John 1:10-18
NRSV Translation
15-17 As the people were filled with expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John 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 strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His 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.”
21-22 Now when all the people were baptized and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and 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.”
REFLECTIONS:
Thoughts from John:
I have no idea what it is like to be a part of an oppressed people in an occupied land. But I do know what it is like to desire rescue. Every so often, I find myself in a situation or season that is so overwhelming, that all I can think about is the fastest way out. And in the moments that I feel most powerless, what I really want is for someone else to change my circumstances or to fix others, and to save me.
I wonder what it must have been like to have been on the scene for one of John’s baptisms and to feel the expectation in the air that this eccentric dessert-dweller might rescue Israel from its enemies. I wonder too about the despair people must have felt when John would say that they’d have to keep waiting for someone else. And I wonder about the additional despair when this other person chose not to fight, but to love.
But then I remember the moments I am most desperate for rescue, the moments I most want someone else to fight for me. What I really want in these moments, is to know I am loved. To know I am not alone. To know my life has value and worth.
Conversely, when I am the least anxious about my value and the most sure about my belovedness, I don’t care so much about my problems. I don’t need a fight. I can stand in the middle of it all because I have capacity to experience pain and heartache while maintaining resilience, creativity, and hope. I can still love the world around me, even while it fails me. And this too, is like a baptism.
I wonder, then, about all the places in our world today that are divided by a line of hatred and all the groups of people who are locked in a fight and all the times we seek to use power and violence to get others to change so that we can be sure that our own lives have value and worth. And I wonder what baptisms of love can look like if we were willing to risk believing that we are already loved, and so are they.
PRACTICE:
Outward Mindset Application
Give praise of a colleague to a superior this week.
Non-Violent Communication Question of the Week
When you are in conflict, what becomes more important to you: correcting, or connecting? Being right, or being loving?
Pathways toward Centeredness
Caregiving (Offering compassion and service to others):
Is there anyone in your life for whom the holiday season is particularly difficult? Check in with them this week and see if you can offer kindness in a meaningful way.
Questions for Reflection
When are you most sure that you are loved? When are you least sure? Do you notice anything different about your behavior between these contexts?
Who is someone(s) you feel inclined to fight with? What might it look like to take a step in the direction of love with them?
“Liturgy” refers to the habits and practices humans use to form community around shared values and meaning. At Church at the Park, we desire to be a community of practice, becoming people who see the world through the eyes of the marginalized, making meaning through the lens of pain and suffering, and committing ourselves to non-violence in a wounded world. This weekly email is intended to provide pathways of practice for becoming the type of people who embody these values.
Many of our reflections on each week's text come from other sources. If you're interested in reading more of what inspires us, here our our two favorite reflections.
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