Luke 3:15-22
15As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16John 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. 17His 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."
18So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. 19But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, 20added to them all by shutting up John in prison.
21Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22and 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."
4 comments:
Okay, so I always wonder why I think I am not worthy???!!! That passage says it all. ;-) But I'm left wondering what would happen if I tried to look at the "with you I am well pleased" part and believed it. And I will ponder on that some more today. ;-)
I love the reflections of Laura & Glo. It was great to look at this from a new perspective (for me).. I have always loved this last line of this reading "And a voice came from heaven. 'You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.'". (It is one of those lines like "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do" at the crucifiction that has intuitively become so familiar that it is a part of me.)
It is always amazing to me to be reminded of the varied prisms we each use to view the world. I use this statement in my head as a reminder related to parenting. When I am having a challenging day, and it seems the kids have found every nerve and stomped on them - I often try to stop, take a deep breath and remember this line in reference to my own children. I know that Jesus did nothing wrong, but I particularly love this expression of God's total love for his son and the fact that regardless of what happens, I view it as an affirmation of God's love for all of his children.
I will admit that sometimes it helps, sometimes I still explode, but it helps to remember how precious our own children are and what wonderful gifts they are in our daily life. It makes it easier to get over "the issue of the moment" and move on, apologize, work through, find a teaching moment or just share a hug to remind them that even if I am mad or upset about your words/actions/behavior, I still love you.
This passage is so peaceful to me. "But one who is more powerful than I is coming" We have people in this world that are great leaders and many people in our lives we look up to and try to model. And yet, even they are still human. And I am so human that I mess up all the time. But He is with us and He is coming again. And so the pressure is off for me. I still try because He loves me, but I do not need to get it all right. Praise God! - Donna
I'm so glad that you all commented before I did. That was amazing to read and so wonderful for me to get to reflect on too!
Post a Comment