Daily Gospel Reflection for January 8, 2024: The Baptism of the Lord

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: Mark 1:7-11

What a beautiful example of humility John the Baptist gives us in the Gospel reading today. So often, we notice the strength or success of another and take it as reason to put ourselves down, to think less of the gifts God has given us. Even when we genuinely cheer on our friends and peers, it can be easy to slip into negative internal thoughts about what we perceive as our own deficiencies.

John the Baptist finds himself in the most humbling situation possible: he stands before the Christ, the Lamb of God, of whom he recognizes himself “not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.” This doesn’t make John any less than who he understood himself to be. It doesn’t diminish the mission for which he was sent, to make way for the Lord. For John, there is great joy that “One mightier than I is coming after me.” He knows he is not the savior, and he places his full joy, trust, and hope in the One who is.

For all the reasons we already know, comparison is a frequent obstacle in living a life of faith in the twenty-first century. But it doesn’t have to be that way. When our eyes are trained on the Lord, when we recognize first who He is, and then who we are in light of His glory, His mercy, His love for us, we find that we, too, are beloved children of God far before we can claim to be anything else.

Ponder:

What insecurities do you have about yourself? Do you think God sees them that way?

Pray:

Lord, help me to look to You to understand who I am. Thank You for the gift of being Your beloved child.

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When our eyes are trained on the Lord, when we recognize first who He is, then who we are in light of His love, we find that we are beloved children of God before we can claim to be anything else. #DailyGospel

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