Third Sunday Before Lent: Between the Blessing & Woes (Exeter College Evensong)

Exeter College Evensong
16/2/25
3rd Before Lent

Psalm 66
Jeremiah 17:5-10
Luke 6:17-26

‘There is always Love’

On this weekend that celebrates the Feasts of St Methodius & St Cyril – and of course St Valentine, I hope you have experienced more blessings of love than woes of the world.

At the start of a new week and especially Week 5, I hope there are more love and blessings than woes. At some point the realisation may come that all of life is lived between the blessings and the woes. Jeremiah contrasts life in the uninhabited desert to being planted next to the streams of living water. Luke plainly speaks about actual hunger, thirst and poverty; material issues over spiritual ones. Ahead of Lent we can be preparing to reflect, repent and reconcile ourselves to the love (the blessing) poured out for us in the suffering and death (the woe) of Christ.

In my role as Lead Chaplain of Gatwick Airport, blessings and woes are shared with me daily. At their core, airports carry out the mundane task of moving people and cargo from one place to another as safely and efficiently as possible while aiming for profit maximisation. This is achieved through charging the airlines various fees and clever marketing so passengers part with their holiday cash before they leave this fair isle. Fortunately it is the people, passengers and staff, who bring life and their blessings and woes to the airport.

The chaplains are the repositories and the memory, as I am sure Andrew is here, of shared blessings and woes.

Jesus had his own lists; blessed are you who are poor, hungry, sad, and expendable. Woe to you who are rich, full, happy, and popular. This week’s Gospel in a nutshell. What are we supposed to do with this?!

Those of us who are comfortable and privileged might want to question what Jesus means, maybe edit or rationalise until we can tolerate what is being said. We may prefer Matthew’s Beatitudes; they are a little less gritty than Luke’s. However, if we want to know where God’s heart is and who receives blessing then we need to to look to the poor, the wretched and reviled.

Jesus prefaces this teaching with the alleviation of suffering as he healed a man with a withered hand in the synagogue. He also called his twelve disciples to follow Him; those whom he loved the most yet let him down so badly.

It is helpful to hold that we are not being told how to behave or think; Jesus is telling his audience simply how it is going to be. Every blessing and every woe is addressed to every person. This is very much a human pattern of where we live: between woes and blessings. We invite blessing when we are hungry and weak and mourning. We invite woe when we are prideful, forgetful and distance ourselves from God.

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God’s message to his people was to trust Him alone. So determined is God to have their trust he is prepared to curse those who trust in mere mortals and make human strength their only strength. Over time the Jewish people had gradually come to trust in other things: in themselves, in novel religious rituals, small ‘g’ gods and idols and in their own wealth. Basically anything but God and they are paying a terrible price.

People like these live, according to God, ‘like heath (shrub) in the desert.’ There is no water, nothing to nourish them. They will not be able to see relief when it comes. Think for a moment about when you are hungry or thirsty to the point of distraction. This can be expanded from the physical to the emotional, spiritual and psychological. Can you think clearly? Living like this results in constant worry, anxiety and inability to focus on anything other than survival.

Jeremiah uses water as the image of God. God is as essential to life as water is, and to choose to live without him is as dumb as it would be to choose to live without water. Instead of being cursed, those who ‘trust in the Lord are blessed, like trees planted by water, sending out roots by the stream.’ These people are constantly being fed and watered by the stream that is God. They do not have to fear and be anxious when things get difficult; they bear fruit always. They knew where their roots are; by the stream, planted by the water that is God.

If the roots are a little shallow, the woes are weighing down and blessings seem far off. Fear not, there is always love. Showing love to others invites blessing and it really does not take much effort. Receive love when it comes to you.
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The message of the Gospel and teachings of Jesus are difficult at times. The hard messages often require us to change, to live beyond our natural conveniences and desires. First and foremost they are about love. The love between God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit – all equal parts. This is the love that we are invited into, that we were created for.

Jesus is standing with people who are hungry to benefit from the power that streams from him, and he announces through his healings and his words that God cares for the poor, the hungry and the suffering. The power of God is a power that is used to comfort and renew. It is the power of love in the cross and resurrection.

Ever so fortunately, God’s power and love is not contingent on how we might be feeling in a particular moment. There is no better alternative to his power. Until we are powerless ourselves; we cannot truly understand his power. Find your roots again today and stay close to the waters where fear and anxiety are taken away.

Blessings will come and the woes will follow you; no need to run up to them. I offer some of the blessings and woes that I experience at least weekly at Gatwick.

Blessed are those who delight in love of reunions and reconnection at arrivals. Blessed are those who weep at impending disconnection at departures. Blessed are those being deported or removed for reasons within and beyond their control; they shalt be comforted.

Blessed are the emotionally dysregulated children and adults as they lose their minds at the sensory overload of being in the liminal space of an airport; they shalt find peace. Blessed are the colleagues who support each other with genuine care and compassion when it all goes wrong; laughter wilt be restoreth unto them.

Woe to those who forget their passports at home, fail to check expiration dates, or grasp the complexities of transit visas, ETA’s and ESTA’s. Woe to those who leave their phones in the Uber. Woe to those whose luggage is over the weight limit or wrong dimension; mercy shalt be withheld from them. Woe to those who arrive late regardless of the reason; computer saith no. Woe to those who leave their bags unattended or ‘joke’ about what is inside their luggage; no good will cometh unto them.

Those who are poor, hungry, sad, and expendable have everything to look forward to. Because the Kingdom of God is theirs and yours. Because Jesus came, and comes still, to fill the empty-handed with good things. May the God who gives and takes away, offers comfort and challenge, grant us the grace to sit with woe, and learn the meaning of blessing.

Feast of Candlemas: Temples of Stone & Flesh

St Mary’s Langley – Evensong
2/2/25

Haggai 2:1-9
John 2:18-22

Today the Church has been celebrating the Feast of Candlemas. I explained in my Charlwood Family Service this morning that Candlemas marks a turning point in three ways. Within the Church it is the moment we take a last look at Christmas and the infant Jesus before turning towards the cross. In the northern hemisphere it marks the turning from winter towards spring which heralds the shift from darkness to light.

We see change and transition in our Gospel readings set for today. This morning was sweet baby Jesus carried into the temple by his young parents for the expected rituals required by their Jewish faith. This ordinary event transitioned to a divinely appointed meeting with Simeon and Anna. Jesus is revealed as the light of the world and an ominous warning was given to Mary. This evening grown-up Jesus returns to the same Temple and causes some havoc. The ominous warning follows as the rising and falling of many begins. Our account is the conversation that followed Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple.

The Temple was the beating heart of Judaism. Anyone who has been fortunate enough to visit Jerusalem can appreciate the size and scale of it as the centre point. The Temple was the home of worship, music, the focal point of politics and Jewish society, a place of national celebration and mourning. Westminster Abbey or St Paul’s Cathedral are somewhat a parallel in terms of significance to the people. The Temple was the place where YHWH, God had promised to live in the midst of his people.

Yet over time it became more of a market-place and one of corruption; and it is now under God’s judgement. Those who were selling the animals for sacrifice and the money-changers did need to be there. Jewish law required the right sacrifices to be offered. Unfortunately dodgy practices had infiltrated and corrupted the Temple. People were being cheated out of money by their own people. This is what Jesus was raging against.

We see Jesus on the side of those being cheated, devalued and treated badly. Jesus certainly had zeal; both for the Temple as his Father’s house and for the oppressed people. The Temple had been made into something it was never supposed to be. Jesus is correcting a serious wrong by showing that He will restore things to the way they should be.

The Jews in attendance ask for an explanation, a sign for why Jesus is tearing the place up. This is not unreasonable as they would likely not know who He was.

Who here does not like a sign? We will reflect on the significance of signs for a few minutes. There are the obvious signs that feature in everyday life; fire exits, stop signs, traffic signals, push/pull, open/closed enter/exit, etc. These signs provide practical information and direction, keep us safe, and bring order to the world around us.

There are also practical signs that we cannot see. This past week I got a lesson in infra-red technology in a fire truck on a Gatwick taxi-way. It was pouring rain and we were sitting behind a plane that had an engine fire warning light flashing in the cockpit. There was no outward sign of smoke or flames; but the attention of the fire crews was on the cameras that showed heat (within normal levels) coming from both engines. There was no sign of imminent danger but that did not mean there was not any. Anyway that plane was not going to be flying that day.

Then there are the signs from God. Many prayers have begun with, ‘God if you are real…give me a sign.’ These tend to be prayed in times of desperation and fear, when all control is lost and people come to the end of themselves. God in his infinite goodness answers these prayers. Often not as expected as the external conditions might not change and/or even get worse. The answer can be an internal sign or feeling of overwhelming peace and love, a change of perspective or defusing of intense emotion that can allow for clearer thinking.

There are wrong and dangerous places to look for signs: anything that is human-made like tarot cards, mediums, horoscopes, reading tea leaves. People can become so hungry for signs that they will consume anything that looks like it might give them what they seek.
We need to be people who can read the signs of the times correctly and it takes work.

Back to the Temple. It is useful to remember that the Temple was the second one that had been built. The First Temple had been destroyed by the Babylonians around 587/586 BCE as the Jews were sent into exile by King Nebuchadnezzar. This was a devastating event for the Jews that reverberated for centuries.

The rebuilding of The Second Temple began about 50 years after the first destruction. Then it stalled out for about 20 years. Two to three generations have now passed, the exile was over and they could return home to Jerusalem. This is what and who the prophet Haggai is speaking into.

Haggai is a tiny two chapter book towards the end of the Old Testament and is the tenth of the 12 minor prophets. Not much is known about Haggai: his name means ‘festal’ which is fitting for the prophet who called the Jewish people to rebuild the temple of God and to bring back worship in Jerusalem.

In Haggai’s second sermon, he is reminding the Jews of the exodus when God called the Hebrews out of Egypt. Jesus and the disciples arrived in Jerusalem at the time of the Passover. Passover is a time to remember what God had done in the past when he saved the Jewish people from Pharaoh in Egypt. It was also a celebration of liberation, freedom and rescue from slavery.

Haggai was a champion for the homeless as he called the Jewish community to action in the rebuilding of the Temple. He was also calling the Jewish people to wake up to their responsibilities, obligations, privileges and promises of their heritage.

Jesus did the same thing when he entered the temple. He is reminding the Jews of the Ten Commandment as they were breaking at least two of them: the making of idols (money) and stealing. Jesus was referring to himself in the remark about the destroyed Temple rising up in three days. Jesus is the true temple, the word made flesh and cannot be corrupted. Haggai proclaims that the true glory of the Second Temple will not be the gold and silver of the nations but of God himself.

Jesus appeared in the Temple as a six week old baby and was shown to be the light of the world. He returned at that Feast of Passover pointing to himself, the temple of his body. Jesus is the one we are to watch and wait for. It is not always easy waiting.

At least two or three generations passed before the rebuilding of the first temple began when Haggai appeared and time had come. Anna had waited for decades in the Temple for the arrival of the Messiah. Simeon had been promised that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Messiah.

For us, we are to watch for the signs when Jesus will come again. We are to take courage, in the words of Haggai, ‘take courage, all you people of the land, you people of Langley, for I am with you. My spirit abides among you; do not fear.’

Epiphany 3: One for the Home Crowd

Patrick Comerford

26/1/25
Epiphany 3

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Luke 4:14-21

O God, we give you thanks because, in the carnation of the Word, a new light has dawned upon the world, that all the nations and peoples may be brought out of darkness to see the radiance of your glory.

Today is the final Sunday of the Epiphany season. You may be relieved to know that there are still a few threads to pull! Over the last three Sundays we have been looking at some key moments in Jesus’ life: the arrival of the Wise Men with their gifts, his baptism as an adult in the Jordan River and the wedding in Cana where bath water became a Grand Cru. The meaning of each event remains significant; the Wise Men proved that the message of Jesus is for everyone (not only the Jews), in his baptism Jesus was revealed as the Son of God. The wedding in Cana that Jesus comes when no one is looking and provides more than enough.

What does Epiphany mean? ‘A moment of great or sudden revelation or realisation.’ Epiphany moments are not always dramatic affairs. They can happen in a quiet moment and you know that something has changed in your mind or heart. However they come to us, these moments are significant. The Epiphany experiences of the people we meet in our Bible readings are the stories of revelations and realisations of God the Father and Jesus the Son.

In our Gospel reading for today the whole synagogue in Nazareth has something of an epiphany when Jesus stands up to read the scroll from what we know as Isaiah 61. It could have been a normal sabbath day, worship as usual in the Nazareth synagogue. What is the big deal?

Luke has Jesus returning to Nazareth after being away for an unknown amount of time; maybe months or even years. Jesus returns differently to when He left. Jesus comes back after being baptised and tempted in the wilderness for 40 days and stands at the cusp of his ministry which boldly begins in the synagogue in front of the home side. A bold start that gets even bolder. Jesus is handed the scroll that not coincidentally was Isaiah, the Old Testament book containing more prophecy about him than any other. He is about to begin fulfilling some prophecy.

Like the guests at the wedding, the congregation in the synagogue was not looking for anything that day. The Jewish people had long been waiting for the Messiah to come; this is what the people being baptised with Jesus expecting. The good people in the relative backwater of Nazareth were waiting for Messiah too; but not expecting him that day in their midst. Not only that, how could Messiah be from the family of a local poor carpenter?!

But He was and is.

If you replace me in verses 18 and 19 with Jesus, it is difficult to see how anyone else in all of history fills this position.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me (Jesus),
Because he has anointed me (Jesus)
To bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me (Jesus) to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.

This is Jesus’ chosen description of his mission; this is what He came to do. When Jesus said, ‘today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing’, the meaning of ‘fulfilled’ here is ‘to fill a vessel or hollow place’. How many of us know what it is to have that hollow place? He wants to fill it now; not tomorrow or next year or when we feel better or life is back to normal. Jesus means now.

Preach the good news to the poor. This is not referring to the financially poor. These poor are those in ‘utter helplessness, complete destitution, the afflicted and distressed.’ This has wider implications than finances alone. Jesus does not want us only to subsist but thrive. Until we let Him fill our cups daily, we will only subsist.

To heal the broken-hearted. Broken-hearted means ‘to break, strike against something, to break the strength or power of someone’. This is more than a little romance gone wrong or love unrequited. This is a big break; when everything appears to be taken and hope is dwindling.

The Hebrew translation of heal ‘to mend by stitching, repair thoroughly, make whole’. Total breakage needs total healing. One stitch follows another, it takes time and can be painful.

To proclaim freedom for the captives. Notice that Jesus proclaims freedom, he did not impose it. The door of the cell may be opened but we have to walk through it. This is not just people in a physical prison; this is anything: addiction, behaviour, situation that prevents healing and captive to it.

Recovery of sight for the blind. There are many incidents of Jesus physically restoring the sight of many blind people. This is a different kind of blindness, a more serious kind of blindness. Blind here means ‘to envelop with smoke, be unable to see clearly.’ This is about clouded vision; not being able to see the light of gospel or the glory of God. Jesus came to clear our vision so we can see him clearly.

To release the oppressed. To be oppressed is to be treated harshly or unfairly by someone in authority. This release is about breaking the chains of unhealthy attachment.

To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. That day in that year and at that time, those gathered in the Nazareth synagogue witnessed the embodiment of the Lord’s favour. His blessed gift of grace and love, Jesus. Year here means ‘any definite time’ and not a calendar year.

Paul is also responding to the needs of now. The first letter of Corinthians is Paul’s reply to the letters sent to him from members of the Corinthian church. They are contending with things like: a church divided over its leaders, what it is to be an apostle, how to deal with incest, lawsuits among believers, sexual immorality, married life, food sacrificed to idols, how to conduct communion, spiritual gifts, love, worship and resurrection of the dead.

Paul is making an impassioned plea to get the church to think in a completely new way. Paul wants them to move from only thinking about themselves and their individual needs and rights to thinking of themselves as one entity, one body, whose health and life depends on cooperation and connection.

Paul is reminding us that we are the body of Christ and we have been called to take up our roles. We may have different gifts and calling but all are as important as the other. All are needed just as all parts of the body are needed. We are part of the one Spirit, one baptism and we all have gifts to share; things to strive for.

There is an urgency in both of these passages. The invitation to what God is offering is available now. Right now. As it is an invitation it can be refused. We might decide to wait until things get better by ourselves or we just need to try a bit harder. Maybe we like struggling under our own steam. Or we can go to him now. This applies to us as individuals but also to us as the church.

Maybe this is our epiphany moment this morning: we do not have to wait until things get better or the stars align. In the Nazareth synagogue of his childhood Jesus proved that was the fulfillment of the old scriptures. He came with the Spirit of the Lord upon him to bring the good news to the poor in spirit, proclaim release to the prisoners and freedom to the oppressed who want it, recovery of sight to those who had lost vision of God and to usher in the time of the Lord’s favour. Available to all until He comes again. This day is holy to the Lord. Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. May it be so.

Epiphany 2: Wedding with a Difference

Paolo Veronese – Wedding at Cana (1440’s)
19/1/25
Epiphany 2

1 Corinthians 12:1-11
John 2:1-11

O God, we give you thanks because,
in the carnation of the Word,
a new light has dawned upon the world,
that all the nations and peoples may be brought out of darkness to see the radiance of your glory.

The Wedding at Cana is one of the great epiphany stories that is included in the lectionary for Year C. An Epiphany is to have ‘a moment of great or sudden revelation or realisation’ as I have mentioned over the last two Sundays. The Year C epiphany set features Jesus. First as an infant/toddler at the time of Wise Men’s visit. This first epiphany was to the Gentiles; all of those outside of the Jewish faith. The masses down the ages; millions and billions of people. Epiphanies need witnesses.

The second epiphany involving Jesus was at his Baptism when he was revealed as God’s Son. This was witnessed by those standing on banks of the River Jordan immediately following their own confessions, repentance and baptisms. Jesus is washed in the same waters as those He came to save. This too is a witness for all those baptised after Jesus including us that we are significant as called by name by God.

The third epiphany is the sign at the wedding of Cana. It is a familiar story and has many threads on which to be pulled. Many sermons highlight the scarcity and humiliation the lack of wine would have brought on that family. Jesus’ miraculous provision protects and covers the couple from shame. Some focus on the relationship of Mary and Jesus as the mother pushes son into acting despite his initial resistance. What did Mary know about Jesus that the rest of us do not? Others go for the miracle of the water into wine, serving the best first instead of last.

Unlike the Wise Men and the crowds at the river, no one at the wedding is searching for anything. Except for maybe a good time! The preparation for the banquet is done and festivities are underway when the potential problem arises. Only one person directly witnesses this epiphany: the steward.

It only took the chief steward a mouthful to know that he was drinking something magnificent. The symbolism here being of course that God takes what is ordinary and makes it extraordinary. We are told that a faith the size of a mustard seed is all that is required.

The steward then calls over the bridegroom to taste the new wine and praises him for serving the good wine. And the party goes on.

Where is the bride? There is no mention of the bride at this wedding. There had to have been one. Before we get hung up on another voiceless woman in the Bible; note that the bridegroom is not recorded as having said anything and only his presence.

There is another symbol here: there are references in the New Testament that refer to Jesus as the bridegroom. Taken on its own that might mean that Jesus signifies celebration, fulfilment and new beginnings. Yet Paul in Ephesians argues that the marriage relationship could be understood as the model of relationship between Jesus and his Church. Jesus the bridegroom and the Church is the bride.

Jesus went to the wedding to find his bride: not the bride at Cana but people needing redemption by his blood. Water and wine together pointing to the Eucharist. Jesus’ overflowing love is signified in the water becoming wine was lavished upon his Bride, the Church.

The Church as the Bride is not always very well behaved! The Church of England is going through an anxious, strange and confusing time. Many people can become disenfranchised by the corporation, the lapse in integrity, compassion and understanding by senior leaders. An unwillingness to listen and change. A loss of trust in the leadership at the highest level. How are we doing as the ‘Bride of Christ’ in Charlwood and Sidlow Bridge?

Jesus still seeks out his bride and calls her home in the water and the wine. The waters of baptism and in the wine of the Eucharist. Baptism is a one time event but the Eucharist is to be repeated and shared over and over again and is new each time we celebrate together.

Back to the wine, Jesus uses six stone water-jars which each hold 20-30 gallons each; let’s say 150 gallons. That is a lot of wine and it was good wine; not the plonk served when the wits of the guests had been numbed. Jesus provided an abundance of wine; probably more than was needed and this is where this story goes from scarcity to abundance. There will always be enough, Jesus as the bridegroom will always provide. He comes looking for us.

In this epiphany season, we consider the Wise Men and the message of inclusion to all. The baptism of Jesus and the revelation of being the Son of God. The wedding at Cana and the epiphanies that come when no one is waiting or looking, Jesus comes as the bridegroom with enough water and wine to care for us all. Maybe Mary was on to something when she told the servants to ‘do whatever he tells you’. May we do the same.

Baptism of Christ: Into the Deep

Piero della Francesca (1430’s)

12/1/25
Isaiah 43:1-7
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

In this season of Epiphany (which lasts until the end of January) we will be looking at the epiphany experiences of Jesus and some of the people around him. Epiphany means ‘a moment of great or sudden revelation or realisation.’ I am not sure if you have had an epiphany moment but they are quite extraordinary!

Those moments when some new idea, knowledge or thought blows through your mind and you suddenly and sometimes drastically see the world, people, and a situation in a totally new way. Epiphany moments can cause a fundamental change in one’s life. Epiphany moments are not always dramatic affairs. They can happen in a quiet moment and you know that something has changed in your mind or heart. However they come to us, these moments are significant.

So it feels somewhat awkward to ask you: when was the last time we felt truly insignificant? I heard a great Epiphany sermon from a Lutheran pastor while on a family holiday a few years ago. He started the sermon on this particular Sunday with that question. When was the last time we felt truly insignificant? It kind of took me by surprise.

Earlier in the week I had considered my insignificance while sitting and watching the waves of the Pacific Ocean pound the beach. Over and over again, day in, day out. There was nothing I could do about it. I could not stop it or control it. I did not have the power. I could not even begin to begin to try. Little old me, sitting on a beach (not even considering the number of grains of sand I was sitting on) on a dot in the middle of the Pacific Ocean watching water. Insignificant or what?!


Actually I am and I am not. Same for you. We are all significant and insignificant.
How do we know this?

The Lord is addressing all of Israel in chapter 43 as He offers reassurance, ‘He who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.’

This was meant for the whole nation of Israel; all twelve tribes. This is also very personal too; ‘I have called you, Sarah, Heather, Peter, etc’. You and I are not insignificant because He has called us by name. The Lord will also be with you; ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.’

Notice the ‘when’ and not ‘if’. Expect the waters, they will rise. Yet we will not be overwhelmed because He is with us. It does not always take a lot of water to be overwhelmed. Something that seems relatively minor can overwhelm us. When this happens we are to go or return to the Lord. He will be with us.

The next sign that we have to disprove our insignificance is found in the baptism of Jesus which is what we are remembering today. For many of us baptised as babies we may not see our baptisms as a moment of epiphany. Yet it is! We can hopefully find that moment in the baptism of Jesus for ourselves.

The crowd who were listening to John the Baptist that day were full of expectation. They questioned whether John was the Messiah. Notice that Luke adds the detail that the questioning came from the heart. There was a deep need for the Messiah to come. People were needing hope and a future; they were hungry. John answers the crowd with the reassurance that one more powerful is coming who will baptise with the Holy Spirit and fire. John had been preaching about repentance; the need to turn around, walk away from the sins that separates us from God.

Jewish law dictated that the people had to perform ritual washing when they had been defiled. This was the religious practice after normal bodily functions, like menstruation and childbirth for women, ejaculation for men or contact with a corpse. Bathing was required to remove various impurities.

John’s baptism of repentance transformed the ritual washing for physical impurities to moral impurity; those things that water cannot wash away. Baptism took place publicly as those who witnessed became responsible for helping the baptised to live the life that baptism signifies.

John had previously referred to his listeners as a brood of vipers. He was not preaching a message of fluff and ‘just be a good person’, or ‘as long as you don’t hurt anyone else’. John was preparing them not for salvation but for repentance, he was preparing them to encounter Jesus, the only one who could bring them salvation.

Picture that scene for a moment: the crowd of people have confessed their sins and go down into the River Jordan to be baptised. Then Jesus comes along and stands with his cousin on the bank. In the next moment Jesus and John are standing in the water too. Jesus is baptised; drenched in the same waters where they had confessed their sins. This is all about symbolism but do you see Jesus almost wearing the sins they had confessed in those waters? In the waters of baptism our sin is washed away through the work of the Holy Spirit.

This is the baptism that Jesus offers us. There is power in the water of baptism. Do we live like there is? What an amazing privilege it is to be baptized. We never have to feel insignificant again. We are called by name into the deep waters of baptism where He is always with us. He took on our sin and paid the price for us.

After Jesus was baptised heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove. The voice of God ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ This little glimpse of heaven! Jesus was about to be taken into the wilderness for his 40 days of temptation. I would like to believe that the sound of that voice stayed with him.

In the vastness of space and time, in the brevity of life we are insignificant yet we are called by name. We belong to God. The voice that called down from heaven is the same voice that calls our name. God is with us when we pass through the waters and the rivers and in the deep waters of baptism. We are significant to God and to each other.

May our prayer be to walk into our significance as God’s chosen children. Baptised in love and grace; knowing full-well that we are His beloved and with us He is well pleased.