Monday, January 8, 2024
The Baptism of the Lord
(click here to listen to or read today’s scriptures)
Behold the lamb of God
Mary and Joseph gave Jesus a first-year cake, and he plunged his hands into it and pulled out a plum! He covered his face with icing and ate as much of the cake as he could. And then he ate the plum.
They gave him a gift, a present all wrapped up in shiny cloth, and after they washed his hands and face he opened it. It was a stuffed animal, a lamb for him to take to bed with him. He was nearly old enough to leave his crib, so Mary and Joseph wanted him to have a cuddle-boy, someone to sleep with. And as yet he had no brothers.
Jesus held the lamb gently. His eyes filled with tears. Why is he crying? thought Joseph. But then he looked at Mary, and tears were also on her cheeks. A sword that shall you pierce. He remembered Simeon’s words. Was it already happening? Lord, won’t you give us just a little rest?
But God knows his business, and God would give them plenty of rest, in his own time. For now, there was work to do, and Jesus took his newfound lamb and held it and talked to it and laughed when he made it talk back to him. There was no hurry now. They could play and play and play.
This was Jesus’ work, to learn the ways of his Father with the lamb he slept with and ate with and carried around in the garden. “Do you want some olives, Little Lamb? Do you want to play outside, and then sit in the sun with me and lean up against the trunk of the plum tree? Do you want to take a nap before we go in for supper? Would you like to help Mommy make a cake?”
Jesus rubbed his eyes after he took a nap, and he rubbed the eyes too of Little Lamb. If his hands were oily or dirty, Jesus cleaned his hands before he held his Little Lamb. In their small house in the small village of Nazareth, which Joseph the carpenter had furnished with beautiful furniture and where Mary made their meals and washed their clothes, Jesus brought his little lamb to Joseph’s workbench and Mary’s table. And he grew, in wisdom and stature, in favor with God and man.
Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by his cousin John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. He heard a voice come from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son, and with you I am well pleased.”
Jesus heard the words from the sky and thought of how pleased his father Joseph had often been with his help. He remembered his mother Mary’s smile and her approval when he himself made the honeycakes for their dessert. The words he heard on earth were coming now from heaven. He lived his life in both places at the same time, and he wanted to teach others this amazing truth.
John saw Jesus approaching him and said, “Behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
What happened to Little Lamb? Jesus thought his mother put it away in the corner of her closet, saving it forever. He had held the lamb close and slept with it curled up in the crook of his arm. He felt God’s arm, warm, soft, holding him as he curled up and closed his eyes. He was sleeping with his Father, like Little Lamb slept with him.
A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the earth. And we will wait for his teaching.
Jesus already had so much to say. His words and deeds echoed across the land, and when he touched people they were healed. When he spoke to them, their lives were turned upside down and they were happy. God lived among them. Over and over Jesus said, “Do not be afraid.”
When he saw the people wandering in fear and pain, like sheep without a shepherd, Jesus remembered Little Lamb. He smiled, and then he spoke again. His words rang then and ring throughout the ages, with confidence and affection and joy:
(Isaiah 42, Isaiah 55, Acts 10, 1 John 5, Psalm 29, Isaiah 12, John 1, Mark 1)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
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