The human yearning for a fresh start, for a clean slate, for change in our lives isn’t new; we see it in our gospel reading for today. In God’s way of doing things, a fresh start wouldn't be achieved by John dipping people in the Jordan, or by the Essenes taking daily religious cold plunges. Instead, in God’s wisdom, his fresh start for us came about through his mercy – in sending Jesus his Son to take our place.

Sermon from The Table.