The Beginning

Martyn Payne

On your marks:

God sometimes feels so close while at other times God seems to be out of reach and out of sight. Sometimes God startles us by the immediacy of his presence but then God is gone again, drawing us on by his very absence. This has been the experience of God's people all down the ages, ever since we cut ourselves off from intimacy with God at the beginning. This is just as true an experience of God for the 'great names' of the Bible as it is for Christians today. God calls us to 'live by faith, not by what we see' (2 Corinthians 5:7) because 'faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see' (Hebrews 11:1).

Today's story focuses on the story of Jesus' baptism and on how close God felt for him at this special moment that marks the beginning of his ministry. It is part of a series of stories linked to the big Bible story of 'Hide and Seek'.

Get set:

You can find a retelling of this story in The Barnabas Children's Bible, story 255. The story is told in the Bible in Matthew 3:13-17.

Go!

1. It is important that we mark special occasions in our lives - birthdays, festivals, anniversaries, starting a new school or beginning a new job. These times are important milestones on our journey through life and it is sometimes at such points that we can be more aware of the presence of the invisible God alongside us to bless us.

Many of these occasions are celebrated in church, particularly baptism, marriage and the dedication of a child, along with the annual festivals. Beginnings are important and remind us that our God is a God of new beginnings: 'I am creating something new,' says the Lord (Isaiah 43:19).

Begin your session by exploring some of the group's memories and feelings associated with a special day such as a birthday, a house-warming or the changing of schools. Has anyone been to a baptism? This is perhaps the best example of a special moment marked by a party, prayers and possibly a new awareness of God's presence.

2. Jesus was fully God and fully human. The beginning of his adult life's work as a travelling preacher was marked by the special occasion of his baptism. As a boy he had been named and welcomed into the Jewish way of life with all the usual ceremonies; now, at the age of 30, he was baptized at the start of his ministry. Read The Barnabas Children's Bible - story 255 or find it in Matthew 3:13-17.

3. What did this special moment look like from the outside? John was quite possibly surprised to see his cousin coming for baptism. He wasn't like the others in the crowd - the tax collectors, the soldiers and the Pharisees - so I wonder how John talked about what happened later on that day.

And what about the crowd? What exactly did they see? Did Jesus look any different from the others coming to be baptized? Did they hear the voice from heaven? Did they see the dove or did they just see a bird that happened to be flying around at the time? Were they cynical, uninterested or intrigued?

And were any of Jesus' family there? His brothers or his mother? I wonder what they made of it all.

Divide the group up and ask them to think through the scene from these different perspectives, working out what the different people would say. Once they have had a chance to chat it through, hot seat some of the characters involved.

4. It is at special moments like this that we can sometimes be particularly aware of God being close and real. This was true for Jesus and it must have been a constant inspiration for him over the next three years of his ministry. Interestingly, in John 10:40 we read that Jesus escaped Jerusalem just before the final Passover week, to spend time near the place where he had been baptized. Maybe he needed to remember what had happened at the beginning. He would have remembered how the dove-like Spirit had come upon him and how the voice of God had spoken over him, assuring him of God's love even before he had 'achieved' anything: in other words, 'I am with you and I love you.' It is easy to see how important this memory was to Jesus.

How can we hold on to those moments when God feels close and assures us of his love? Maybe a souvenir or special present from the occasion? A personal diary entry? A certificate or a card with an inscription? A badge or significant symbol? What ideas do the group have for keepsakes that would remind them of those times when God is close? Maybe it could be a pocket-sized cross; a WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) wristband; a special, precious stone; a lapel badge; a credit card Bible verse? Use these ideas as inspiration for the group to make something for themselves that will help them when God does not seem so close.

5. There are some drama ideas for acting out this whole baptism story in Footsteps to the Feast (Trinity) and more ideas for this session at Epiphany 2 - Jesus' baptism.

6. Another way into this story is to use one of the great masterpiece paintings of this biblical episode, such as The Baptism of Christ by Piero della Francesca.

Begin by showing the picture to the group and talking about it without any preconceived ideas or pre-information. Then introduce the story more fully, using the retelling in The Barnabas Children's Bible or the original Bible passage, and ask the group:

• Why has the artist decided to interpret the story in this particular way?

• What extra details has the artist put in?

• How has the artist divided up the different parts of the canvas?

• What unusual features has the artist included?

• Which parts of the picture do the group like the best?

• Which parts of the picture do the group find strange and uncomfortable?

Then, either:

Use this as a way into the group making their own pictures of the scene. What will they include/leave out? How will they present the story to show others what they feel about it and what it means for them?

or:

Use the exercise Bringing a picture to life - a dramatic activity from the Barnabas website. This invites the group to reproduce a freeze-frame of the event on which the original picture was based, with the group becoming the people and objects in the picture. This can open up all sorts of new insights as the group decide together on what movements to add and then dialogue as well.

7. The symbol of water at baptism is a powerful one. The new beginning is marked as a clean start - a moment of freshness and renewal.

Have a bowl of water ready in the middle of your group when you come to a time of prayer together. Invite each one in turn to dip their fingers into the water and then on a shiny surface to 'draw' an outline that relates to something they want to pray about - a person, a place or a particular problem. They might like to tell the whole group what they are 'drawing'; if not, respect the silence as they do it.

Making this 'drawing' with the water is a way of asking God to bring a new start for the situation which is being offered in prayer - maybe a clean bill of health for someone who is sick, some new way forward where there is a difficult problem to be solved, or a fresh idea of what to do next when asking for guidance. At the end of each 'drawing' you could say something together, such as: 'Lord, thank you that you make all things new' (based on Revelation 21:5).

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