Preparing for Worship - January 8, 2023

Epiphany is on January 6, so we will be in the Epiphany season this Sunday, as we celebrate The Baptism of our Lord Jesus. The psalm is Psalm 29, and David calls upon all people to worship and give the Lord the glory due to His Name. The voice of the Lord is over many waters. His voice was there at the creation, speaking all things into being, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. The Lord’s voice is also heard and His power is shown in storms and thunder and flames of fire. His voice would also be over the waters of the Jordan River and the Spirit of God would also be there at the baptism of Jesus. The Lord then gives Jesus and His people His strength and peace.

The Old Testament lesson is Isaiah 42:1-9, a prophecy of the coming of Jesus, the Chosen Servant of God. The Spirit of God will be put upon Him, and He will bring new things and a new covenant and be a Light for the nations and for prisoners who sit in the darkness of sin. He will bring God’s justice, yet as One Who does not shout or lift up His voice, but steadily and faithfully serves those in need. The Lord will take Him by the hand and keep Him.

The Gospel, Matthew 3:13-17, tells of the baptism of Jesus. He is baptized “to fulfill all righteousness” - as part of His saving work of doing everything right for us, in our place. As it was prophesied, the Spirit of God also came upon Him in His baptism to strengthen Him, and then the voice of the Heavenly Father identified Jesus: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

We are not always well-pleasing to God, though, and we need newness of life and forgiveness of our sins. Jesus died on the cross, once for all, and we received the benefit of what He earned for us, through the grace of God, in our own baptism, as we are told in the Epistle lesson, Romans 6:1-11. We died to our old life, through Christ and rose to a new life, freed from the condemnation of our sins. Now we are called to remember who we are as baptized believers and live for Christ - dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus our Savior.