I Am Baptized
This Sunday we will celebrate the Baptism of our Lord, and in preparing for that day, I again found great comfort. Let's face it, nobody's perfect. What is more, sometimes the Christmas season, for all the joy that is supposedly to accompany it, can also bring with it an overwhelming fatigue. While it is to be about the birth of our Savior, the societal and worldly influences can take and ungodly turn even in the most devote Christians. As my own sinfulness weighed heavy on my thoughts, I found comfort in Sunday's Gospel. Let me explain: Jesus came to the Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptizer, who was proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. When Jesus came to him, John said, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" To this, esus responded, "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting to fulfill all righteousness." What could this mean? Jesus was without sin, there was no reason for Him to come to John for t