Sunday Before Theophany
A call from the desert comes saying, “Make way for the Lord.”
Our inclination is to hear this as the historical beginning of John’s story, how he baptized Jesus.
But, when we do this, we miss so much. A call from the desert is still crying out, just as it did some 2,000 years ago.
The desert, ultimately, is a reference to this world, a broken and fallen world.
We know our world is a ‘desert’ by simply opening our eyes: we see the girl who is cyber-bullied; the man begging for food on the street; and the refugee fleeing for his or her life.
We see a world full of violence, hatred, and greed.
And, this fallenness enslaves us, too much for us to overcome on our own.
Those struggling with an addiction know this. It’s the same with mental illnesses, health issues, or economic downturns.
But, within this chaos is the voice of John, still crying out.
He’s saying that hope is coming. There is forgiveness and freedom from this enslavement.
Scripture: Mark 1:1-8 (click here to read)
Bottom Line: As Christ is plunged into water, he plunges the world into the Holy Spirit.
Discussion Questions
- Name a time you’ve experienced a ‘desert’ moment in your life. How did you feel? How did you respond?
- Name a time when someone was Christ to you. How did they comfort you? How did they bring you hope?
- Name a time you’ve been Christ to someone else in their dark time. How did you bring them hope? How did they respond?
Moving Forward
Through a change of heart, John’s baptism offers forgiveness and hope.
This is a beginning, but real transformation arrives with Christ. He’s the one who overcomes the division between the way the world is supposed to be and the way it currently exists.
He does this by emptying himself and entering into the waters of the Jordan River.
As Orthodox Christians, this isn’t just an image of Christ being bathed by John, but an image of divinity entering into our world.
God meets us face-to-face and we’re plunged into the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the Giver of Life.
The result is that our ‘desert’ is transformed into the ‘paradise’ from which we have fallen.
Our bonds are removed so that our own baptism becomes a pattern for a new life, one formed by resurrection.
We respond by comforting the cyber-bullied girl, feeding the hungry man, and giving a new home to the refugee.
In other words, we pay it forward with hope.
Changing Your Mind
“And he made his proclamation, saying, ‘There comes hereafter one mightier than I, regarding whom I am not fit to bend down and loosen the thong of his sandals. I baptized you by water, but he will baptize you by a Holy Spirit.’” (Mark 1:7-8)
Still in my prayers.