January 17, 2022 - Today is The Baptism of Our Lord Sunday. Like most Protestants, we believe there are two sacraments, baptism and communion. However, baptism has been a point of contention between the various denominations. Methodists believe in only one baptism and accept baptisms from other churches and denominations; we also practice the different forms of baptism—sprinkling, pouring, or immersion.
I am still writing parts of my article on Monday, as I spent Sunday afternoon watching the Cowboys and then feeling sad when they lost. Once again we are feeling real winter temperatures. I don’t like the cold, but then again I don’t like the heat either. I guess I’m kind of a “Goldilocks Zone” person—it’s gotta be “just right.” It was plenty cold when Sam, Gunter, and I went for our morning constitutional, and the ground had a coating of frost.
Mrs. Fannie gave each family in church a book of daily devotionals for every day in 2022. I usually read the day’s devotional the night before as I am getting ready for bed. The devotional for today said that Dr. King may have gotten some inspiration for his “I Have a Dream” speech from a Thomas Paine quote: “We have the power to begin the world over again.” This was Jesus’ message as he talked about the Kingdom coming into our world.
Paxton Methodists are collecting cans of tuna for Community Christian Services in January. Folks bring cans of tuna and place them on the back bench until the end of the month. Then we gather them all up and put them in my truck, where they’re ready to be delivered to CCS.
Tuesday of last week was “Report Day” for Methodist ministers. Ministers prepare what are called end-of-year reports on all subjects related to our churches. Gene, our treasurer, is a great help in getting the financial questions answered. Today everything is done online, but in days past ministers physically brought the reports to the District Office: Auditors with adding machines checked to make sure everything was correct. When I was still teaching, I would have to take the day off school—after we’d just gotten back from the Christmas/New Year holiday—to drive my reports to Lufkin. I wonder what John Wesley would have thought about today’s technology. He was a very forward-thinking man, so if he were still around, I think he would embrace it.
The Sunday School lesson was from Mark and dealt with the transfiguration or transformation of Jesus. Gene read our lesson, which stressed how important listening is. Our writer also told us that Mark’s Gospel always moves at a quick pace, and the word “immediately” is used 40 times.
Our two CD song selections were “Shall We Gather at the River” and “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks.” Since John was baptizing people in the Jordan, it seemed right to have a couple of river songs. The bulletin had pictures of water and one of Jesus being baptized. The quote on the front of the bulletin came from Dr. King: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is ‘What are you doing for others?’” A good question to ponder, as it certainly fits Jesus’ message to us.
All four canonical Gospels tell the story of Jesus’ baptism, although differing slightly from each other. This is the year of Luke, so the Gospel Lesson was Luke 3: 15-17, 21-23. The Old Testament Lesson was Isaiah 43: 1-7, and I tried to tie Isaiah’s words into the rest of the scriptures. In Isaiah 3, God says that he knows each of us and calls us by our names. God promises to be with us as we pass through the waters. God tells us to overcome our fear because he will always be with us. All these are comforting ideas.
Whoever you are, in whatever faith you were born, whatever creed you profess; if you come to this house to find God you are welcome here. Paxton United Methodist Church is an inviting church that takes to heart the idea of “Open Doors, Open Hearts, and Open Minds.” Worship begins at 10:00. Our email address is paxtonumc@yahoo.com. If you would like the weekly email newsletter about Paxton Methodist, you can send your email address to the Paxton email address, and I will add you to the list. God’s Speed.
