THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD
10 JANUARY 2016
Children
are integral to Christmas. Christmas
centers on the manifestation of God in the form of a tiny baby, born in a
stable, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laying in a manger. Our Scripture readings have unfolded the
mystery of that child: how he was
conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin and
protected by a man who trusted in God’s Word.
They have told us about shepherds worshipping the child and astrologers
from the east discovering the child. We
have heard about his parents finding him in the Temple when he was 12 years
old, and Mary reflecting on these things in her heart. Our Christmas Carols have focused our
reflections on what child is this and what joy his birth brings to us. They have urged us to ponder these events of
that silent Bethlehem night in the silence of our hearts.
With our
focus on this child, Christmas is also about our children. Children show us how to wait (not so
patiently) for the gifts of the Christmas Season. They show us how to rejoice and find joy in
places we might not expect. They give us
hope, because they reveal that God can begin something new, as we get older and
more cynical. They teach us to love in
very ordinary ways. More than anything
else, they make us smile and laugh.
As
important as children are to Christmas, this last Sunday of the Season reminds
us that we must mature in faith.
Otherwise, Christmas becomes simply a cute and sentimental time that
goes too quickly. On this last Sunday,
we reflect on the mature adult Jesus, coming to the waters of the Jordan River
to begin the mission for which he had been sent. Like excited children, the crowds are
wondering whether John the Baptist might be the messiah. Pointing out that he is not worthy to perform
the work of a slave in adjusting his master’s sandals, he baptizes everyone who
wants to turn away from sin and begin a new life of graced living.
In telling
the Baptism of Jesus, Luke teaches two lessons.
Without describing the actual baptism, he tells us that Jesus spends
time in prayer. We will find Jesus
spending time in prayer many times in this Gospel that we will hear during this
New Year. Through prayer, Jesus becomes
more aware that he is the Suffering Servant of the Prophet Isaiah. His mission is to save us from our sins
through his redemptive suffering and death.
The second lesson occurs after the Father confirms, “You are my beloved
Son; with you I am well pleased.” The
Holy Spirit descends on Jesus in the form of a dove. The Holy Spirit anoints and equips Jesus for
his mission. Luke will unveil the
presence of the Holy Spirit throughout the ministry of Jesus Christ on the
Sundays of this year. During the Easter
Season, we will hear about the Holy Spirit working through the Church in Luke’s
second volume, The Acts of the Apostles.
In leaving
the Christmas Season and returning to Ordinary Time, the Scripture readings
invite us to reflect on our baptism and grow in faith. Whether we were baptized as infants or
adults, we were plunged into the saving waters of God’s love and inflamed with
the fire of the Holy Spirit when we were confirmed. We received the gift of God’s grace and
shared fully in the life of the Trinity.
That grace does not depend on how good we are or how much we know. It is and undeserved and wholly given gift
for the rest of our lives.
This New
Year gives us the gift of learning how to live our baptism more fully. We can spend more time in prayer, reflecting
on our status as beloved children in whom God is well pleased. Through prayer, we can sort out our
mission. Through prayer, we can become
more aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, giving us the
courage to love as God has loved us. The
definition of God’s love is that God wants the best for us. Through the power of the Holy Spirit and the
grace of the sacrament of Baptism, we can give that same love to others.
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