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“…when Jesus had also been baptized and way praying, the heaven was opened…and a voice came from heaven, “You are my child, the Beloved; with whom I am well-pleased.” – Luke 3:21-22
Friends,
This week, as we move into the season of Epiphany, the season of the liturgical cycle where we learn more about Jesus and his life, we celebrate Baptism of Jesus Sunday.
I invite you in the days ahead, if you have been baptized, to reflect upon your own baptism. When were you baptized? As an infant? An adolescent? An adult? What do you remember of your baptism? Who was there? Was it a sprinkle or a pouring or an immersion? Did it happen indoors or outdoors? What do you understand the sacrament of baptism to do or mean? How do those understandings of your baptism inform and shape your life and actions today? Maybe you need to go digging through old photos or call someone for answers to these questions.
Maybe the moment is seared in your memory, a picture and experience you will never forget. Maybe you’re not at all sure what your baptism was supposed to do or mean. Maybe you have a really strong sense of it. Maybe your understanding has changed over time and you’re still trying to figure out exactly where you’ve landed. Or perhaps, you were baptized in another denomination or tradition of the Christian faith and find yourself here at St. Paul & St. Andrew wondering if we think about baptism in the same way?
We’ll explore all this together, as well as what the original audience of Luke’s text might have understood Jesus’s baptism to mean in their own time and place. Then, we’ll celebrate a re-affirmation of our baptismal vows.
See you there,
Pastor Andrea
ABOUT ST. PAUL & ST. ANDREW
St. Paul & St. Andrew is a progressive United Methodist Church in New York City that seeks to build a community of radical welcome that follows Jesus into the streets of the city to increase the amount of love and justice in the world.