January 14th Reflection by Bill Lynch

Isaiah 62:1-5
The Vindication and Salvation of Zion

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
   and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
until her vindication shines out like the dawn,
   and her salvation like a burning torch.
The nations shall see your vindication,
   and all the kings your glory;
and you shall be called by a new name
   that the mouth of the Lord will give.
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
   and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
   and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
   and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
   and your land shall be married.
For as a young man marries a young woman,
   so shall your builder marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
   so shall your God rejoice over you.

Reflection
"As a baptized Child of God...sealed by the Holy Spirit... marked with the cross of Christ forever." Over and over these words were spoken as people came forward for communion. At our baptism something of a mystery happens. More than a mystery a miracle happens. We are given a new name. We are proclaimed to be a Child of God. At the time we don't know what we will be as a new Child of God, but we can rest assured that God has something for us to do. We will be gifted with what we need to fulfill this purpose.

And then we begin to seek God. God comes to us in our baptism and we are filled with the desire to be in communion with God and we seek him. We delve into deep prayer. We want to know what God wants from us. We wrestle with God and seek purpose. We reach out in our doubt and seek truth. We go to God for the answer to life's questions. We seek his Word. We read his Word and get confused. We turn to other's to find out more and more about God. We go on a hunt for God. And prayer goes deep.

We look around and see one messed up world that we live in and wonder why? But, finally we see that the answer does not lie within ourselves. The answer lies within our need for a Savior. We discover that we need God and God has already come to us in our baptism. God has made himself known in the prayers and the Word and the Sacraments. God's mystery unfolds before our eyes in the life, ministry, teaching, healing, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. Our eyes are opened to Jesus in the Old Testament and the New Testament, the letters and the Psalms and even the apocryphal books. Jesus appears all around us in so many ways we are overwhelmed by God's presence with us in our lives and in the love displayed to all people in this world.

In our baptism, God shows his love for us even beyond anything we can understand. And God declares a new name for us. One that reflects himself in us... Child of God... sealed by the Holy Spirit... marked with the cross of Christ forever.

Prayer
Lord, continue to call and gift and baptize your children everywhere... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen