Not All Alone - Ever!

This week's Gospel reading is from Luke, chapter 3, and deals with Jesus' baptism. The main difference between Luke's account and the accounts in the other synoptic Gospels has to do with the fact that Luke's Gospel has no human actor actually performing the baptism. Luke mentions that John was imprisoned by this time due to his mouthing off to Herod. Mark and Matthew mention John's performing the baptism, while Luke and John do not. What are we to make of this? Probably not much, except that Luke and John remind us that God can do things without us. They describe Jesus being baptized with the Holy Spirit, indicating God's direct action. When I was ordained, it was a long time before I could get my head around the fact that I could "officially" baptize folks and consecrate communion elements. It bothered me for a while; after all, who was I that I should get to do such things? I still think about it, but have made peace with it in that I am an instrument used to convey the reality of what God has already done. Whoever performed your baptism, God was there first and was present at the baptism. The Church has decreed that persons be set apart for sacramental duties, which for Protestants usually include Baptism and Communion, or the Eucharist. So, that refers to people like me. However, we would do well to remember the old saying that a church has one pastor, and many ministers. All of us can be channels of God's love and grace to others. If there is a sin which we tend to repeat as a body, it is forgetting, or denying that reality, opting instead for some sense of false modesty or humility. We are not all ordained, but we are all called. So, remember your baptism, both the one with water and the one which, I believe, is on-going, when God's Spirit infuses us with the strength and ability to live lives worthy of emulating. You may be someone's introduction to the manifestation of God's love and the embodiment of the Christian faith. Don't worry, God was there before you, and is there with you. Have a great week!