A life more ordinary
Gospel Matthew 3:13-17 Jesus appeared: he came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. John tried to dissuade him. ‘It is I who need baptism from you’ he said ‘and yet you come to me!’ But Jesus replied, ‘Leave it like this for the time being; it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that righteousness demands.’ At this, John gave in to him. As soon as Jesus was baptised he came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And a voice spoke from heaven, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.’ We had the first part of this chapter in Advent as John tells us of the Messiah who is to come after him. In this the description of John and the work that the Holy Spirit had given him is richly described, embellished from the core account given by Mark in his Gospel. Yet in this pivotal moment he is almost as sparse with the details as M...