January 11, 2015 --Baptism

Genesis 1: 1-5
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, ²the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.

³Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Do you ever wish you could go back to the beginning and do things differently?  This has been on my mind a lot lately, and I’m not sure why.  Sometimes I just want a do-over.  Often I think that if I had this chance I would somehow be aware of what I am clearly aware of now, and that would make a difference in how I handle or do something.

In the beginning God created…. I wonder if God ever wanted a do-over.  Would God have done things differently?  Wait, God already knew.  It isn’t as if God needed to learn something God already didn’t know.  God knew and God created, and called it good! 

Sometimes I wish I had done things differently, sometimes I wish I hadn’t done them at all.  And I want a do-over.  In baptism, we get a chance of a do-over.  True, it doesn’t take the pain away, it doesn’t affect consequences of my action or inaction.  However, in baptism I am forgiven and free to make the necessary changes in my life.  For this I am very thankful for.

As we celebrate the baptism of Jesus, we celebrate our own new beginnings.  For those not baptized, God is still at work in you, and calls you to the living water that is Christ himself.
Let us pray:  (make the sign of the cross to remember your baptism)… Forgiving God, you call us to the water of life and make things new.  In the beginning you created all things and called it good.  You created humans in your image and called us good.  Thank you for the hope and promise you give us in all of creation and guide us in your paths.  Thank you for the new chance every day to live life full and free.  Amen