21 Now when all the people were baptised, and when Jesus also had been baptised and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you, I am well pleased.’
To earn a living, I developed a rewarding career as a marketing professional within global technological corporations; in other words, I was an ambassador for the companies I worked for.
My job was to provide our clients with the best support and help possible. To deliver shining endorsements of my company’s products and services, and glowing commendations on the advantages and benefits of using them.
These days it often strikes me that Christian ministry operates similarly. We offer the best help and support to others that we can, give radiant proclamations of our faith, endorse the advantages and benefits we enjoy, and look forward to as Christians.
Reflection:
On the 9th of January, the church celebrates the Baptism of Christ, when he was baptised by John the Baptist in the River Jordan.
Jesus’ baptism led directly to him receiving the treasure of the anointing of the Holy Spirit, which descended upon him in bodily form like a dove.
This signalled His commissioning as the Messiah – and all baptised Christians were enabled, empowered and commissioned as His ambassadors.
As Jesus embraced us in His baptism, we must also embrace Him.
We achieve this by working as His ambassadors in the world today.
After Christ’s death and resurrection, the disciples were the first to realise that they were now His ambassadors, here on earth, as the holy spirit descended upon them at Pentecost.
St Paul was also a fantastic ambassador for Christ; in his letter to the Corinthians, he said: ‘We are ambassadors for Christ’.
Paul concluded his letter to the Ephesians by asking them to: ‘Pray for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains’ – the letter was written from a prison cell.
Since those days, there have been countless ambassadors for Christ who helped build up the kingdom. They are known today collectively as the Communion of Saints. This is a spiritual union between the living on earth and the saints in heaven.
Today, it is our turn to reconcile ourselves to Christ as best we can and live our lives as His ambassadors.
What might we do better as an ambassador for the Kingdom of God than we did last year?
Is there one thing you could do today that you know would please Jesus? Perhaps doing this might be a step toward making fuller reconciliation with Him?
