You Should Have Been There

Woodstock.  I was about 18 months old when the music festival rocked the New York farm field, so I can't say that it occurred to me to go.  But among those who are a bit older than I there is often a certain sense of nostalgia.  Although the concert had 400,000 attendees, I can't really remember ever running across someone who was actually there.  But I have met several who seem to have a profound sense of regret that they missed the defining event of the 1960s.

Sometimes we miss the moment.  We hear about the good time that everyone else had.  We were busy and didn't go and it was awesome.  We can hear the stories, but it just isn't the same.  

And it isn't all about a big concert or a fun party.  A shared experience is a shared experience whether it be good or bad.  It's not uncommon for friends to reminisce about that time that they barely made it.  Soldiers who were at Pearl Harbor or Midway or the invasion at D-day or the Battle of Khe Sahn or the fall of Baghdad all connect in a way that is impossible for those who weren't there.

So with this in mind, imagine those who were actually there at the Baptism of Jesus...

   Dude, you should have been there.  Jesus went down to the river where John the Baptist was.  And John wasn't going to do it, but Jesus talked him into it.  And then Jesus got baptized.  And the sky opened and the dove came down from the sky and we heard THE VOICE OF GOD.  I can't believe that you missed it.

It would have been the ultimate, "You should have been there" moment.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

It is the event that happened in the past, but we don't need to miss it.  We can share in the event, the immersion of Father, Son and Spirit as we make the decision to follow God.  It's a moment we don't want to miss.