Sunday Reflection – Baptism of the Lord, January 12, 2025

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Jesus is baptized

Luke 3 15 Everyone became excited and wondered, “Could John be the Messiah?”

16 John said, “I am just baptizing with water. But someone more powerful is going to come, and I am not good enough even to untie his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 His threshing fork is in his hand, and he is ready to separate the wheat from the husks. He will store the wheat in his barn and burn the husks with a fire that never goes out.”

21 While everyone else was being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. Then as he prayed, the sky opened up, 22  and the Holy Spirit came down upon him in the form of a dove. A voice from heaven said, “You are my own dear Son, and I am pleased with you.”

Kids Korner: Jesus is baptized (January 12th)

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Read Luke 3:15-15, 21-22 with your family.

Do you remember your baptism? Have you been baptized? What even is baptism?

For Christians, baptism is the time we officially join the family of Jesus followers. It is a ceremony that can either have water sprinkled over our head, or our full body dunked in water. It can be in a church or outside in a river. It can happen when we are babies or not until we are fully grown. There is no right way to do baptism, there is only the traditions in the faith community in which we are raised.

Baptism is an old Greek word that means to “cover yourself with water”. In Jesus day it was the practice of Hebrew people to wash themselves before they went into the temple to pray. They believed almost everyone was “unclean” so they went into special baths to get “clean” before they could worship God.

One group, known as the Essenes, washed themselves every single day, and we think John the Baptist was one of the Essenes.

For Jesus’ baptism, he was outside in a river. John the Baptist (named that because we read in the Bible that he baptized Jesus), was helping people get that ceremonial cleaning all while telling them that one was coming soon who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. John was talking about Jesus. But before Jesus could baptize others, he wanted to be baptized himself, probably to show that he was an ordinary person just like everyone else, even if he was also the Messiah.

When Jesus came out of the water that very Holy Spirit came upon him, and ever after Jesus’ baptism, that means one cleaning ritual, a single ceremony of baptism was all anyone needed. Unlike the Hebrew tradition, for the Jesus followers, they only had to be baptized once.

Today we still only need to be baptized once, and the words “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” are said to remind us what family of faith we are now a part.

Sunday Reflection – Advent IV, December 22, 2024

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Song of Mary

Luke 1 39 A short time later Mary hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea. 40 She went into Zechariah’s home, where she greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, her baby moved within her.

The Holy Spirit came upon Elizabeth. 42  Then in a loud voice she said to Mary:

God has blessed you more than any other woman! He has also blessed the child you will have. 43 Why should the mother of my Lord come to me? 44 As soon as I heard your greeting, my baby became happy and moved within me. 45 The Lord has blessed you because you believed that he will keep his promise.

46  Mary said:

With all my heart
    I praise the Lord,
47 and I am glad
    because of God my Savior.
48 God cares for me,
    his humble servant.
From now on,
all people will say
    God has blessed me.
49 God All-Powerful has done
great things for me,
    and his name is holy.
50 He always shows mercy
to everyone
    who worships him.
51 The Lord has used
    his powerful arm
to scatter those
    who are proud.
52 God drags strong rulers
    from their thrones
and puts humble people
    in places of power.
53 God gives the hungry
    good things to eat,
and sends the rich away
    with nothing.
54 God helps his servant Israel
and is always merciful
    to his people.
55 The Lord made this promise
    to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his family
    forever!

Kids Korner: Mary is having a baby (December 22nd)

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Read Luke 1:39-55 with your family.

Having a baby is very exciting, and it is scary. Mary believed in God and accepted that God chose her to be the mother of Jesus, but that did not mean she was completely relaxed about the whole thing. She was nervous. What would people think? How would they look at her? Would her family still support her? Would her friends stick around? These were some of Mary’s worries.

Mary took those worries to her cousin Elizabeth, and Elizabeth was able to make Mary feel better.

Elizabeth showed Mary that even when God calls you to do big and scary things, God will always provide helpers along the way.

Sunday Reflection – Advent III, December 15, 2024

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Baptize with the Holy Spirit

Luke 3 7  Crowds of people came out to be baptized, but John said to them, “You bunch of snakes! Who warned you to run from the coming judgment? 8  Do something to show that you really have given up your sins. Don’t start saying you belong to Abraham’s family. God can turn these stones into children for Abraham. 9  An ax is ready to cut the trees down at their roots. Any tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire.”

10 The crowds asked John, “What should we do?”

11 John told them, “If you have two coats, give one to someone who doesn’t have any. If you have food, share it with someone else.”

12  When tax collectors came to be baptized, they asked John, “Teacher, what should we do?”

13 John told them, “Don’t make people pay more than they owe.”

14 Some soldiers asked him, “And what about us? What do we have to do?”

John told them, “Don’t force people to pay money to make you leave them alone. Be satisfied with your pay.”

15 Everyone became excited and wondered, “Could John be the Messiah?”

16 John said, “I am just baptizing with water. But someone more powerful is going to come, and I am not good enough even to untie his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 His threshing fork is in his hand, and he is ready to separate the wheat from the husks. He will store the wheat in his barn and burn the husks with a fire that never goes out.”

18 In many different ways John preached the good news to the people. 

Kids Korner: Meeting John the Baptist (December 15th)

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Read Luke 3:7-18 with your family.

John had been wandering around the countryside teaching about the new world of God before Jesus started his ministry. Many people thought John must be the Messiah, the chosen one, but he constantly told them that someone else was coming, someone who as more special than John believed himself to be.

In today’s story John describes how Jesus will treat everyone, and how Jesus will challenge everyone. John knew Jesus would make some people very happy and some quite angry, and John was not about to tell it differently. He knew Jesus would be talking hard truths to folks, and that following the teachings of Jesus meant people had to change their behaviour and share with each other. That would be the start of God’s world being built properly.

Sunday Reflection – Advent II, December 8, 2024

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Prepare the Way

Luke 3 For 15 years Emperor Tiberius had ruled that part of the world. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was the ruler of Galilee. Herod’s brother, Philip, was the ruler in the countries of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was the ruler of Abilene. 2 Annas and Caiaphas were the Jewish high priests.

At that time God spoke to Zechariah’s son John, who was living in the desert. 3 So John went along the Jordan Valley, telling the people, “Turn back to God and be baptized! Then your sins will be forgiven.” 4  Isaiah the prophet wrote about John when he said,

“In the desert
    someone is shouting,
‘Get the road ready
    for the Lord!
Make a straight path
    for him.
5 Fill up every valley
and level every mountain
    and hill.
Straighten the crooked paths
and smooth out
    the rough roads.
6 Then everyone will see
    the saving power of God.’ ”

Kids Korner: Meeting John the Baptist (December 8th)

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Read Luke 3:1-6 with your family.

John the Baptist was a cousin of Jesus, and they had probably visited when they were children and teenagers. They knew each other well. John was the one given the task of telling the world what to experience in Jesus.

In today’s story, John quoted parts of the Hebrew scripture, Isaiah 40, that pointed to Jesus’ coming to make the world a better place for everyone. John knew that the promise of Jesus, the promise of God living among us as a person, was important enough for everyone to pay attention. Through the teachings and life of Jesus, people were going to have a more equal experience. They would know that God really was making good on the promise to ensure life was good for everyone, not just the rich or powerful.

Sunday Reflection – Advent I, December 1, 2024

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Have hope

Luke 21 25  Strange things will happen to the sun, moon, and stars. The nations on earth will be afraid of the roaring sea and tides, and they won’t know what to do. 26 People will be so frightened that they will faint because of what is happening to the world. Every power in the sky will be shaken. 27  Then the Son of Man will be seen, coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When all of this starts happening, stand up straight and be brave. You will soon be set free.

29 Then Jesus told them a story:

When you see a fig tree or any other tree 30 putting out leaves, you know that summer will soon come. 31 So, when you see these things happening, you know that God’s kingdom will soon be here. 32 You can be sure that some of the people of this generation will still be alive when all of this takes place. 33 The sky and the earth won’t last forever, but my words will.

34 Don’t spend all of your time thinking about eating or drinking or worrying about life. If you do, the final day will suddenly catch you 35 like a trap. This day will surprise everyone on earth. 36 Watch out and keep praying that you can escape all that is going to happen and that the Son of Man will be pleased with you.

Kids Korner: Advent begins (December 1st)

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Read Luke 21:25-36 with your family.

We read a scripture in Mark that was like this just two weeks ago. Matthew, Mark and Luke all have this bit at the end of their Gospels telling people that things will be hard, but not to give up hope because God is in everything – not causing it, but working with people to make things better.

Have hope! That is the message of these stories in the Gospels, and that is the message of Advent.

When we celebrate Advent, we are beginning our Christian year again. Now we wait for baby Jesus to be born, and all the promise that comes with a new baby and a new understanding of how to trust God.