Wash Off the Stuff of
the Day:
One of the most successful and personable people on
television is Oprah Winfrey. Movies, book clubs, she does it all. Huge business
operations. While all the other talk shows on television are tearing people
apart and putting all their illnesses out for public humiliation, Oprah is
helping put people and families back together again. . . In a Newsweek magazine
interview the interviewer asked her, "How do you separate yourself from
work?" Answer, "I take a hot bath. . . My bath is my sanctuary.
(Listen to this) It's the place where I can wash off all the stuff of the
day" ((Jan 8, 2001, p. 45).
Baptism is a huge symbol -- it's
the water of creation. . . .we are born anew. . . . life in the Spirit . . .
all the "stuff" of the day is washed off. All of that is true. But at
its basic level, baptism is the death of the old self. Before anything new can
be born, the old has to pass away. (Brett
Blair)
John the Baptist had already been baptising people before
Jesus began his public ministry. John explained that his baptism was with water
whereas Jesus’ baptism would be with water, the Holy Spirit and fire. The
difference between the two baptisms was significant. Nevertheless, Jesus chose
to be baptised by John in the River Jordan.
Jesus’ baptism was a defining moment in his life. It marked
a departure from the years of relative anonymity (the hidden years, as they
have sometimes been described) and the beginning of three years of public
ministry. His baptism affected him greatly. He was revealed by the Father as
being divine as well as human. He was commissioned to do the Father’s will and
he was assured that the Father’s favour would be with him throughout his
ministry.
During that ministry Jesus preached the Good News of
salvation, worked many miracles and, ultimately, died on the cross to save us
and all people from the consequences of sin. His ministry was effectively
living the baptised life in union with God.
The sacrament of baptism is meant to be a defining moment in
the lives of Christians. At baptism we are cleansed from sin through sharing in
Christ’s death and resurrection. We are chosen by God to be agents and
instruments of the Good News.
Thus baptism marks the abandonment of sin and the acceptance
of God’s grace, which is given to us through Jesus Christ. We become brothers
and sisters in Christ and our membership of the Church is initiated.
Thereafter, our lives can never be the same again. There is a radical
difference in our dignity and identity, provided that we assimilate the meaning
of baptism in our lives.
The basic task for every Christian, then, is to live the
baptised life. This means that we need to recognise that we have been chosen by
God to share in Jesus’ life and ministry. It involves welcoming the presence of
the Holy Spirit into our lives who, working through the Church, influences our
decisions. Living the baptised life requires us to imitate the teaching of
Christ and his Church. We reject sin and we teach others by our inspired words
and good example. Only then can God say to each one of us: ‘You are my
son/daughter; my beloved; my favour rests on you’ (see Luke 3:22). Therefore,
baptism offers us a new identity in Christ.
Unfortunately, however, the effects of baptism are often
more symbolic than real. There are only minor changes in our lives and we
continue to sin. We do not permit the grace of baptism to affect our attitudes
and behaviour and there is little or no evidence of genuine conversion. If we
are honest, we may admit that we might as well have never been baptised because
baptism makes no difference to our lives.
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord challenges us to
reflect on our baptism and its significance in our lives. At a time when many
people have abandoned God it is imperative that Christians are committed to
living the baptised life. Unless we are faithful to our baptismal promises by
rejecting evil and being obedient to Christ, we cannot claim to be authentic
disciples and we cannot be genuine witnesses to the Good News.
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Michel de
Verteuil: General Comments
The Baptism of the Lord is told in all four gospels with
each one giving its own slant. We must be faithful to the text before us – St
Luke’s version. The story can be read from different perspectives; in our meditation
we are free to choose the one which corresponds best to our experience.
• It is first of all an extraordinary religious experience.
St Luke’s is the only version which says that Jesus “was at prayer”. Luke does
not emphasize the actual baptism at all, but presents it as the prelude to the
main event – the descent of the Holy Spirit and the voice from heaven.
We should enter fully
into the images:
- “Heaven opened” indicates that all dualism is broken down – between God and humanity, between humanity and nature.
- “The Holy Spirit descended in bodily shape, like a dove” –
the experience of the Holy Spirit is vivid but very gentle.
- “A voice came from heaven” should be interpreted in the
same spirit as the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is so vivid and so gentle that
it could only have come from heaven.
The voice makes three statements, each with its own importance:
- “You are my son” – in the Bible, divine sonship is attributed to kings, usually on the occasion of their enthronement; royal power is conferred on Jesus.
- “The beloved” – Jesus is assured that he is loved tenderly, as a bridegroom is loved by his bride.
- “My favour rests on you” says that God’s love remains permanently with him – it is not something temporary. We are reminded of Jesus’ words at the Last Supper, “As the Father has loved me so I have loved you, remain in my love” (John 5:9).
The voice makes three statements, each with its own importance:
- “You are my son” – in the Bible, divine sonship is attributed to kings, usually on the occasion of their enthronement; royal power is conferred on Jesus.
- “The beloved” – Jesus is assured that he is loved tenderly, as a bridegroom is loved by his bride.
- “My favour rests on you” says that God’s love remains permanently with him – it is not something temporary. We are reminded of Jesus’ words at the Last Supper, “As the Father has loved me so I have loved you, remain in my love” (John 5:9).
• Verses 21 and 22 make no reference to the historical
context, but the inclusion of verses 15 and 16 in the liturgical reading
reminds us that Jesus’ baptism took place when John the Baptist’s ministry was
about to come to an end. The baptism was therefore Jesus’ call to public
ministry. This fits the biblical pattern by which a call to do God’s work is
always preceded by a deep experience of God, e.g. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Gideon in
the Old Testament, Mary and Zechariah in the New.
Experience bears out that this pattern of a deep personal
experience leading to a new commitment occurs in the lives of many people. It
happened to saints such as Augustine, Ignatius of Loyola, Teresa of Avila and
Margaret Mary, and to many other great men and women. We can identify a similar
pattern in our own lives too.
• Even though, as noted above, St Luke downplays Jesus’
baptism, we are free to focus on it. St Luke notes that Jesus came forward
“when all the people had been baptised,” inviting us to see him as entering
into solidarity with those who had come to John for baptism.
• In St Luke’s version, Jesus’ baptism was a personal
experience. It happened when he was “at prayer” and “the voice which came from
heaven” was addressed to him – “You are…”. This interpretation is not insisted
on, however, so we have the latitude to interpret the story as a proclamation
to the bystanders. It then becomes the story of when we perceive the spark of
divinity in someone we previously looked down on.
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Thomas
O’Loughlin: Homily notes
1. Between today and the end of next November,
except for some special days around Easter, we will be reading passages from
St Luke’s gospel each Sunday at the Eucharist. This year is known in the order
of our readings as ‘the year of Luke’.
2. We can divide his gospel into three parts:
the first deals with the events before and around the birth of Jesus (and we
have just read this portion over Christmas; the third part deals with the last
week of Jesus’s life in Jerusalem, his passion, death, and resurrection (and we
will read this at Easter); and in between we have all the preaching and
miracles of Jesus during his public ministry which St Luke sets out as taking
place as Jesus moves along the road from Nazareth to Jerusalem.
3. This central part of the gospel- the
teaching and preaching with recollections of healings and meals – all belong to
what we traditionally call the public ministry of Jesus, his adult life, his
activity among the people of Israel. It is this central part of the gospel that
provides the passages for the ordinary Sundays during the coming year. This
central part opens with the great scene of the baptism in the Jordan we have
just read when Jesus takes over from John the Baptist. The work of the time of
preparation is over; the time of the work of the Christ has begun.
4. Luke places this wondrous scene – the two
great prophets meeting, and then the Father’s voice being heard and the Spirit
appearing in the form of a dove – at the beginning of the public ministry to
show us that this is the mysterious inauguration of the new age of the Christ.
He also does it so that when we hear what follows – Jesus doing this or that,
saying this or that, meeting this person and then that person – we will keep in
mind the full identity of the One we call ‘Lord’.
5. Luke presents us with a highly visual
mysterious scene – picture it in your minds – of Jesus and John in the river,
crowds of followers around and then from above the heavenly voice and the dove:
this is the true identity of Jesus. Jesus is a human being like us, the final
prophet, the uniquely beloved Son of God, the one empowered by the Spirit, the
revelation of the Father, Emmanuel – God with us, the glory of God made
manifest to us.
6. We have to keep this wondrous image of Jesus
in the Jordan, the revelation of his true identity, in our minds as we move
onwards in our recollection of his words and deeds in the weeks and months
ahead.
7. There are now between 345 and 351 shopping
days before next Christmas.
“In discovering the
Father, Jesus has found an ‘other’ (‘I and the Father are one’);
in the Spirit he has discovered his non-duality with Yahweh.” Abhishiktanda (Dom Henri Le Saulx)
Lord, we thank you for deep prayer experiences when we are truly one with Jesus.
They always come to us as your free gift, unexpectedly,
after a long time of struggle when we felt we were drowning,
abandoned by all, including you.
After we have been baptised in these waters of loneliness, suddenly
- heaven opens and we feel at one with the universe,
the sun, the moon and the stars all seem close;
- your Holy Spirit descends on us, his powerful but gentle presence so vivid
that it is almost in a bodily shape like a dove;
- we hear a voice resonating so deeply within us we know it must come from heaven,
- telling us that we are not aliens in the world but princes and princesses,
members of your royal family,
- that we are beloved,
- and we must never allow ourselves to feel abandoned
since your favour rests forever on us.
Thank you, Lord.
in the Spirit he has discovered his non-duality with Yahweh.” Abhishiktanda (Dom Henri Le Saulx)
Lord, we thank you for deep prayer experiences when we are truly one with Jesus.
They always come to us as your free gift, unexpectedly,
after a long time of struggle when we felt we were drowning,
abandoned by all, including you.
After we have been baptised in these waters of loneliness, suddenly
- heaven opens and we feel at one with the universe,
the sun, the moon and the stars all seem close;
- your Holy Spirit descends on us, his powerful but gentle presence so vivid
that it is almost in a bodily shape like a dove;
- we hear a voice resonating so deeply within us we know it must come from heaven,
- telling us that we are not aliens in the world but princes and princesses,
members of your royal family,
- that we are beloved,
- and we must never allow ourselves to feel abandoned
since your favour rests forever on us.
Thank you, Lord.
Lord, remind us that we
do not dare enter your presence
except we are in communion with the rest of humanity,
and especially with the humblest of our brothers and sisters,
- those written off as sinners by our Church community;
- the victims of racism, sexism, elitism and religious persecution;
- abandoned by their families because they are HIV positive;
- those who are mentally or physically handicapped.
It is only when, like Jesus, we have had our own baptism of solidarity with them
that we can enter confidently into prayer,
- look for the heavens to be opened,
- – your Holy Spirit to descend on us in bodily shape like a dove,
- your voice to assure us that we are your Sons and Daughters, your beloved,
and that your favour rests on us.
except we are in communion with the rest of humanity,
and especially with the humblest of our brothers and sisters,
- those written off as sinners by our Church community;
- the victims of racism, sexism, elitism and religious persecution;
- abandoned by their families because they are HIV positive;
- those who are mentally or physically handicapped.
It is only when, like Jesus, we have had our own baptism of solidarity with them
that we can enter confidently into prayer,
- look for the heavens to be opened,
- – your Holy Spirit to descend on us in bodily shape like a dove,
- your voice to assure us that we are your Sons and Daughters, your beloved,
and that your favour rests on us.
“The more a Christian
community is rooted in the experience of God,
the more credibly it will be able to proclaim to others the fulfilment
of God’s Kingdom in Jesus Christ.” Ecclesia in Asia
Lord, before we embark on a new direction in our lives
- the religious life, or marriage,
- a political involvement,
- going to a foreign country to improve ourselves,
- giving up a secure job so that we can serve the poor,
teach us to first humble ourselves before you, as Jesus did.
Only after we have been baptised will the heavens be opened,
the Spirit descend on us in bodily shape, like a dove,
and your voice will proclaim that we are your Beloved
and your favour rests on us. Then, like Jesus,
we will be ready to commit ourselves to the new venture you have called us to.
the more credibly it will be able to proclaim to others the fulfilment
of God’s Kingdom in Jesus Christ.” Ecclesia in Asia
Lord, before we embark on a new direction in our lives
- the religious life, or marriage,
- a political involvement,
- going to a foreign country to improve ourselves,
- giving up a secure job so that we can serve the poor,
teach us to first humble ourselves before you, as Jesus did.
Only after we have been baptised will the heavens be opened,
the Spirit descend on us in bodily shape, like a dove,
and your voice will proclaim that we are your Beloved
and your favour rests on us. Then, like Jesus,
we will be ready to commit ourselves to the new venture you have called us to.
Lord, forgive us that as
a Church we tend to come to others
with feelings of superiority.
Help us rather to see your son Jesus in whatever culture,
Ethnic group, race or social class you invite us to enter.
The world may describe them as backward, primitive, third world,
unemployable or lazy;
we pray that we will stand before them with respect
until we see the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descending on them,
gently like a dove, and hear your voice proclaiming mightily
that these are your Sons and Daughters, your Beloved,
and that your favour rests on them.
with feelings of superiority.
Help us rather to see your son Jesus in whatever culture,
Ethnic group, race or social class you invite us to enter.
The world may describe them as backward, primitive, third world,
unemployable or lazy;
we pray that we will stand before them with respect
until we see the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descending on them,
gently like a dove, and hear your voice proclaiming mightily
that these are your Sons and Daughters, your Beloved,
and that your favour rests on them.
1. A tiger cub discovers its identity:
There is an old Hindu parable about a tiger cub raised by goats. The
cub learned to bleat and nibble grass and behave like a goat. One night a tiger
attacked the goats, which scattered for safety. But the tiger cub kept grazing
and crying like a goat without getting frightened. The old tiger roared,
"What are you doing here, living with these cowardly goats?" He
grabbed the cub by the scruff, dragged him to a pond and said: "Look how
our faces reflected in water? Now you know who you are and whose you are."
The tiger took the cub home, taught him how to catch animals, eat their meat,
roar and act like a tiger. The tiger cub thus discovered his true self. Today’s
gospel seems to suggest that Jesus received from heaven a fresh flash of
realization of who, and Whose, he really was (his identity) and what he was
supposed to do (his mission), on the day of his baptism in the river Jordan.
2: Identity of the peanut scientist:
Fr. Bill Bausch describes in one of his books George Washington
Carver, the great black scientist who did a lot with the lowly peanut, both
medically and commercially. He built a great industry through his scientific
endeavors. In January 1921 he was brought to Washington , D.C. ,
to the Ways and Means Committee to explain his work on the peanut. He expected
such a high-level committee to handle the business at hand with him and those
who had come with him with dignity and proper decorum. As a black man, he was
last on the list and so, after three days, he finally walked up the aisle to
speak. And on the way up he heard one of the committee members say – and quite
loudly for all to hear – "I suppose you have plenty of peanuts and
watermelon to keep you happy!" He ignored the remark as an ignorant jibe,
although it stung him. He was further hurt on seeing another committee member
sitting there with his hat on and his feet on the table remarking: "I
don’t see what this fellow can say that has any bearing on this
committee."
At this point George Washington Carver was ready to turn around and
go back home, but he said, as he wrote in his autobiography, "Whatever
they said of me, I knew that I was a child of God, and so I said to myself
inwardly, ‘Almighty God, let me carry out your will.’" He got to the
podium and was told that he had twenty minutes to speak. Carver opened up his
display case and began to explain his project. Well, so engaging was his
discussion that those twenty minutes went all too quickly and the chairman rose
and asked for an extension so he could continue his presentation, which he did
for an hour and three-quarters. They voted him four more extensions so he spoke
for several hours. At the end of his talk they all stood up and gave him a long
round of applause. And all that happened because he knew who, and Whose, he was
and because he refused to be defined by the labels of his culture.
"Whatever they said of me, I knew I was a child of God." So one
function of this, our feast – this Baptism of the Lord – is to remind us of
who, and Whose, we are.
3: The weather is
always a good source for small talk.
In these dark and dreary days of January, that "small talk" is probably even smaller - meaner and more morose. Whether it's chatting at the check-out stand with a cashier, or making conversation in the cramped quarters of a slow moving elevator, this time of year "weather talk" isn't likely to be upbeat.
"I hate the snow!"
"Don't' you just love what the salt does to your shoes,
your car, your clothes?"
"Tornado warnings in January? Really!!"
"It's dark when I go out in the morning and dark when I
get home after work. I haven't seen daylight in weeks!"
"Why does every parking spot come equipped with its own
giant puddle?"
Everyday grouses of everyday glitches. But they give our casual conversations and interactions a kind of "survivor" camaraderie. Verbalizing all our gripes might bind us together. But it doesn't lift us up. We're still all stuck in the same dreary day.
I'm going to guess that every one of you here this morning
has a pet peeve. [You might want to make this an interactive moment, revealing
one of your pet peeves and then asking for theirs. For example, one of my pet
peeves is rudeness. Why are People So Rude? Why can't people be gracious and
kind to one another? Here are some of my pet peeves of rudeness . . . In a
store, the checkout people don't talk to you because they're talking to one
another. When you hold the door open for someone, and they blast by you, and
don't even look at you, forget about saying "thank you." The use of
offensive, crude language in public does to me what a red rag does to a bull.
Rude cell phone usage . . . Why can't people "Set Your Phasers on
Stun!" . . . Sometimes I want to go up to people who are nice to each
other and congratulate them for NOT being rude. . . .. See how easy it is to go
on and on with "pet peeves?"
Why is it so easy to talk, tweet, or text all of our
favorite "pet peeves" of the day, and not so easy to pay attention to
and pass on those things that bring the gift of joy to a mundane moment in each
day?...
______________________________
______________________________
Those who are baptized in Jesus do not need to strive after
a new life. They have already attained new life through dying with Christ. But
they do need to nurture that new life so it can grow and mature. That's what
church is for. That's what Bible study is for. That's what prayer is for. It is
like the Parable of the Sower. Many of those seeds sprouted up, but only a few
grew into maturity. The rest withered and died.
A wealthy businessman was horrified to see a fisherman
sitting beside his boat, playing with a small child.
"Why aren't you out fishing?" asked the
businessman.
"Because I caught enough fish for one day,
"replied the fisherman."Why don't you catch some more?"
"What would I do with them?"
"You could earn more money," said the businessman.
"Then with the extra money, you could buy a bigger boat, go into deeper waters,
and catch more fish. Then you would make enough money to buy nylon nets. With
the nets, you could catch even more fish and make more money. With that money
you could own two boats, maybe three boats. Eventually you could have a whole
fleet of boats and be rich like me."
"Then what would I do?" asked the fisherman.
"Then," said the businessman, "you could
really enjoy life."
The fisherman looked at the businessman quizzically and
asked, "What do you think I am doing now?"The baptism of Jesus is dying to our self-centered endeavors and being resurrected into a life marked by grace and love. When we live in the baptism of Jesus, we touch the hearts of others and help open them to the Holy Spirit and new life in Christ. Are you living and growing in the new life you have been given?
Paul Peterson, The Waters of Death.
_________________
5: Washed Away in a
New Beginning
Some of you may have seen the movie O Brother, Where Art
Thou. This is a whimsical retelling of Homer's Odyssey set in 1930s Mississippi.
Three hapless escaped convicts--Everett, Pete and Delmar--are hiding out in the
woods, running from the law. There they encounter a procession of white-robed
people going down to the lake to be baptized. As they move toward the water
they sing, "Let's go down to the river and pray." As the baptism
ceremony begins, Delmar is overwhelmed by the beauty and the mystery of this
rite. He runs into the water and is baptized by the minister. As he returns to
his companions, he declares that he is now saved and "neither God nor
man's got nothing on me now." He explains that the minister has told him
that all his sins have been washed away. Even, he says, when he stole the pig
for which he'd been convicted. "But you said you were innocent of that,"
one of his fellow convicts exclaims.
"I lied," he says, "and that's been washed away too!"
Later the three convicts steal a hot pie from a window sill. The one who felt that his sins had been washed away returns and places a dollar bill on the window sill.
Delmar wasn't made perfect by his baptism any more than any of the rest of us are made perfect by our baptism. But he was conscious that it was time for him to make a new beginning. That is why in understanding baptism we begin with the washing away of our sins.
King Duncan
_________________
6: Habits
The American educator, Horace Mann, described the predicament of habits saying: "Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it every day, and at last we cannot break it." Mr. Mann, you are only half right. Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it every day, but it can be broken? There is One who will help you break it, if you desire it. Habits are often practiced without guilt, justified through cleverly devised mental schemes. We have to be continuously converted all the days of our lives, continually to turn to God as children. Life is a continuous conversion. In every setting in which we are put we have to "put on the new person." There are whole areas of our lives which have not yet been brought into subjection, and it can only be done by this continuous conversion.
James T. Garrett
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7: Baptism: Take My Good
Name
French writer Henri Barbusse (1874-1935) tells of a
conversation overheard in a trench full of wounded men during the First World
War. One of the men, who knew he only had minutes to live says to one of the
other man, "Listen, Dominic, you've led a very bad life. Everywhere you
are wanted by the police. But there are no convictions against me. My name is
clear, so, here, take my wallet, take my papers, my identity, take my good
name, my life and quickly, hand me your papers that I may carry all your crimes
away with me in death."
The Good News is that through Jesus, God makes a similar
offer. Something wonderful happens to us when we are baptized. When we are
baptized, we identify ourselves with Jesus. We publicly declare our intention
to strive to be like Jesus and follow God's will for our lives. When we are
baptized, our lives are changed. We see things differently than before. We see
other people differently than before. Baptism enables and empowers us to do the
things that Jesus wants us to do here and now. We are able to identify with
Jesus because He was baptized. And we are able to love as he loved. Such
identification is life changing. That kind of identification shapes what we
believe and claims us.
Billy D. Strayhorn
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8: What's The Holy
Spirit?
A minister named Al was pursuing a doctoral degree in
theology. He worked long hours on his dissertation, so many hours, in fact,
that his children often entered the study to interrupt. "Daddy, can you
come out and play?"
"Sorry, kids," he replied, "I have too much
work to do."
"What are you working on, Daddy?"
Well, he couldn't really give the title of his dissertation,
which was something like "the experiential dimension of the divine
pneumatological reality." So he said, "I'm writing about experiences
of the Holy Spirit."
They looked at him with blank faces and said, "What's
that?"
One day Al and his family were sitting in church. They had
not expected much that morning, he says. The pastor was soft-spoken and meek.
He never said anything very clearly, but everybody liked him. This particular
Sunday was different. The pastor stood up and preached a powerful sermon on
racial equality. This was during the sixties, in the South, in a white, middle
and upper class congregation. People sat transfixed as the preacher laid his
career on the line, perhaps even laid his life on the line.
"The day is coming," he said, "when all God's
children, white and black, will join hands in worship and service. And that day
is upon us."The congregation left in shock. People couldn't understand how their mild, housebroken preacher could suddenly have been filled with such fire. On the way home, it occurred to Al what had happened. "Kids," he said, "remember how sometimes I go up to my study to write about the Holy Spirit?"
One of the children said, "Yeah, but Daddy, what's the
Holy Spirit all about?"
Al said, "We got a good picture today, in church."
They saw the power of God, pushing us to a day when every
hand shall join in mission, when every voice shall join in praising the Lord.
It is no empty promise.
Why, that power was given to us right over there ... at the
baptismal font.
William G. Carter
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9: God's Getting
Better at It
Since the beginning God has attempted to get people's
attention and to call them into a commitment to live with principles, values,
and sense of sacredness that God wants from all humanity. Sometimes the people
heard and responded to God, and sometimes they ignored God.
God kept trying. God kept working at getting their
attention. I heard about a little girl who sort of understands that about God.
She was sitting on her grandfather's lap as he read her a bedtime story. From
time to time, she would take her eyes off the book and reach up to touch his
wrinkled cheek. She was alternately stroking her own cheek, then his again.
Finally she spoke up, "Grandpa, did God make you?"
"Yes, Sweetheart," he answered, "God made me
a long time ago."
"Oh," she paused, "Grandpa, did God make me
too?""Yes, indeed, honey," he said, "God made you just a little while ago."
Feeling their respective faces again, she observed, "God's getting better at it, isn't he?"
God got better at it. After untold efforts to win our
allegiance and our hearts, God took on human form, walking among us and living
with us so that we would understand. It is in the living, breathing person of
Jesus that we really see all things we call holy, such as forgiveness, sharing,
joy, vision, courage, perseverance, and especially love. We might think we
understand love, for example, but when we receive totally unconditional love
from another person, love takes on a completely new meaning for us. Jesus shows
us the ultimate example of love, namely, God's love. Seeing this example in the
flesh makes all the difference in the world for us.
Lane Boyd, What's So Important about Jesus?
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10: Three times:
Too many people come to Church three times primarily. They're
Baptized, they get married, and they have their funeral service at the Church.
The first time they throw water on you, the second time rice, the third time
dirt!
11: "Have you found Jesus?"
A drunk stumbles across a baptismal service on Sunday afternoon down
by the river. He proceeds to walk down into the water and stand next to the
Preacher. The minister turns and notices the old drunk and says, "Mister,
Are you ready to find Jesus?" The drunk looks back and says, "Yes,
Preacher. I sure am." The minister then dunks the fellow under the water
and pulls him right back up. "Have you found Jesus?" the preacher
asked. "No, I didn't!" said the drunk. The preacher then dunks him
under for quite a bit longer, brings him up and says, "Now, brother, have
you found Jesus?” “No, I did not, Reverend." The preacher in disgust holds
the man under for at least 30 seconds t his time brings him out of the water
and says in a harsh tone, "My God, have you found Jesus yet?” The old
drunk wipes his eyes and says to the preacher... "Are you sure this is
where he fell in?"
--------------11. Solidarity with his people:
The movie Gandhi is a three-hour epic depicting the life of Mahatma Gandhi: the Father of the Nation in India - a man of faith and a writer, a politician and a pacifist. To lead the oppressed people of India to freedom from British rule, Gandhi adopted a pacifist, non-violent approach. By means of hunger strikes (fasting from food), long vigils of prayer, peaceful marches, non-violent protests and civil disobedience, Gandhi persuaded the British to grant independence to India in 1947, although the British empire separated Pakistan from India. Even though a civil war between the Muslims and Hindus in the states bordering Pakistan followed, and Gandhi himself was assassinated in 1948, Gandhi and his philosophy of non-violent and peaceful resistance inspired many leaders all around the world. One of the reasons why Gandhi put on a loincloth and fasted from food almost to the point of death was to show solidarity with millions of his people who were poor and hungry and to identify with them in their suffering. Today’s gospel tells us that it was to show solidarity with sinners that sinless Jesus received the baptism of repentance in the River Jordan from John the Baptist (Albert Cylwicki in ‘His Word Resounds’).
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12: “You are My beloved Son; With You I am well pleased:”
On Jan 19, 383, the Christian Roman Emperor Theodosius named his son Arcadius as co-emperor. It was during a period in church history when the Arian Heresy was spreading throughout the Roman Empire. The Arian Heresy held that Jesus Christ was not fully God. Theodosius called for a truce between Christians and Arians and called for a conciliatory conference. One Christian bishop who was not willing to compromise his faith in Christ's deity was Amphilochus of Iconium. So he had to suffer persecution from the Arians. On Arcadius’ coronation day, bishop entered the reception hall, bowed to the emperor, ignored his son and made a poignant speech and turned to leave. "What!" said Theodosius, "Do you take no notice of my son the co-emperor? Is this all the respect you pay to a prince that I have made equal dignity with myself?" At this the bishop gave Arcadius a blessing and replied, "Sir, do you so highly resent my apparent neglect of your son because I do not give him equal honor with yourself? What must the eternal God think of you, who have allowed His coequal and coeternal Son to be degraded in His proper divinity in every part of your empire? Remember God the Father’s proclamation on the day Jesus was baptized by John in the River Jordan.”
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13. Baptism of a cat:
Johnny's Mother looked out the window and noticed him "playing church" with their cat. He had the cat sitting quietly and he was preaching to it. She smiled and went about her work. A while later she heard loud meowing and hissing and ran back to the open window to see Johnny baptizing the cat in a tub of water. She called out, "Johnny, stop that! The cat is afraid of water!" Johnny looked up at her and said, "He should have thought about that before he joined my church."
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14. Three times:
Too many people come to Church three times primarily. They're baptized, they get married, and they have their funeral service at the Church. The first time they throw water on you, the second time rice, the third time dirt!
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15. Baptized in luxury:
When our church was renovated, adding a baptismal pool, we were pleased. So was our daughter. While riding in the car with my daughter and her friend, we went past a pond. My daughter's friend proudly declared, "I was baptized in that pond." My daughter responded with no less pride: "Oh, I was baptized in a Jacuzzi at our church." (Pastor Davis)
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16. “Born-again.”
When Jimmy Carter was elected President of the United States, he described himself as a “born-again” Christian. For many Americans this was an unfamiliar term. By the time of the next election primaries, nearly all the candidates were claiming to be “born-again.” Political satirist Mark Russell suggested, “This could give Christianity a bad name.”
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17. A little girl
who normally attended another Sunday School happened to attend a Methodist Sunday School one week-end, while visiting her grandmother. In the course of the morning she heard a number of things she wasn't quite sure about, but when the teacher said that Jesus was a Jew she responded, "Maybe Jesus was a Jew, but God is a Baptist!"
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MORE REFLECTIONS:
Exegesis
Origin of baptism: neither
John nor Jesus invented baptism. It had been practiced for centuries among the
Jews as a ritual equivalent to our Confession. Until the fall of the Temple in 72 A.D., it was
common for Jewish people to use a special pool called a MIKVEH -- literally a
"collection of water" – as a means of spiritual cleansing, to remove
spiritual impurity and sin. Men took this bath weekly on the eve of the
Sabbath; women, monthly. Converts were also expected to take this bath before
entering Judaism. The orthodox Jews still retain the rite. John preached that
such a bath was a necessary preparation for the cataclysm that would be wrought
by the coming Messiah. Jesus transformed this continuing ritual into the one single,
definitive act by which we begin our life of faith. In effect he fused his
divine essence with the water and the ceremony.
A couple of questions: 1) why
did Jesus, the sinless Son of God, receive the 'baptism of repentance' meant
for sinners? 2) Why did Jesus wait for thirty years to begin his public
ministry? The strange answer for the first question given by the apocryphal
book, "The Gospel According to the Hebrews," is that Jesus received
the baptism of John to please his mother and relatives. In this humble
submission we see a foreshadowing of the “baptism” of his bloody death upon the
cross. Jesus’ baptism by John was the acceptance and the beginning of his
mission as God’s suffering Servant. He allowed himself to be numbered among
sinners. Jesus submitted himself entirely to his Father’s will. Out of love he
consented to His baptism of death for the remission of our sins. Many Fathers
of the Church explain that Jesus received baptism to identify himself with his
people, who for the first time in Jewish history became aware of their sins and
of the need of repentance, as a result of John's preaching. The Jews had the
traditional belief that only the Gentiles who embraced Jewish religion needed
the baptism of repentance, for, as God's chosen people, the Jewish race was
holy. Jesus might have been waiting for this most opportune moment to begin his
public ministry. The Fathers point out that the voice from the heavenly Father
is an adaptation of Psalm 2:17, "This is my beloved Son," and of Isaiah
42:1 referring to the "suffering servant": "with whom I am well
pleased".
The turning point: The baptism
from John was a very important event in the life of Jesus. First, it was a
moment of decision. It marked the end of Jesus' private life, which prepared
him for his public ministry. Second, it was a moment of identification with his
people in their God-ward movement initiated by John the Baptist (quality of a
good leader). Third, it was a moment of approval. Jesus might have been waiting
for a signal of approval from his heavenly Father and during his baptism Jesus
got this approval of himself as the Father's "beloved Son". Fourth,
it was a moment of conviction. At baptism Jesus received certainties
(assurances) from heaven about his identity and the nature of his mission: a)
He was the "Chosen One" and the "beloved Son of God"; b)
his mission of saving mankind would be fulfilled not by conquering the Romans,
but by becoming the "suffering servant" of God i.e., by the cross.
Fifth, it was a moment of equipment. By descending on Jesus in the form of a
dove (symbol of gentleness), the Holy Spirit equipped Jesus with the power of
preaching the "Good News" (that God is a loving Father, who wants to
save mankind from its sins through His Son Jesus) in contrast to the
"axe" and "fire" preaching of John the Baptist about an
angry God's judgment on sinners.
Messages
1. The baptism of Jesus reminds us of our identity and mission. First, it reminds us of who we are and whose we are.
By baptism we become sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus,
members of his Church, heirs of heaven and temples of the Holy Spirit. Hence
"baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in
the Spirit and the door which gives access to the other Sacraments"
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1213). Most of us dipped the fingers of our
right hands into the holy water font and blessed ourselves when we came into
church today. Why? This blessing is supposed to remind us of our baptism. And
so when I bless myself with holy water, I should be thinking of the fact that I
am a child of God; that I have been redeemed by the Cross of Christ; that I
have been made a member of God’s family and that I have been washed, forgiven,
cleansed and purified by the blood of the Lamb.
Second, Jesus’ baptism reminds us of our mission: a) to experience the presence of God within us, to acknowledge our own dignity as God’s children, and to appreciate the divine presence in others by honoring them, loving them and serving them in all humility; b) to live as the children of God in thought, word and action so that our Heavenly Father may say to each one of us as He said to Jesus: "You are my beloved son/daughter in whom I am well pleased"; c) to lead a holy and transparent Christian life and not to desecrate our bodies (the temples of the Holy Spirit and members of Jesus' body) by impurity, injustice, intolerance, jealousy or hatred; d) to accept both the good and the bad experiences of life as the gifts of a loving Heavenly Father, for our growth in holiness; e) to grow daily in intimacy with God by personal and family prayers, by reading the Word of God, by participating in the Holy Mass, and by frequenting the sacrament of reconciliation; f) to be co-creators with God in building up the “kingdom of God” on earth, a kingdom of compassion, justice and love and to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
2. This is the day for us to remember the graces we received in baptism
and to renew our baptismal vows: On
the day of our baptism, as Pope John Paul II explains, "We were anointed
with the oil of catechumens, the sign of Christ's gentle strength, to fight
against evil. Blessed water was poured over us, an effective sign of interior
purification through the gift of the Holy Spirit. We were then anointed with
chrism to show that we were thus consecrated in the image of Jesus, the
Father's Anointed One. The candle lighted from the paschal candle was a symbol
of the light of faith which our parents and godparents must have continually
safeguarded and nourished with the life-giving grace of the Spirit." This
is also a day for us to renew our baptismal vows by consecrating ourselves to
the Holy Trinity and "by rejecting Satan and all his empty promises,"
which our profane world is constantly offering us through its mass media of
communication. Let us ask Our Lord today to make us faithful to our Baptismal
promises. Let us thank Him for the privilege of being joined to His mission of
preaching the ‘Good News’ by our transparent Christian lives of love, mercy,
service and forgiveness.