A sermon by Rev. We Chang

Gospel Lesson                                          Matthew 3:13-17

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. John tried to dissuade Jesus, saying, I should be baptized by you, and yet you come to me!”

But Jesus replied, “Leave it this way for now. We must do this to completely fulfill God’s justice. So John reluctantly agreed.

Immediately after Jesus had been baptized and was coming up out of the water, the sky suddenly opened up and Jesus saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and hovering over him. With that, a voice from the heavens said, “This is my Own, my Beloved, on whom my favor rests.”

Hebrew Scripture                                   Lamentations 3:19-24

(TIB translators' note: "The Hebrew name of this book, 'ekah, is an expletive, a cry of anguish . . . A contemporary English equivalent might be to call the book 'Aaugh!' The first four chapters are acrostic poems: the first word of each stanza begins with a subsequent letter of the Hebrew Alphabet.")

Zayin

I remember my woes and wanderings—

The wormwood and the gall.

Those memories are so clear to me,

And they fill me with despair.

Yet it is because I remember all this

that I have hope.

Heth

YHWH’s favor is not exhausted,

Nor has God’s compassion failed.

They rise up anew each morning,

So great is God’s faithfulness.

“YHWH is all I have,” I cry.

“So I will wait in patience.”