Mark 1: 9-13 (MSG)
At this time, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. The moment he came out of the water, he saw the sky split open and God's Spirit, looking like a dove, come down on him. Along with the Spirit, a voice: "You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life." God's Kingdom Is Here! At once, this same Spirit pushed Jesus out into the wild. For forty wilderness days and nights he was tested by Satan. Wild animals were his companions, and angels took care of him.
We’ve all been there. We roll out of bed, scrape the sleep crusties from our eyes, guzzle the coffee, and dread the upcoming day and week. We already miss the worshipful exuberance of the Sunday morning service. We long for the suffocating peace and love of the Holy Spirit during the Sunday night prayer time. We yearn for the elusive dream that would make everyday like Sunday, not because of football, but because that is the day we set aside specifically to come together. Something we may not realize however: Jesus felt the same way.
Jesus loves us so much he chose to live in the flesh like we do, adopting the human condition as his own. That means whatever we’ve been through, He’s been through. Imagine the emotions and feelings stirring among Jesus as He is baptized by John, the humbling act announcing his mission to the world. As if that were not enough, God splits the heavens and says something along the lines of, “I love you, son. I’m proud of you.” Sounds like a Sunday for us. But then…
The Gospel goes on to say, “At once” Jesus was sent to the desert to be tempted. Sound familiar? No sooner have we calmed from a mighty move of the Holy Spirit than we are thrust back into the real world, a place doing everything in its power to deter us from our life-change. But Jesus did it so that we might have the strength, through Him, to do it also.
Jesus walked through your Mondays. How does that make you feel?
