January 12, 2014

Bulletin January 12, 2014

Baptism of the Lord A readings

Isaiah 42: 1-4; Acts 10:34-38; Matthew 3:13-17
My baptism...Jesus’ Baptism is there any connection? Matthew shares how when Jesus went to John the Baptist to be baptized, John said, “I need to be baptized by You and yet You are coming to me?” Scholars say that this question arose from Matthew’s community wondering how could the sinless Jesus need a baptism for the forgiveness of sins? Jesus had no need to be forgiven; I did and do but Jesus’ baptism marked the beginning of His public ministry of preaching, healing, bringing God’s love to all people. I could easily say ‘that was Jesus’ ministry but not mine’; but it is mine not because I am a priest but because, as all Christians I received God’s call at Baptism. What call...the call to participate in the ongoing mission of salvation, and that’s a lifelong commitment. It’s a call to be Jesus each and every day in and through the gifts that God has given me and in and through the grace of the Church’s sacraments that bring me grace and life.
Often I end with reflections from Sacred Space 2014, today I begin with them:

“The grace of my Baptism is alive and evident whenever I am humble enough to yield to the Spirit of God. I pray for the humility that Jesus shows.

I give thanks for my Baptism. I am a child of God and set in the world to give glory to God, to serve those around me, and to grow in the image of God.”

With this in mind I ask questions from Exploring the Sunday Readings, ‘What does God want from me? What am I supposed to be doing? What am I uniquely called to do? “ Why do I ask these? My life is a gift...a unique gift...I come once into this world...and it makes absolute sense that my life is to make a difference, there is nothing random or insignificant about my life. I was never intended to live just for myself; too many people have been blessed because of me and me because of them. Isaiah’s oracle in the first reading announces the appearance of God’s chosen and faithful servant and this Servant will ‘teach’ other nations that serving God is the only way to bring about lasting justice and peace...God’s world. He says, “Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit...” This is God’s message to me and to every person...am I living up to this commitment?
In the gospel Matthew’s community would have understood John’s reluctance to baptize Jesus since they saw baptism only as a ‘rite of repentance’ and since Jesus never sinned, why ask for forgiveness. One of the great Scripture Scholars, Fr. Demetrius Dumm, a Benedictine priest and one of my teachers wrote that repentance “...was only one aspect of the Jewish baptismal practice. It was indeed an act that expressed regret and repentance for sin but, on the positive side, it was a plea for the coming of the Lord. Sins were renounced because they were seen as obstacles to that coming. When Jesus insisted on being baptized, He was not renouncing sinfulness but was taking His place with all those in Israel who were saying: ‘We are ready, Lord; please make this the moment of your Messianic salvation.’” So this meant that the ‘arrival of the Messiah’ was ushering in a ‘new age’ of spiritual awareness. This is seen in the words spoken to Jesus from heaven, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Fr. Dumm continues, “This is the mysterious Suffering Servant who will atone for the sins of his people. But these words take on dramatic fresh meaning in this new context. The new creation is centered in a powerful influx of creative love which reveals God as Father, as loving parent, in a way that had never been imagined before. God’s love is now available to create free and loving sons and daughters, to give the kind of confidence that was given to Jesus in this first moment of his public ministry. Of course, our relationship to God cannot be exactly like that of his only-begotten Son but it is closer to it than most of us dare believe.”
This means that my baptism as does everyone’s contains a renunciation of sinfulness but most of all an affirmation by God. It tells me that I am loved...it tells me that I am important...it tells me that I have not only been gifted but that I have been chosen...I have been chosen to share the Good News that God is love and loves all and wants all to be with Him forever. It tells me that God is constantly in my life giving me identity and confidence that enables me to follow Jesus in love and service. Hearing the Good News is not just hearing the Gospel read or preached; it is experiencing love for one’s own sake ‘I am loved and needed to love.’ So in a real sense the words to Jesus from the heavens are the words to me and each follower, ‘You are my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased...you are my beloved daughter with whom I am well pleased.’ NOW am I living this....do I hide from this...do I feel that I am not worthy. It is not about worthiness it is about realizing that I am loved even when I am not crazy about myself....but God is.

In following my baptismal commitment, I am called to share Christ’s healing, love and presence. Wherever I am is where I am called to be Christ for others. Faith Catholic writes, “How do we know this is to be true? Because it was at our own Baptism that Christ first shared His light with us, when He opened our eyes that were blinded by sinfulness and selfishness, when he freed us from our enslavement to self-entitlement and greed, and when He brought us out of the darkness and loneliness of our separation from God and others so that we might live in communion with Him and will all of our sisters and brothers in Christ.”

So I reflect on:

• With this in mind I contemplate why baptism should be celebrated as a community event rather than a private experience?
• I ask how important the Holy Spirit is in my life. What are the characteristics of a person filled with the Holy Spirit?
• Where do I find the strength and courage to live a life based on my baptism?
• How have I experienced God’s favor? Do I share this with others?
• How can I share that I am God’s beloved child?
• Do I live as though God shows no partiality but loves each person equally and unconditionally?
• Do I ask myself, ‘Did I grow closer to Christ today?’ Did I hear His message to and for me?