Texada Island United Church
  • Home
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • History
    • Links
  • Focus on Spirit
  • Prayers for the World
  • Milestones
    • Births, Deaths & more
    • In Memoriam
    • Advent Bible Study >
      • Advent Bible Study
      • Advent & Christmas Candle lighting
      • Past Events
  • Photo Gallery
    • Karen May, New Legion Chaplain
    • Church Photos
    • Battle Services >
      • Battle of Atlantic service - April 2015
      • Battle Service 2010
    • Tea & Bakesales >
      • Dessert Tea & Bake sale April 2015
      • Church Tea & Bake Sale Dec 2013
      • St Patricks Day Tea and Bake Sale 2013
      • St Patricks Tea 2010
      • Bake Sale 2009
    • Christmas >
      • Christmas Dinner 2014
      • Christmas Concert 2014
      • Christmas Day 2013
      • Christmas Eve 2013
      • Christmas Concert 2013
      • Christmas dinner at Legion 2013
    • Music Events >
      • Chor Musica Powell River Mens Choir - March 2015
      • Chor Musica Video
      • Joyful Noise Photos - 2008-2010, 2013
      • Advent in Song, Dec 2008
    • KSE photos >
      • KSE Photos 2010
      • KSE Photos 2009
      • KSE Photos 2008
    • More Photos >
      • Certificate of Thanksgiving 2014
      • Doretta's 60th
      • Appreciation Service, May 2010
      • Bowen Island Weekend Sep 2009
      • Yard Sale March 2009
      • Earth Day 2009
      • Van Anda Days July 2008
      • Leban Wedding, 2008
  • Church Notes
  • Reflections
    • From Services
    • For Kids
    • Something to Ponder

Baptism of Jesus

10/1/2021

1 Comment

 
 Mark 1:9-12  (GNT)
9 Not long afterward Jesus came from Nazareth in the province of Galilee,
          and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

 10 As soon as Jesus came up out of the water,
​         he saw heaven opening and the Spirit coming down on him like a dove.

 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my own dear Son. I am pleased with you.”
 12 “ At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness,”
 
 
Reflection
 
Baptism as a sacrament has been and continues to be a contentious issue both in and outside of the Christian church.
 
Some churches, like ours, celebrate infant baptism, (also called Christening) where the parents (and god-parents) bring the baby or child before the congregation and the family and congregation makes promises to and on behalf of the one baptized. In some churches the sacred ritual is understood as an individual family ceremony so just the family and priest are present. The child would then make a profession of faith at an older age, whether this is a First Communion as in the Roman Catholic Church (usually around age of 7) or a Confirmation ceremony around the age of 12 or older in some Protestant churches.
 
Some churches will only accept or recognize the baptism of  adolescents or adults and if you want to belong to these churches you have to be (re) baptized. And then there are churches which do not baptize at all like the Unitarians or the Salvation Army. Although many of these churches have blessings or naming ceremonies to celebrate the birth of the baby.
 
Jesus, being a Jew, would have had a circumcision ceremony or bris (brit milah) on the eighth day after he was born when he was also given his name.
 
Jesus, as a Jew, would have taken a purifying bath (mikveh) each time he went to the temple. The temple would have one place where you would have to immerse yourself in purifying water in order to enter the Holy space but there would have been many mikveh places throughout the land. Water purification was and is a ritual for many Jews both male and female even today.
 
When John the Baptist came along – calling all Jews to repent of their sins and be baptized in the Jordan River it would have been understood to be in line with the mikveh, it was the way to symbolize that you had been cleansed.
 
So Jesus comes to John the Baptist, he repents and is cleansed by immersing himself in the Jordan River along with thousands of other people.
 
Reading today’s scripture I am struck by the brevity of the passage. It’s so short for such a momentous occasion!  When Jesus comes up out of that water he is immediately immersed in a vision of the heavens opening and a voice saying “ You are my own dear Son. I am pleased with you.”
 
We are not told in Mark if anyone else except Jesus sees or hears this vision but what an affirmation this is to Jesus that he is on the right path!
 
This is where he is supposed to be at this moment, this is what he is supposed to be doing! This is the direction his life is supposed to take – if he wants to!
 
We don’t often look at Jesus’ story and say this is a turning point for him – a pivotal juncture in his life. Yet each step Jesus takes is a decision – to go and be baptized by John or not! To go into the wilderness – or not! To choose disciples, to preach, to heal, to walk the path that prophets and wise men and holy people had walked before him and still walk today – to hear a calling and follow it and to see a vision and believe it. Jesus doesn’t know what will happen maybe doesn’t expect anything to happen but he has an openness that allows  him to acknowledge and accept when something does happen.
 
This vision as Jesus rises out of the water requires that Jesus pay attention: to hear, to listen, to see and to respond.
 
This vision gives Jesus’ life purpose and direction so that when the next decision comes; that of the Spirit leading Jesus into the desert, into the wilderness, Jesus is ready to go, there is no account of hesitation. The vision is not only an affirmation but a promise; God is with Jesus on this path, this journey.
 
Jesus, baptism is the beginning of a new direction in Jesus, life, maybe a deepening of his spiritual quest, maybe a rededication of a path he was already on but it was pivotal, it was life changing .
 
And it can be the catalyst in our lives. We don’t have to immerse ourselves in the Jordan River to listen for God’s voice in our lives. We, too, can find purpose and direction and hope in those words that Jesus heard:
 
“You are my own dear child. I am pleased with you”
 
God is with us on our path, on our journey. We are not alone.
 
 
Come and Find the Quiet Center:   
(music can be found on youtube: 
https://youtu.be/Mpb_nHwex-A )
    

Come and find the quiet centre
In the crowded life we lead
Find the room for hope to enter
Find the frame where we are freed
Clear the chaos and the clutter
Clear our eyes that we can see
All the things that really matter
Be at peace and simply be

 
Silence is a friend who claims us
Cools the heat and slows the pace
God it is who speaks and names us
Knows our being touches base
Making space within our thinking
Lifting shades to show the sun
Raising courage when we're shrinking
Finding scope for faith begun

 
In the Spirit let us travel
Open to each other's pain
Let our lives and fears unravel
Celebrate the space we gain
There's a place for deepest dreaming
There's a time for heart to care
In the Spirit's lively scheming
There is always room to spare

 
1 Comment
Rikki and Jack Kooy
10/1/2021 10:41:07 am

Dear Gayle, I thank you in this New Year of 2021 for caring leadership...and appreciate your message.Baptism is an important point in our Christs life..and in ours. Thank you. Jack and I would ask to be included in you weekly Sunday postings. Abundant blessings upon you and your family. Sent with hugs from Rikki

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Jan. 22, 2023 More John the Baptist
    Jan. 15, 2023 Jesus and John the Baptist
    Jan. 8, 2023 Magi, Herod and Jesus
    Jan. 1, 2023 Welcome to the Kin-dom Kingdom
    Dec. 24, 2022 It's Christmas!
    Dec. 18, 2022 Love is Wild and Risky
    Dec. 11, 2011 Here Comes John the Baptist
    Dec. 4, 2022 Here Comes the Kingdom of God
    Nov. 27, 2022 Visions of Hope
    Nov. 20, 2022 Reign of Christ Sunday
    Nov. 13, 2022 The World We All Hope For
    Nov. 6, 2022 We are Invited!
    Oct. 9, 2022 A Little Faith!
    Oct. 2, 2022 Washing Feet, Being Love
    Sept. 25, 2022 Reconciliation
    Sept. 18, 2022 Forgiveness Again and Again
    Sept. 11, 2022 Confession
    Sept. 4, 2022 Freeing Jesus: Presence
    AUG. 28, 2022 Freeing Jesus: Way
    Aug. 21, 2022 Freeing Jesus: Lord
    Aug. 7, 2022 Freeing Jesus: Saviour
    July 31,2022 Freeing Jesus:Teacher
    July 24,2022 Freeing Jesus: Friend
    July 17, 2022 Let's Look at the Bible
    July 10, Hey Zacchaeus! I'm Coming Over!
    July 3, 2022 Who is This Jesus....
    June 19, 2022 The Trail to God
    June 12, 2022 The Trinity and the Good News
    June 5, 2022 It's Pentecost
    April 24, 2022 What About Peter?
    April 17, 2022 Easter Sunday
    April 10, 2022 Palm Sunday 2022
    April 3, 2022 Lent 5
    March 27, 2022 Jesus Overturning Tables
    March 6, 2022 Lent 1
    Feb. 27, 2022 Transfiguration
    Feb. 20, 2022 Called to Be the Church
    Feb. 13, 2022 Hagar was a Slave
    Jan. 23, 2022 Storms
    Jan. 16, 2022 Call and Temptation
    Jan. 9, 2022 The Magi and the Light
    Jan. 2, 2022 A New Year Awaits
    Dec. 19, 2021 Love...Grace....Response
    Dec. 12, 2021 What is this Joy?
    Dec. 5, 2021 Preparing the Way
    Nov. 28, 2021 Hope in This Advent Seaon
    Nov. 14, 2021 Surely God is Here!
    Nov. 7, 2021 What We Carry
    Oct. 31, 2021 Stories!
    Oct. 24, 2021 All About Ruth!
    Oct. 17, 2021 Gardengate
    Oct. 10, 2021 Thanksgiving Anyone?
    Oct. 3, 2021 What Unites Us
    Sept 19, 2021 Forgiveness etc.
    Sept. 12, 2021 Does Being Christian....
    Sept. 5, 2021 Connected
    Aug. 29, 2021 So Many Miracles
    Aug. 22, 2021 Advent to Easter
    Aug. 15, 2021 Messy Love
    August 8, 2021 JOY
    Aug. 1, 2021 Jesus Welcomes Us
    July 25,2021 Today I Choose Happy!
    July 18, 2021 Forgiveness
    July 11,2021 We Are the Church Together
    July 4, 2021 Gifts of the Spirit
    June 27/21 Unending Love, Amazing grace
    June 20, 2021 Walking the Road of Love
    June 13, 2021 Draw the Circle Wide 2
    June 6, 2021 Pentecost to Today
    May 2, 2021 Jesus: "Who do I say I am"
    April 25, 2021 Death Has Lost Its Sting
    April 18, 2021 Follow Me!
    April 11, 2021 The Road to Emmaus
    April 4, 2021 Easter Sunday
    April 2, 2021 Good Friday
    April 1, 2021 Maundy Thursday
    March 28, 2021 Palm Sunday
    March 21, 2021 Lent 5 Who is Jesus to You?
    March 14, 2021 Lent 4: Jesus Wept
    March 7, 2021 Lent 3: Desert Mothers & Fathers
    Feb. 28, 2021 Lent 2: Arwa's Story
    Feb. 21, 2021 Lent 1
    Feb. 17, 2021 Ash Wednesday
    Feb. 14, 2021 Love
    Feb.7, 2021 The Be-Attitudes
    Jan. 24, 2021 What is this Kingdom of God?
    Jan. 17, 2021 Calls - Nudges and Visions
    Jan. 10, 2021 Baptism of Jesus
    Jan. 3, 2021 You are the Light
    Dec. 25 2020 Christmas
    Dec. 20, 2020 Advent 4 - Love
    Dec. 13, 2020 Advent 3 - Joy
    Dec. 6 2020 Advent 2 - Peace
    Nov. 29, 2020 Advent 1- Hope
    Nov. 22, 2020 Light of the World
    Nov. 15, 2020. Talents and Gifts
    Nov. 8, 2020 Lest We Forget
    Nov. 1,2020. How to be a Saint
    Oct 25, 2020 Love God
    Oct. 18, 2020 Followers of the Way
    Oct. 11, 2020 Give Thanks
    Oct. 4,2020 Out on a Precipice
    Sept. 27, 2020. Out Beyond
    Sept. 20, 2020 Where is God
    Sept. 13, 2020. Intersectionality???
    Sept. 6, 2020 God IS Love
    Aug. 23, 2020 This is not a Test
    Aug 16, 2020 Draw the Circle Wide
    Aug 2, 2020 Wrestling with God
    July 26, 2020     Find and Seek
    July 19, 2020 I Know You
    July 12, 2020 Parable of the Sower
    July 5, 2020 What Do You Hope For?
    Sunday, June 28, 2020
    Sunday June 21, 2020
    Sunday, June 14, 2020
    Trinity Sunday, June 7, 2020
    Pentecost Sunday, May 31, 2020
    Sunday, May 24, 2020
    Sunday, May 17, 2020
    ​Sunday, May 10, 2020 – “Mother’s Day”
    ​Sunday, May 3, 2020 “There IS abundance!”
    Prayer for a Pandemic
    Hanging Out With Jesus

    ​COMMENTS: 

    We welcome discussion on content posted here!

    A comment field is present when looking at individual posts. If you don't see the comment area, click on the article heading to bring up the single post and its comment area.
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.