Weekly thoughts on the Sunday Gospel, readings or a topic...

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seeing your life through the lens of the gospels
– Luke 3:15-16, 21-22
1. The people were searching and John pointed them in the direction of Jesus. On your life’s journey, who have been the John the Baptist people for you, people who have pointed you in the right direction?
2. The Baptism of Jesus was a very special moment for him that affirmed him in his identity as Son of God and in his mission. Recall the experiences that affirmed you – either in your sense of who you are, or in relation to the direction you were taking in life.
3. The Baptism of Jesus marks a transition point in his life, and the start of his public ministry. Recall the transition points in your own life. Where did you see the grace of God at work in those times?
4. This experience of Jesus occurred when he was at prayer. What part has prayer played in opening you to being aware of God in your life? What part has prayer played in helping you through a transition point in your life? 
– John Byrne, OSA

The Deep End
Today’s Gospel tells us that the people were ‘filled with expectation’. It sounds like a very exciting time as they wonder who this prophet John could be. John must have been a very dynamic and inspiring preacher as the people speculated if he were the one they had been waiting for. He uses all of this attention for one purpose: to point people to Jesus. There are many people in our own lives who have pointed us towards Jesus, perhaps by an invitation to an event or a retreat or by sharing a reflection with us at just the right time. In them, we see something special and interesting that makes us wonder in our hearts and seek a little further. They are the John the Baptists in our lives, pointing us towards the Lord like signposts along the way.
John humbly responds to the people by saying: ‘One who is more powerful than I is coming.’ He emphasises that it is He who will really set their hearts on fire. While the words concerning ‘winnowing forks’ seem harsh, we might interpret them as speaking of God’s power to transform our lives through Jesus. When Jesus enters into the narrative, Luke emphasises that He is at prayer, and it is then that this powerful experience of God occurs. A nice meditation for today is to repeat the last sentence of today’s Gospel, imagining God speaking these words to you: ‘You are my Daughter/Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’  – Jane Mellett

(from Intercom)