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Mark 1:4-8
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

To ponder
Child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. Evangelical Lutheran Worship, Holy Baptism

Baptized with the Spirit
Centuries ago it was common practice to seal letters by pressing something, such as the emblem on a ring, into a small circle of warm wax. The impression made in the wax authenticated the letter’s origin. When a letter had the seal of the king, you knew it came from the king.

All who are baptized bear God’s seal. Our human lives are like warm wax - malleable, moldable, and impressionable. And the wild yet gentle, creative yet unchanging, tranquil yet agitating Spirit of God impresses upon us so that our shape, our style, and the specific curvature of our being is the authentication of where we came from. We bear the image of God in everything from our bones to our breath. Take a moment and breathe in that truth, giving thanks for your Spirit-infused, enlivened existence.

Prayer
Triune God, whose image I bear, give me the clarity and the courage to accept the specific shape of my own existence - the parts I deem ugly, the rough-shod places, the beautiful parts, and everything in between - because in the intricate contours of my life, the impression of your seal is to be found. Amen.

(from: “A Story to Tell: Devotions for Lent” Bekki Lohrmann, Harvard Stephens Jr., Lydia Posselt, David L. Miller; Augsburg Fortress, 2020)