Monday meditation: the example of Jesus and a reminder to hope
In this week’s story, we see the humility, the deity, and the example of Jesus.
John the Baptist was calling his Jewish listeners to repentance and baptizing them to mark their willingness to turn away from sin. But John, whose mission was to prepare men’s and women’s hearts to encounter and follow Jesus, recoiled at the idea of baptizing Jesus. John knew he was sinless. But Jesus insisted this was necessary “to fulfill all righteousness.”
What does this mean? We can think of Amazon writing to say our order is fulfilled. They mean they’ve done everything they can with it. All their promise to pick it from the warehouse shelves, package it, and ship it is finished. In a similar way, all the prophecies about a coming Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus.
He came to bring a new day. For John’s audience of Jews, Jesus was the culmination of all their history and worship. His baptism signaled the chance for them, for everyone since then, to make a new beginning.
But baptism is a picture of submission, not authority. In his baptism, Jesus demonstrated, as he would again and again, that the path to glory is paved with humility.
He showed that the path to glory is paved with humility.
Maybe we caregivers, as we go about mundane or distasteful duties this week, can be encouraged by his example.
Meanwhile, we can’t ignore the thundering voice of God rumbling from the clouds as Jesus emerged from the water. “This is my beloved Son,” it said, “in whom I am well pleased.” Three different witnesses recorded the remarkable event.
Every one of us could wish to hear God telling the world he is “well pleased” with us. Every one of us, struggling to cope and longing to believe, can be reassured by a statement Jesus himself made at the end of his ministry. “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” he said. He told us we can discover God by coming through him. That possibility can lift our spirits when we feel beat down by the tasks of today.
For sure, there’s plenty to be sad about. Our loved ones’ lives are ending in heartbreaking disability, but God understands. The life of his own Son, Jesus, ended in suffering and miserable death.
The life of God’s own Son ended in suffering.
But when we remember his death, we are reminded death didn’t claim Jesus for long. He broke free from the grave, and hundreds of witnesses saw him alive in the days after they had watched his execution.
A new day, indeed! And we know our struggle need not tell the whole story of our lives, either.
Read: Matthew 3
Pray: Dear God, help us see the example of Jesus as we serve our loved ones this week. Help us hold on to the hope of Jesus as we remember our struggle need not be the end of our story, or theirs.
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