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8-Jan-23 (Matthew 3:13-17)

I have to say that I'm not entirely sure what Jesus meant when he said his baptism "was to fulfill all righteousness." We know that, as a man already righteous, he didn't need repentance. Yet the baptism was clearly more than a gesture purely for show.
The same can be said for the table before us. We recognize that the bread and cup are symbols representing Christ's body and blood, freely given so that the powers of sin and death, seemingly at their most powerful would break against the power of a freely given life.
We recognize that these are symbols to represent all of that, yet we also recognize, even while we might not fully understand it all, that something real and vital happens here and our spirits are nourished and restored in this symbolic meal.
As we come to the table, let us remember Jesus, and the love of God he showed to us in life and death.
Let us pray.

Prayer:

God who loves us with such great love that even sin and death cannot separate us, we thank you for the gift of your Son, who taught us how to give our lives to you and others. We thank you that his death rendered sin and death powerless against us and we thank you for these symbols that remind us of that.
As we take the bread and cup, renew your Spirit within us that we can carry the Good News of your love out to the waiting world.
In the name of Jesus, our Risen Lord, Amen.