A reflection on the readings for the Baptism of Jesus: Luke
3:15-17, 21-22 by the Rev. Terri C. Pilarski
Our
reading this morning conveys a key theme in the Gospel of Luke – prayer. Mary
Oliver, one of my favorite poets, helps us understand how to pray
It
doesn't have to be
the
blue iris, it could be
weeds
in a vacant lot, or a few
small
stones; just
pay
attention, then patch
a
few words together and don't try
to
make them elaborate, this isn't
a
contest but the doorway
into
thanks, and a silence in which
another
voice may speak. (Mary Oliver ~ Thirst)
Oliver
reminds us to keep it simple, patch a few words together, don’t try to be too
elaborate, give thanks and let there be some silence so God can speak too.
Jesus,
after his baptism went off to pray, something Jesus does a lot of in the Gospel
of Luke. Prayer is central to who Jesus is and how he lives out his ministry.
Prayer is central to our faith life too and how we are invited to live out our
various ministries.
In the Bible Jesus gives us a simple prayer to
pray, we call it The Lord’s Prayer. There are two versions of it in our Book of
Common Prayer which you can find if you turn to page
There
are also two versions of the Lord’s Prayer found in the Bible – one is in the sixth
chapter of Gospel of Matthew and it goes
like this:
“ Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this
day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our
debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil
one. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you; (Matthew 6:9-14)
And, one in the Gospel of Luke and it goes like
this:
(Jesus) said to them, “When you pray, say: Father,
hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And
forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do
not bring us to the time of trial.” (Luke 11:1-4)
The versions of the Lord’s Prayer that we have in
the Book of Common Prayer are similar, one to the Gospel of Matthew – which we
use most of the year and call it the traditional version – and the other to the
Gospel of Luke – which we use in the summer and call it the Contemporary
version. Both versions are based on how Jesus teaches his disciples how to
pray.
N.T.
Wright, a Bishop of Durham in the Church of England and a New Testament scholar
says this about the Lord’s Prayer: “(it)is not so much a command as an
invitation: an invitation to share in the prayer-life of Jesus himself…..”[i]
All
Prayer is an invitation into the inner life of the Divine one and brings with
it an opportunity to experience something of that divine life. Prayer is an
invitation into mystery and the idea that there is something at play in the
world that is bigger than we are. This something we call God – the divine
source of all creation, the one who brought forth all life and called it good.
We, being made in the image of that divine source are made good to do good.
For
Christians baptism is the invitation into the life of Christ. An invitation
into prayer, an invitation into an understanding of life that helps us make
meaning out our lives, helps us navigate the challenges of life, a life of
community and faith, a life in which we are never alone. In baptism we are given the gifts of the Holy
Spirit, the gifts which become our strengths, the gifts which define our lives.
Jesus’ gift is teacher – he teaches us how to live as God desires, how to live
as Jesus did, a life of boundless compassion, love, mercy, and grace for all
people, all creation.
Mary
Oliver has something to say about the mystery of life and prayer in another poem,
The Summer Day. Here is a portion of that poem:
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,….
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,….
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
Today we have come to baptize Lexi
into her new life in Christ.
As a parish family we have been praying for Lexi
and her parents and godparents, for many months – all during
the adoption process. Now today we join our prayer with her prayer and offer
our lifelong commitment to nurture her in her life in Christ. Every person we
baptize we embrace with delight their potential, their new life in Christ, and we
look forward to finding out just:
“What is they will do with their one
wild and precious life!”
Let us now
prepare to welcome Lexi into her new life…
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