Jesus Delivers Us from Evil (Epiphany 2)

 This is how our Psalm (40) ended. It summarizes the three Epiphany moments of the Readings and also of course, the Lord’s Prayer. This is the great cry of our hearts when we are in trouble. The three Epiphany moments in the Readings are:

·     Isaiah: In Babylon the Hebrews realized they could not save themselves

·     John: realized Jesus was the Lamb of God who would deliver all people from the bondages of sin and spiritual blindness

·     Paul: The Corinthians, like us, needed to experience Jesus deliverance from both the bondage of sin and spiritual evil

·     We all need epiphany moments when our spiritual eyes are opened by Jesus, the light of the world 

 

1.    We cannot save ourselves

Baptisms of Repentance & Holy Spirit Fire Give Us Hope (Baptism of Jesus)

 John the Baptist teaches us how to become serious Christians with joy and hope. Hope frees people from fear of sin-guilt and death and enables us to love God, ourselves and others. The first step is the baptism of repentance which prepares us for the second Baptism of the Holy Spirit Fire. As the Holy Spirit comes into us and exposes our hidden sins, we experience the baptism of the holy fire of God’s love. The file of God’s love burns up our sins and brings us into an eternal spiritual life of joy in His Kingdom.

1. The First Baptism is Repentance