Luke 3: 15-16, 21-22
The Word for Sunday: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/011319.cfm
This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. As we now complete the hectic Christmas season, we find ourselves back in to some “normal” routine. However, around Church ministry there is little that is routine or normal. Here we see Jesus now as he begins his public ministry. He comes to the Jordan River where John is actively involved in his baptismal ministry and preaching up a storm. John calls people to repentance and to prepare them for the imminent coming of the Messiah - who is Jesus of Nazareth. In so doing he is inviting all to walk through a new door, to begin a new way of life and to embrace this Christ about to appear.
Truth is, though, the crowds around John likely did not take particular notice of Jesus. He like others joined in the masses yet once John saw him, his cousin after all, he knew of his importance. The Gospel writers and the early Christian communities more likely were tying events together once they realized the nature of Jesus and mission. Everything we read in the Gospels is by hindsight in light of the resurrection
So, Jesus comes to be baptized by John. Although he bears no personal sin, he enters the waters and there embraces our humanity in all with all its brokenness. Thereby he makes this sacrament the first one which leads to all the others and raises humanity to a new higher level before God. In this way, baptism becomes for all of us a door to enter. Unlike the church doors, there is a handle on this one. In fact it is wide open and prominently bears a sign that reads “Enter here one and all.”
In baptism we are grafted on to the vine of Christ’s life and love in the Mystical Body of the Church and become sons and daughters of God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The dysfunction of original sin is washed away and although the broken world into which all of us are born remains, we now stand in a new relationship with God. The grace of the Holy Spirit brings us into a new life as we are conformed to his likeness in this gift of divine love.
But there are many who were baptized into the Church but no longer attend. What happened? Why not? Some have said the generations of today are not joiners. They don’t join clubs and organizations like so many did in the past. They tend to live their lives more independently and they don’t see the need for long term commitment. There may always be something new and better so they cherish their freedom and individuality. Many chose to be married later in life if they chose marriage at all. I think there is much truth to that.
But for those baptized, we do not join a club or society or some kind of historical organization. And while it is assumed that once baptized, you’re forever now a Christian sacramentally, if we look upon our parish, our Church and the Christian faith as a kind of society or club like others, then it might be understandable that, at least for now, something better has come along.
But baptism brings us into a new relationship with God where we are graced and conformed more intimately into the life of Christ himself. Jesus was not just some wise teacher or dead prophet but he is Lord of heaven and earth. The door of baptism opens us to a lifetime of grace and growth and we are invited each day to live as worthy sons and daughters of that grace as adopted children of a living God who now live life with a new perspective.
So what may indeed be lacking in so many today and even among those who remain faithfully involved in the life of the Church is to see our faith as a personal relationship with God; that we are called to come to know Christ Jesus as Lord of our lives. If we look to the ritual of baptism we may find a good reminder of how we can live.
Traditionally, water is poured over the head of the baby or adult to be baptized as the words of baptism are said along with the name of the person being baptized. In an emergency situation, such as in a hospital with a premature baby, a priest or deacon may simply take water and quickly baptize the baby over the head with the proper words and name. I’ve done that a few times over the years.
My favorite, though, is for the person, even a child, to immerse themselves in the water, often kneel, as the baptismal words are said and water flows down over the person’s entire body. It may be more dramatic but certainly emphasizes the point of cleansing and the total commitment of that person to the new faith in Christ and the Christian way.
I think each method may provide for us a symbolic way to measure our commitment to Christ and his Church. Do we simply dip our finger in the faith and quickly cover ourselves with little thought to what Christ is asking of me as a result of my baptism? Is my Catholic faith just simply a box I check off and move on like I would track attendance at some event?
Do I stand for a moment and reflect on who Christ is and who I have become as a result of being washed in grace and made a child of God?
Or am I willing to jump in to my faith and give myself more totally to the Lord and his Church? When baptized I promised, often through the family into which I was born or maybe later in life, to reject sin and worldly ways and to embrace God as Lord of my life and expressed my commitment to the Catholic Church in the Christian faith.
We have walked through the door opened for us by Christ in the waters of baptism. At Christmas, God was born of Mary and entered our world. Now in baptism God’s grace is born in us and we become his adopted children.
Our second reading from Titus so beautifully reminds us: “When the kindness and generous love of God our Savior appeared . . . he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit . . . so that we might become justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.” It is all a gift of divine love.
Almighty ever-living God,
who, when Christ had been baptized in the River Jordan
and as the Holy Spirit descended upon him,
solemnly declared him your beloved Son,
grant that your children by adoption,
reborn of water and the Holy Spirit,
may always be well pleasing to you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
(Roman Missal)
https://www.regnumchristi.org/en/daily-meditation/
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
Father Shawn Aaron, LC
Luke 3:15-16, 21-22
Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Introductory Prayer: Almighty and eternal God, you are high above us in the heavens, and yet you are so near to me. I know that you love me infinitely. I rest in your love; I find my strength and hope in you alone. Thank you for loving me despite my sinfulness and complete unworthiness. In return, I offer you my whole self, along with my intense desire to put you first in my life.
Petition: Jesus meek and humble of heart, make my heart more like yours.
One Mightier Than I Is Coming: John knows who he is not. Proper self-knowledge is an essential step on the path to sanctity. John is attracting the attention of the multitudes in Israel. Many people would be flattered or even intoxicated with this notoriety. Yet John is not grasping for power, nor does he seek to be someone he is not. He is preparing people’s hearts for the true Christ. The Evil One will continually try to get us to look to ourselves and our own talents in an attempt to distract our eyes from God and his plan for us. John gives us a shining example of the triumph of humble self-knowledge over the wiles of the devil. When we are totally oriented toward God, we give rise to the desire to eliminate from our personal life any lie, vanity, and inflated opinion of ourselves. We begin to live in the truth, giving all the gifts God has granted us their real value. We use them for the service of his Kingdom, without taking anything for ourselves, since everything is his.
I Am Not Worthy to Loosen the Thongs of His Sandals: There is no holiness without humility. Simply understood, humility means living in the truth. This humility is born of a proper understanding of our relationship to God. It has nothing to do with a lack of self-respect – Jesus was humble, yet with utter self-possession and strength! Humility is the awareness that even our greatest talents come from God and are meant for his glory. In the end though, even John’s humility will pale in comparison to the humility that Jesus models for us in his life. “The one who serves does not consider himself superior to the one served, however miserable his situation at the moment may be. Christ took the lowest place in the world — the cross — and by this radical humility he redeemed us and constantly comes to our aid” (Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI, God Is Love, 35). Once again, we see that Jesus asks of us only what he himself has been willing to embrace. He is the source of the strength I need to practice this humility in my daily life.
Jesus Was Also Baptized: By being baptized, Jesus associates himself with sinful humanity. He has taken our flesh in the Incarnation. Now he sets out on the path of taking our sins upon himself so that he might redeem us from them. If it was a scandal for the Jewish people that God would become a man, how much more scandalous was it that he would be baptized, a manifest sign of repentance for sins? So great is God’s love for us that even this act is not beneath him. It is one of many steps by which he will allow his love for us to lead him even to the ignominy of the cross. Have I truly contemplated how important I am to Jesus?
Conversation with Christ: Blessed Lord, you went to the extreme of the cross to prove your love for me. You have borne my pride, and with your love and humility, you have proven yourself stronger than my greatest sin. Give me the strength and courage to follow you down the path of self-giving and humble service to those around me. Free me from the shackles of pride.
Resolution: Today I will read and reflect upon the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1262-1270.