It's enough

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.’ (Luke 3:21-22)

Reflection

Me, too. I am well pleased, blessed to know that Jesus stands in the water with all the others who came to John the Baptist.

For this means he stands with me, with all that I am and all that I want to be but am not, with my hopes and fears, with dreams that can never be and wounds that will never quite heal in this life.

He is there … beside me, and this enough for me. It is enough to know this great and unsurpassable love who chooses to stand should-to-shoulder with me, where I am, with all that is in me.

It frees the heart and releases tears of joy that praise God in ways no words ever can.

The baptism of Jesus by John was a problem for early Christians. Did this mean John was greater than Jesus? Did it mean he needed to repent of his sins like those who came out to be baptized?

No, it meant Jesus stands with all those who hope for a better world where all things are bound together in love, peace and justice, where the great love of God is at the center of everything.

Jesus chooses to be there, standing in the water, with us, sharing our hurts and hopes … and the love that heals.

It is enough.

Pr. David L. Miller