Decisions are difficult for us all. At about the age of thirty, Jesus felt called to a decision in his life. His cousin, John, was talking to anyone who would listen about a new kind of world he felt sure was coming, a world for which people needed to make some changes in themselves and in their society. Jesus decided to go to John, to step down into the water of the Jordan river and to be baptized, intending this to be symbolic of the fact that one stage of his life was ending, and another was beginning.
We Christians need to ask if there needs to be a moment like that in our own lives, a moment of deciding how to be Christian and follow Christ in a new way in our changing world. We may not have been baptized as children, or been confirmed in our teens. Even if either of these things happened in our early years, we may still feel the need to find a way to say Yes to Jesus again. A friend might ask us to go on a Cursillo weekend. We might decide to attend an Enquirers/Confirmation class with the Rev. M.E. Eccles this year and to present ourselves in front of the Bishop for Reaffirmation of Baptismal Vows, as provided for in the Book of Common Prayer, p. 419. That would be a great way to refresh our knowledge of the Christian faith and end with our making a renewed commitment to Christ.
When we decide to do something like this, we know that we are following in the footsteps of Jesus himself. He knew what it was like to feel the need of renewing commitment to God. Jesus made a decision and he acted upon it. He offered himself to God for God’s service.
Notice what happened when Jesus did this. He became even more aware of God’s spirit being alive and active within him. So will we. The spirit came to Jesus like a dove. A dove is the symbol of peace, in this case inner peace. In the coming of inner peace, we will experience the coming of the dove. Secondly, Jesus knew that he was being addressed by God. He knew himself to be in close and loving relationship with the God he addressed as Father. We too can come to know that relationship with God if we decide to act. We will find it through our relationship with Christ. We will find a deep peace. We will be called to serve. And we will come to know who we really are.
Peace to you,
Fr. Bob+
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