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We may wonder why Jesus, God’s Son, needs to be baptized? Jesus insists that John the Baptist perform this rite on him, as a sign of God’s new covenant of grace with all people of the world. Where John’s baptism was strictly performed with water from the Jordan River, Jesus’ water baptism reflects only one part of God's holy mystery. As Jesus prays, coming out of the river, the heavens open and God’s Holy Spirit descends on Jesus like a dove, with the power of holy fire. In water and Spirit, Jesus is baptized, marked and claimed as God’s beloved Son, forever. God claims us with this same holy action through water and the Spirit when we are baptized, and it’s a permanent mark on our bodies of God’s covenant with us: to never abandon us and always forgive us, unconditionally. If you’ve been thinking about baptism, I’d like to speak to you, to answer your questions or help you understand what God does for us in this holy sacrament of baptism. God wants to claim you in love and grace, too, no matter what you’ve done, or left undone. This is the Gospel’s Good News: there's no sin too great for God to forgive, through baptism into Christ Jesus!
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Luke 3:15-17; 21-22
