Matthew 3:13-17 (NRSV)
Read Matthew 3:13-17 on biblegateway.com
Verse 13Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. Verse 14John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Verse 15But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. Verse 16And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. Verse 17And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."
Devotion
Yesterday we celebrated God's gift of righteousness. Today we see the heavens "were opened" and "the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Jesus." The word, "opened," in the original Greek means a complete opening like the complete dilatation of the womb before a child is born. A birthing! A new creation happens!
We also saw a dove in Genesis. God condemned wickedness with the great flood, destroying all except those miraculously saved in Noah’s ark. When the flood waters receded, God sent forth a dove from the ark. When on the third try the dove did not return, this was the signal that it was safe to depart from the ark. Here again the dove signals a new creation. In the waters of our baptism we are reborn children of God! We are a new creation!
Prayer
Thank you Lord, that "All who believe and are baptized shall see the Lord's salvation. Baptized into the death of Christ, they are a new creation. Through Christ's redemption they shall stand among the glorious heavenly band of every tribe and nation" (ELW 442). Amen.