Father Snort

Brad Sullivan 1 Epiphany, Year C January 10, 2015 Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, Bay City, TX Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 The Heathen Preaching to the Church When Jesus came to be baptized by John, people had been coming in droves to be baptized by him. It was like a lengthy mass baptism as people came who were seeking God’s kingdom, seeking a new life and a new way of life in God’s kingdom, rather than the ways of the kingdoms of the earth. This was far more than a liturgical new years’ resolution, far more than individuals wanting to be better. They were seeking a whole new life, a whole new way of life. They were sloughing off the old ways of the old age and the kingdoms of the earth, and preparing for the new age of God’s kingdom. For us, we largely have individuals or a few people getting baptized at any one time, and over the centuries, people have begun to see baptism as being about personal salvation: individuals c