29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, "Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, "After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.' 31 I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel." 32 And John testified, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, "He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' 34 And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God." 35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, "Look, here is the Lamb of God!" 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are you staying?" 39 He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated Anointed ). 42 He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter ).
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When you walk down the street do people take notice of you? Do they make comments behind your back? Do they make funny faces in your general direction?
When you walk down the street do you take notice of people around you? Do you notice the homeless guy soliciting change on the corner? Do you realize that people are giving you weird looks?
Perception is [our] reality.
People see us.
People see you.
People see me.
People are always looking; what do they see?
When Jesus was walking down the street, John knew he was the messiah because there was an air about him. The spirit of God had descended from heaven and taken up residence about his person. It shone like a light in the darkness--it set him apart from those around him--and people noticed. Lucky for us we are welcomed into that as well. In our baptism we are given a new identity, we are welcomed into life with Jesus and the spirit of God takes up residence about our person.
God dwells in us.
God shines through us.
God surrounds us.
People notice.
It is said that their are fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, which manifest themselves in our lives through the assistance of the holy spirit. This is what people notice, whether they know our faith journeys are not. This is what the world needs, and we can be that light in the darkness.
Let us pray:
Most gracious God let my light so shine the world that the people take notice. Allow your spirit to manifest all of the good fruits into the world around me so that people will see you through me. All signs point back to you; all gifts are from you; allow those gifts to flow forth so that the world becomes a better place for all who still reside here...
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.Amen.
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
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