Be an Expert of One Thing and Bless the World.

The Baptism of the Lord
13 January 2019

First reading                                                                  Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
Thus says the Lord:
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching. I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”

Second reading                                                    Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Gospel                                                                      John 1:1-18

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 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.”

Reflection

By Gary Tulabut

In our prayer group, I used to do a lot of things. I used to handle all the following: design promotional materials, handle social media, make the newsletter, lead worship, make power point slides, and be the clicker. At first it was because there were only a few of us servants. Later, it was because of other negative things such as clinging on to dear positions, being a perfectionist, lack of trust with the abilities of other servants, and so on. The results were terrible. Despite being a perfectionist, I end up with mediocre work. Some tasks are even left undone. Or sometimes I ask for help at the last minute.

But slowly I learned to delegate and became less of a perfectionist and more trusting with others’ abilities.

Aside from leading worship and, soon, delivering talks, the only other task left with me now is making the newsletter, which I am also giving up soon.

St. John the Baptist knew his tasks. When asked of an expertise that was not his, he pointed to the RIGHT PERSON.

Let’s learn to delegate and have everyone involved, especially in ministry.

Don’t be a jack-of-all-trades with average results. It’s better to be an expert of one (or few) thing(s) and bless the world.

Prayer

Thank You, Father, for the talents. Guide us in honing them and in using them in ministry. All for Your glory. Amen.