01/08/the-baptism-of-our-lord-jesus-christ/. The colors bright a dimension of power and joy that I know was present at the Baptism of Jesus. I can't speak for John the Baptist. He was having great success in calling all people to repentance, even offering a nonJewish rite to Jews who felt that they needed to be washed clean of their sinfulness. John was setting the stage for the power and message of Jesus. I don't think he expected to be asked by Jesus, a relative, considered by many to be a cousin, for baptism. Jesus among all these sinners, even some of the religious men who would later plot against Jesus, baptized? Jesus' intent was the identifying and relating to our situation. While Jesus had no sin, He bore our sins. But Jesus understands us and relates with us. He knows our suffering and our situations and in spite of that, loves and cares for us. As Jesus emerges from the water, the heavens open, and the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove descends upon Jesus and a voice from Heaven declares, "You are my beloved; with you I am well pleased." The first of two declarations from Heaven that Jesus was indeed the Son of God and Who enjoyed the pleasure of God for His faithfulness to the ministry to which He was called.

There is nothing you or I could go through that we enter or endure alone. Jesus' willingness to identify with us at His baptism shows that. The man with no sin who did not need baptism offered HImself freely and openly. Those who were present saw it though they may not have understood it at the time. Those who heard the voice understood the profound power of God's blessing upon Jesus. We are the ones years later, who are being blessed by Jesus' presence and caring for us. No illness, no challenge, no unexpected obstacle stands a chance against Jesus. It may seem at times that we are alone and weak, but we need to know that Jesus stands with us and helps us through whatever it is that we face. The challenges and opportunities of this New Year are best faced and lived with the knowledge that Jesus goes with us.

PRAYER: Living God as each day of the New Year unfolds, may we receive and enjoy each day with the sure knowledge that You are with us. Thank You for identifying with us and our situations. May each victory be a reason for praise and glory for You. We pray in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde