IMAGE: The Baptism of Jesus by He Qi
As soon as Jesus was baptised he came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And a voice spoke from heaven, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.’ Mt 3, 16-17
In his book, "The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan," Kilian McDonnell OSB calls Jesus' baptism a boundary event. It was a "...bridge-burning event - the boundary cannot be recrossed- representing a radically new orientation in the life of Jesus." p4-5.
In the gospels, Jesus came to the Jordan an unknown, or as McDonnell says, "an anonymous face in the crowd." After the baptism, he is singled out as "the one who is to come," "My beloved Son," "the servant of Yahweh." Some scholars hold that his baptism was the moment when Jesus came to understand who he was. Others say he came to his baptism already knowing his identity and mission.
Either way, the direction of his life changed from that moment. No longer a carpenter from Nazareth, he was a prophet, teacher, healer, preacher. His path was set before the water dripping from his body had dried.
As I pondered this feast and Jesus' message of repentance with forgiveness already manifest in his being, I considered my own life. What have been my boundary events? Read More
As soon as Jesus was baptised he came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And a voice spoke from heaven, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.’ Mt 3, 16-17In his book, "The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan," Kilian McDonnell OSB calls Jesus' baptism a boundary event. It was a "...bridge-burning event - the boundary cannot be recrossed- representing a radically new orientation in the life of Jesus." p4-5.
In the gospels, Jesus came to the Jordan an unknown, or as McDonnell says, "an anonymous face in the crowd." After the baptism, he is singled out as "the one who is to come," "My beloved Son," "the servant of Yahweh." Some scholars hold that his baptism was the moment when Jesus came to understand who he was. Others say he came to his baptism already knowing his identity and mission.
Either way, the direction of his life changed from that moment. No longer a carpenter from Nazareth, he was a prophet, teacher, healer, preacher. His path was set before the water dripping from his body had dried.
As I pondered this feast and Jesus' message of repentance with forgiveness already manifest in his being, I considered my own life. What have been my boundary events? Read More