Mark 1:1-13
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of
God.
As it is written in
the prophet Isaiah,
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare
your way;
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of
the Lord,
make his paths
straight” ’,
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.’
And the Spirit
immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for
forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels
waited on him.
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It starts with: "The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." And then moves immediately into the proclamation of preparing the way of the Lord. As we begin our 40 day Lent, what are you doing to prepare the way of the Lord in your own life?
"It’s important to remember that the word ‘Lent’ itself comes from the old English word for ‘spring’. It’s not about feeling gloomy for forty days; it’s not about making yourself miserable for forty days; it’s not even about giving things up for forty days.Lent is springtime. It’s preparing for that great climax of springtime which is Easter—new life bursting through death. And as we prepare ourselves for Easter during these days, by prayer and by self-denial, what motivates us and what fills the horizon is not self-denial as an end in itself but trying to sweep and clean the room of our own minds and hearts so that the new life really may have room to come in and take over and transform us at Easter."
*******************************************
It starts with: "The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." And then moves immediately into the proclamation of preparing the way of the Lord. As we begin our 40 day Lent, what are you doing to prepare the way of the Lord in your own life?
"It’s important to remember that the word ‘Lent’ itself comes from the old English word for ‘spring’. It’s not about feeling gloomy for forty days; it’s not about making yourself miserable for forty days; it’s not even about giving things up for forty days.Lent is springtime. It’s preparing for that great climax of springtime which is Easter—new life bursting through death. And as we prepare ourselves for Easter during these days, by prayer and by self-denial, what motivates us and what fills the horizon is not self-denial as an end in itself but trying to sweep and clean the room of our own minds and hearts so that the new life really may have room to come in and take over and transform us at Easter."
– Rowan Williams
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ReplyDeleteI think you were right on target - immersed. Fully immersed. Drowned even. We say "buried with Christ in your baptism." Water as death and rebirth. Spirit as death and rebirth. We really don't have words for it, do we?
DeleteMeh. Please stand by, we are experiencing technical difficulties.
ReplyDeleteI'll repost that. What I said was,
Do I remember correctly that "baptize you with the Holy Spirit" can also be translated "immerse you in the Holy Spirit"?