Jesus feeds the people

Epiphany 1

Baptism of Christ


These Bible readings this week take us to three beginnings: the dawn of creation, the awakening of new faith in Ephesus, and the moment Jesus steps into the waters of the Jordan. Each passage shows God moving toward humanity—bringing light out of darkness, giving the Spirit where there was only uncertainty, and declaring belovedness over Christ at his baptism.


Together they remind us that God’s work always starts with God’s initiative: God speaks light into being, God pours out the Spirit on those who have barely begun the journey, and God names Jesus as the one who will draw all creation into renewed life. As we listen, we are invited to recognise our own beginnings in these stories—the places where God brings clarity, calling, and identity.

Opening Verse of Scripture  Psalm 145:3

Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendour of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.


Collect Prayer for the Day—Before we read we pray

Eternal Father, who at the baptism of Jesus revealed him to be your son, anointing him with the Holy Spirit: grant to us who are born again by water and the Spirit. that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children: through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you , in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God , now and for ever.  Common Worship


Heavenly Father, at the Jordan you revealed Jesus as your Son: may we recognize him as our Lord and know ourselves to be your beloved children; through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.  Common Worship shorter form


First Bible Reading Genesis 1:1-5

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.


Second Reading Acts 19:1-7

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when[a] you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”  So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied.  Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.


Gospel Reading Mark 1:4-11
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.  Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’

Post Communion Prayer

Lord of all time and eternity, you opened the heavens and revealed yourself as Father in the baptism of Jesus your beloved Son:by the power of your Holy Spirit complete the heavenly work of our rebirth through the waters of the new creation: through Jesus Christ our Lord.


Commentary

The Gospels were not just thrown together, and neither are they just collections of bits of information passed down over many years about Jesus. Rather they are very carefully written literary works and the authors had specific objectives in mind, which they wanted their readers to understand. The Gospel of Mark was perhaps the first to be written, perhaps thirty years or so after Jesus died. In these opening verses of Chapter 1 we are given a clear indication of what it is that the author wants his readers to know about Jesus. Note that there is no mention of the nativity stories which we find in Luke and Matthew. We cannot be sure whether or not Mark knew stories about the birth of Jesus, but clearly he had a structure in his mind for this Gospel which did not need to include them. 


The Gospel of Mark has both a clear beginning and end, with beautifully crafted chapters in the middle. This middle bit is divided carefully into stories about the life and teaching of Jesus and stories about his passion and death. These are carefully separated by the episode on the mountain which we call the Transfiguration, where Jesus is seen speaking with Moses and Elijah. Just as that episode showed the approval of the Old Testament Law and Prophets upon Jesus, so in the opening of the Gospel, Mark wishes to demonstrate the authenticity of Jesus as validated by the Old Testament.


So let’s take a look at the passage today from Mark. It is unfortunate that the reading misses out the first verses of the chapter which begins
‘The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.’ 1:1. 
That is an emphatic statement about who the author wants you to believe Jesus really is. It is also reminiscent of the opening verses of the Old Testament. Imagine the author putting his writing on the same footing as Genesis!  Both passages are about creation: Genesis deal with the creation of the universe and Mark with the new creation in which we participate as believers in Jesus’ gospel. Mark wanted to show that with Jesus came a new beginning, he was the one that the Jews had been promised throughout their history recorded in the Old Testament. This is shown again in verse 2 when Mark quotes the words of the prophet Isaiah. It is written in Isaiah the prophet:

"I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way"--"a voice of one calling in the desert,
'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"
John the Baptist is the link between the old and the new. He fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy and he is himself a prophetic figure. In dress and message he is especially reminiscent of the prophet Elijah.


There is much which we could say about the baptism of Jesus. Jesus is seen at this time publicly demonstrating the type of ministry which he has chosen. When we baptise a baby, it is more than putting off of the old self, it is a putting on of the new, perhaps this is made more explicit when we baptise a baby which it is hard to recognise as steeped in sin. So too the baptism of Jesus is not a washing away of the past, but rather a putting on of the new, preparing himself for the great task, setting out his style of ministry
The baptism of Jesus shows God entering flesh and become one of us. At his baptism Jesus goes down into the waters with us. Privilege and power can remove powerful political and religious leaders from the people they are called to serve. The ordinary person can feel leaders live in a very different world. But Jesus enters the waters this day, comes up close to us, lets the waters that covered the repentant sinners flow over him. He takes what is weak and wavering, makes us his disciples and strengthens us who would follow him.
The baptism of Jesus is also a symbol of his death, here is the one who came "not to be served but to serve and to give his life as ransom for many." Baptism is a defining moment and Jesus is recognised by God as having chosen the right course for his life. What he sees and hears will bring God’s life and energy to his ministry. .
I mentioned that the author of the Gospel makes a clear beginning in this episode, we can note the way in which this is related to the ending. There must surely be a connection in the mind of the author of the Gospel of Mark between the tearing of the heavens at the baptism of Jesus (Mk 1:10) and the tearing of the temple veil at the death of Jesus (Mk 15:38). In the dramatic moment when the sky was torn apart, Mark makes the point that the old world order is being ripped up by God and a new age has come. Charles Royden 


Meditation


Hymns

Christ when for us you were baptised

Once to Jordan bank he came

When Jesus came to Jordan



Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. Thou hast given all to me. To Thee, O Lord, I return it all. All is Thine; dispose of it wholly according to Thy Will. Give me Thy love and Thy grace, for this is sufficient for me. For with these I am rich enough and desire nothing more. Amen Ignatius of Loyola

My Lord God I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. Thomas Merton

O Lord, grant me to greet the coming day in peace. Help me in all things to rely upon thy holy will. In every hour of the day reveal thy will to me. Bless my dealings with all who surround me. Teach me to treat all that comes to me throughout the day with peace of soul, and with firm conviction that thy will governs all. In all my deeds and words guide my thoughts and feelings. In unforeseen events let me not forget that all are sent by thee. Teach me to act firmly and wisely, without embittering and embarrassing others. Give me strength to bear the fatigue of the coming day with all that it shall bring. Direct my will, teach me to pray, pray thou thyself in me. Amen. Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow


Creator God, we praise and worship you for your infinite power and love. We thank you that you have washed us clean and that you continue to inspire and refresh us. Please bring to our minds now those things that go against your Word and your desires for us. We sincerely pray that you forgive us, free us from these things, give us strength and wisdom, and lead us to be more like Christ. Amen.

Father in heaven, at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan you proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit. Make all who are baptized into Christ, faithful in their calling to be your children and inheritors with him of everlasting life; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.


God of love whose compassion never fails; we bring before you the griefs and perils of all of the people and nations, the pains of the sick and injured, the sighings of prisoners and captives, the sorrows of the bereaved, the necessities of the homeless, the helplessness of the weak, the despair of the weary, the failing powers of the aged. Comfort and relieve them, O merciful Father, according to their needs and your great mercy; for the sake of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen



Additional Material




The Baptism of Christ by Andrea del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci 1472-1475

A Picture Paints a Thousand Words


The Baptism of Christ by Andrea del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci 1472-1475


The painting depicts St. John the Baptist during the baptism of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels of Luke, Mark and Matthew. Two angels on the left side of the painting complete the four figures in the artwork one of whom is holding Jesus’ clothes.. The scene illustrated by the painting includes God’s extended arms painted with golden rays and a dove with its wings widely spread, a halo with cruciform is painted on top of Jesus’ head and another halo on top of St. John the Baptist. The two angels are holding Jesus’ clothes. The angel on the left side is the part done by Leonardo da Vinci. He used oil, which was at that time a new medium in painting.


The baptism shown is not immersion, rather John pours water over Jesus using what appears to be a shell. As well as being useful utensils, since ancient times shells have been religious symbols. Scallop shells are famously placed to lead the pilgrims along safe routes toward Santiago de Compostela. The scallop shell was originally a symbol of Saint James who was a fisherman before he became one of the twelve apostles. The shell has become a common symbol of baptism and today many old churches have fonts by their doors in the shape of shells to remind us of our baptism.


St John the Baptist is holding a slender cross and a scroll inscribed with the announcement of the Saviour’s advent: ECCE AGNUS DEI [QUI TOLLIT PECCATA MUNDI] ("Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Gospel according to John 1, 29).


Jesus is surrounded by the extended arms of God in the golden rays and the descending dove of the Holy Spirit, the picture is therefore a perfect illustration of the Trinity.