Happy Baptism! This time of year is so awesome, there are so many amazing feasts to celebrate!
Today Luke tells us of the story of John the Baptist and Jesus's Baptism. It is such a beautiful story and there are so many things to say about it.
But what I want to focus on is the contrast between water and fire. John says:
"I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."
So John can baptize with water, but Jesus can baptize with FIRE! John does say, "one mightier than I is coming" and I don't know about you, but fire get's me... fired up.
Here's a small history lesson. Bear with me. Hopefully where this goes will get you fired up too.
Before Jesus came, there was no such thing as Baptism. People simply used water symbolically as a way to have a clean slate. It didn't really have a deeper meaning than that. It just cleansed you. But with Jesus, he not only baptizes you with water, but also with the Holy Spirit.
He not only cleans you of original sin, but also gives you the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This beautiful gift ignites you (much like fire) and leads you to see God, know God, and share God. God is also love, so using this gift also means seeing love, knowing love, and sharing love. The Holy Spirit is able to do this because it is God working IN you.
So hopefully you're fired up to let the Spirit lead you (fitting for the title of this website, right?). Let it ignite your hearts and minds and souls. Set the world on fire with God's love.
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