On the Sunday after Epiphany, the church celebrates the baptism of Christ by John the Baptist. This event happened when crowds of people came to be baptized by John and began to wonder if John was the Messiah. In Luke 3, as paraphrased in Eugene Peterson’s The Message, John answered the crowd and described what happened when Jesus was baptized:

“I’m baptizing you here in the river. The main character in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from inside out. He’s going to clean house – make a clean sweep of your lives. He’ll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he’ll put out with the trash to be burned.”

After all the people were baptized, Jesus was baptized. As he was praying, the sky opened up and the Holy Spirit, like a dove descending, came down on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life.”

After this, the Holy Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness, where he fasted for 40 days and nights and was tested by the devil. Jesus then returned to Galilee to begin his ministry on earth. As we remember this part of Jesus’ life in early January, each of us can remember our own baptism and rededicate ourselves to God’s service, living out the message of Christ our Lord.

BAPTISMS at Westminster

November 21
Landon Caleb Bucey
parents: Savannah and Matthew Bucey

Austin William Bundschuh
parents: Carolyn and Mark Bundschuh

Penn William Rupert
Linden Rose Rupert
parents: Erin and Ryan Rupert

Bodie Bennett Senge
parents: Joseph and Lindsay Senge

November 28
Shane Odell Holloway
parents: Kelly and Brian Holloway

December 19
Kameron Nicole Locy