Baptism of the Lord
READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
- First reading
- Isaiah 42:1-9
- Psalm
- Psalm 29
- Second reading
- Acts 10:34-43
- Gospel
- Matthew 3:13-17
Avondale Pattillo United Methodist Church
Stained glass
Decatur, GA
https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu
The gospel from Matthew:
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by John. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.
And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
Sermon:
“the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” HIstorically, the event has been celebrated by Christians worldwide, in spite of an obstacle, that being to explain how? Another question is whether John was worthy of the baptism. Did Jesus, being without sin, need to be baptized? There are four characters in the story: John the Baptist, Jesus, the Voice from Heaven, and the Holy Spirit symbolized by the dove. So, suddenly in the Scriptures, the Trinity appears: Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. The word Trinity was first used by an early writer. The Trinity is somewhat like an actor who changes masks to play the role of three persons. ………..