Baptism Of Jesus – Read: Mark 1:9-11
Contemplation
The crowds are milling at the water’s edge as usual, waiting their turn for John to call them, to take them through this strange watery path which feels like a dying and a new birth. A thousand feet squelch in turn through the muddy banks – I can feel the water in my toes. There’s someone else in the line with me. That’s silly – there are thousands in the line, they’re brushing, crushing against me, sweaty, joyful, sad, desperate, expectant! But no, there is Someone there, a person who feels different. He doesn’t look it, he’s just another person in the queue, but ... there is a calm about him. He waits his place, too: no pushing or shoving, and he doesn’t seem fazed by the jostling mobs, the screaming children, the people trying to make a quick denarius from selling water or food. At the head of the queue, John looks confused when he sees the newcomer. They go in…. And then they come out… and suddenly there’s Power ringing all around, ripping the sky and filling the space – a Voice, Presence magnified, light and – Something, no, that’s not it, Someone, seems to drop and …. Clothe him?
What can I hear and see, taste, touch or smell?
What about the people around me?
What are my impressions of this newcomer and how he interacts with John … and me?
What does the Power washing through and round the scene feel like … and what happens to me?