Matthew 3:1-6, 13-17
1In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:“ A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’
4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness. ”Then John consented.16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Reflection
Today we see John baptize Jesus in the Jordan. Look at verse 17. God through the Holy Spirit affirms that Jesus is God’s Son that He loves. In fact another translation calls
Jesus God’s beloved. Because of God’s work in Jesus Christ, we also receive this same blessing from God that we are sons and daughters of God and we are His beloved. Yesterday, we learned that we are all taken by virtue of being God’s chosen. Today we should remember that we are blessed by God because we are all God’s beloved. This blessing we are given is not to be kept to ourselves. We are blessed so we can be a blessing. How are you recognizing others’ status as God’s beloved? How are you a blessing to them?
