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Sentence

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; and he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.  Acts 10:38

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Collect

Spirit of energy and change,

in whose power Jesus was anointed

to be the hope of the nations:

be poured out also upon us

without reserve or distinction,

that we may have confidence and strength

to implant your justice on the earth;

through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Readings

• Genesis 1:1-5
• Psalm 29
• Acts 19:1-7
• Mark 1:4-11

next week

• 1 Samuel 3:1-10
• Psalm 139:1-5, 12-18
• 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
• John 1:43-51

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A Thought to Ponder

Baptism of the Lord Mark 1:4-11

Jesus was baptised 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.

Today’s Gospel is the final event of the Epiphany: Jesus’ baptism at the Jordan River by John. The fact that Mark begins his Gospel with the baptism of Jesus indicates the importance of this event. In the “renting of the sky,” the Spirit “descending on him like a dove” and the voice heard from the heavens, God “anoints” his Messiah (the word Messiah means “anointed”) for the work he is about to do.

In baptism, we claim the name of Christian and embrace all that that holy name means: to live for others rather than for ourselves, in imitation of Christ.

Our baptism made each one of us the “servant” of today’s readings: to bring forth in our world the justice, reconciliation and enlightenment of Christ, the “beloved Son” and “favour” of God.

In baptism, we embrace that same Spirit that “hovers” over us, guiding us in our journey to God.Liturgically, the Christmas season officially comes to an end with today’s Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Now the same Spirit that “anoints” the Messiah for his mission calls us to be about the work of Christmas in this new year: to seek out and find the lost, to heal the hurting, to feed the hungry, to free the imprisoned, to rebuild families and nations, to bring the peace of God to all peoples everywhere.     

© Connections/MediaWorks

Sermon

You can read the Pew Sheet here

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