Have you ever thought about the symbols of baptism: water, oil, and fire? Each of these symbols are dynamic and complex, in that they represent that which is necessary to create, sustain, or empower life as well as that which takes life and deconstructs.
This morning we hear one of several depictions of John the Baptist from Scriptural and Non-Scriptural sources. Amidst a complex and changing world, how do we raise up, empower, and hear one another in ways that create, sustain, and empower? How do we both hear one another and build one another up?