Stepping Into Jesus's Baptism: First Sunday after Epiphany
Blessed Epiphany, friends!
I'm looking forward to sharing with you a weekly Epiphany Daybook devotional post for these weeks of revelation and witness.
You can read here for a brief description of the liturgical season of Epiphany.
Look: Baptistry of the Basilica of Laodicea (4th century) - photo credit: Dr. Julie Canliss
Here’s a brief article about Laodicea from the Biblical Archeology Society.
Listen: Troparion of Theophany (Tone 1) (Znamenny Chant), St. Symeon Orthodox Church Choir - Text | Spotify | YouTube
Listen to the new playlist I made for this week: Stepping Into Jesus’s Baptism
Read: Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 89:20-29; Acts 10:34-38; Luke 3:15-22
Monday: Psalm 1-3; Psalm 4, 7; Genesis 2:4-25; Hebrews 1:1-14; John 1:1-18
Tuesday: Psalm 5-6; Psalm 10-11; Genesis 3:1-24; Hebrews 2:1-10; John 1:19-28
Wednesday: Psalm 119:1-24; Psalm 12-14; Genesis 4:1-16; Hebrews 2:11-18; John 1:29-42
Thursday: Psalm 18; Genesis 4:17-26; Hebrews 3:1-11; John 1:43-51
Friday: Psalm 16-17; Psalm 22; Genesis 6:1-8; Hebrews 3:12-19; John 2:1-12
Saturday: Psalm 20-21; Psalm 110, 116-117; Genesis 6:9-22; Hebrews 4:1-13; John 2:13-22
Pray: Book of Common Prayer, Collect for the First Sunday After Epiphany
Eternal Father, at the baptism of Jesus you revealed him to be your Son, and your Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove: Grant that we, who are born again by water and the Spirit, may be faithful as your adopted children; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Do: Remember your baptism!
During Epiphany, we remember Jesus’ baptism and it’s a good season to renew our own baptism vows -- whether in your corporate worship service or in your family and personal prayer time. May I recommend this post from my son's baptism? It includes the Anglican baptism liturgy but is applicable for all followers of Christ.
Listen to this beautiful lecture from Dr. Julie Canliss, Anthropology, Baptism, and the Church Calendar at the 2021 Convocation for Anglican Diocese of Christ Our Hope.
In November, we had the privilege to hear this lecture from Dr. Julie Canliss during our organization’s convocation. If I could, I’d transcribe every word from the lecture for you today. The next best thing is to let you listen for yourself (and enjoy more photos of baptismal fonts from around the world) in this recording.
Here’s a small excerpt:
“This [Christocentric] anthropology is what we were baptized into… We are proclaiming this anthropology every time we baptize. …
Early Christian baptismal fonts are not round. They are cruciform [intended to remind us that ] when we are baptized we are stepping into Christ. We arent’s stepping into baptism, we are stepping into Jesus. Baptism puts us into Jesus. We are literally stepping into Him. It’s the only way.
The early Church got this. Look at the architecture. They centered everything on baptism. …
We can try to remember this in our heads, but God has put us in bodies.”
You might also enjoy:
Henri Nouwen's encouragement, You are Beloved
Who wants to remember baptism like the intrepid Eastern Europeans? Icy dip: Russians plunge into freezing waters on Epiphany, and Brave Muscovites plunge icy waters to celebrate Epiphany.
You can find other activities for Epiphany at this post: 12+ Ways To Keep Celebrating With the Rest of the World (loads of links)
* Listen to the new playlist I made for this week: Stepping Into Jesus’s Baptism
* Sunday Scripture readings are taken from Year C of the 2019 Book of Common Prayer. Daily Scripture readings are taken from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and include both Morning and Evening Psalms (Year 2)