A-Hah!

Baptism of Jesus; Matthew 3:13-17

This is my Own, my Beloved,

Baptisms, much like Epiphanies, are “A-Hah” moments. They are a moment when things look clearer and ideas seem achievable. We are invited to leave old ways behind and step out in faith to something new. We can leave past hurts in the past and allow a new spirit to fill our souls so that God can do a new and better work in us.

Each of us have many new beginnings in our life. Many of us were baptized as infants and our godparents promised that we were new in the Spirit, confirming our Original Goodness. Others have been baptized as adults, making a conscious commitment to a new life based on Gospel values in service to others.

While baptisms are a once in a lifetime event, epiphanies have no such limit. God speaks to me time and again with inspirations, ideas, confirmations, and insights. As I look over my life, it is astonishing how many time I have heard the voice of God. The thing is, I am also confident that there were many times God spoke to me, but I was closed to hearing God’s voice. Diana Butler Bass writes, “it would be a mistake to believe that we are only passive recipients of epiphanies. We need to be alert for their arrival…. Revelations can be missed if one isn’t attentive or attuned to the possibilities of sacred surprise….”

If only God spoke to us like he did to Jesus at the Jordan River. A voice booming from the clouds, letting all in hearing know that Jesus is loved by his creator. You would think that all who heard the voice would have said, “A-Hah! I should follow Jesus.” But the Gospels give the impression few, if anyone, did.

In my pride and hubris, I like to think that I would have been first in line to follow Jesus. But the history of my life suggests otherwise. I have been one who usually waited for God to use a 2x4 to my forehead before stepping out. Being a follower of Jesus looks hard and scary. So many rules; so many conditions.

Yet it is amazing to me, that as I look deeper into the rules and conditions of Jesus, I find that there are really very few. First, I am called to love. To love God, to love myself, and to love my neighbor as myself. Everything else flows from this one rule. God is the source of love, and the Holy Spirit spreads this pure love to every soul on earth and fills it to overflowing.

With a love-filled soul, I can then reach out in compassion and mercy to those in need in my world. The root of the word compassion is justice. Not retributive justice, but redemptive justice. With the eyes and ears of Christ, I am able to work for loving justice for the marginalized in my world. The poor, the hungry, the under-housed, the lost, and the lonely.

In baptism, I step into the water and let my old self fall away, and I emerge as a new creation in Christ Jesus, set in motion toward a different way of living. I surface not as I was, but as a disciple on mission, entrusted with carrying God’s saving love and compassion into the world around me. I move through my days alert and searching for the “A-hah” moments; the openings where I can notice, respond, and serve the least in my world, letting Christ’s life keep taking shape in what I do and how I love.

Every Day.

© 2026 by Timothy J. Doppel

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