Thoughts for the Day

But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.
Because you are precious in my sight,
and honoured, and I love you.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

What do you fear? All of us fear something, but what scares you? In my family we have those who are terrified of spiders, and even the tiniest insects of. While I fear small spaces and once had to take prescribed medicine for three days before an MRI scan. Are you scared of water, or driving on a motorway, or of getting cancer, or the first day at a new job, or of dying? I remember years ago working with a class of teenagers in a school looking at the subject of death through colours (eg "What colour do you associate with death?). There were some interesting answers from "black" to "red" to "yellow". Those with a faith, whether Christian, Muslim or Sikh, were much more optimistic. However, there were two or three pupils who simply couldn't even handle the word "death", yet all of us know that with birth will inevitably come death, whether this is for insects, birds, animals or humans.

Isaiah's words today remind us that God has been with His people from the first moment He reached out to them. God declares through the prophet that they are precious in His sight and that He loves them. Indeed we see how He forgives them again and again in the Hebrew scriptures. But if this is not helpful, consider this - today's Lectionary readings give us Isaiah's words paired with the account of the Baptism of Jesus (Luke 3.21-22) and God's announcement that he is God's Son. Through our baptism Christians believe that God also marks us and claims us as His children, and no matter what we have done or what might happen in the future God loves us and walks alongside us ready to pick us up if we fall.

When we are afraid we need to do three things:

• Remember we are precious in God's sight.
• Pray for strength to live in hope.
• Put our trust in God's words.

Introductory words for a Baptism Service

Our Lord Jesus Christ has told us
that to enter the kingdom of heaven
we must be born again of water and the Spirit,
and has given us baptism as the sign and seal of this new birth.
Here we are washed by the Holy Spirit and made clean.
Here we are clothed with Christ,
dying to sin that we may live his risen life.
As children of God, we have a new dignity
and God calls us to fullness of life.

Prayer

Heavenly Father
when we are afraid
give us the strength to lean on You.
Increase our faith,
so that we may learn to trust in Your words,
and live in hope for the future
as Your beloved children.
Amen.