This weekend we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. The Gospel tells us of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. After the baptism, “a voice came from the heavens, saying: ‘You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.’” (Mark 1:11)
Our opening song, “When Jesus Comes to Be Baptized”, speaks of this baptism. The tune is one we know to the words of an Advent song – “On Jordan’s Bank”. The tune is called Winchester New.
At Communion, we first sing “Come to the Water” which is based on the first reading from Isaiah. “All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk!...Heed me and you shall eat well” (Isaiah 55:1-2). For our second song at Communion,
we are singing “Wade in the Water”. This spiritual speaks of John the Baptist preaching of Christ’s coming (which we heard about in our Advent readings) and then of Jesus’ baptism in the River Jordan by John. It ends with the final verse telling us: “if you want to follow Jesus, you must come and be baptized.”
The concluding hymn “Songs of Thankfulness and Praise” speaks of the three manifestations that I wrote of last week on the Feast of the Epiphany: manifested by the star to the sages from afar (the Feast of the Epiphany); manifest at Jordan’s stream, Prophet, Priest and King supreme (today on the Baptism of the Lord); and at Cana, as a wedding guest, changing water into wine (which we don’t celebrate on a Sunday this year).