Homily for the Week of January 11, 2009

Baptism of the Lord, 2008
First Reading: Isaiah 55:1–11
Responsorial Psalm: Isaiah 12:2–3, 4bcd, 5–6
Second Reading: 1 John 5:1–9
Gospel: Mark 1:7–11

A farm boy had the fear of the dark. One night his father told him to go out to the barn and feed the horses. The boy turned pale and anxious. When his father saw this, he stepped out into the darkness, lit a lantern, held it up, and said, How far can you see? The boy said I can see halfway to the barn. The father said, Good, go halfway. When the boy reached the halfway point, the father shouted, Now how far can you see? The boy called back, I can see the barn. The father said, Good. Walk to the barn door, open it, and tell me what you see. The boy shouted back, I see the horses. The father said: Good! Now feed them.

The lantern did not light up the whole barnyard. It lit only a part of the path leading to the barn. But this was enough to get the boy started. That is the same with baptism. It doesn't light up our religion for a lifetime, but enough to get started.

I sometimes ask Catholics if they know sign language and most respond by saying "No." I then
proceed to silently make the Sign of the Cross; to genuflect; to bow; to use my thumb to trace the cross on my forehead, lips and chest; and to extend my hands in the prayer position, Then they quickly recognize that they do know sign language. We are a sacramental people, expressing ourselves beyond words and relying on signs, symbols and gestures. Words alone are not enough. We use our entire body in expressing ourselves to God.

The sacraments of our church use signs to express our encounter with God. When we encounter God through the seven sacraments we use ordinary things such as water, oil, fire, bread, wine and wedding rings. We are also very comfortable in our prayers and devotions in using images to assist us in prayer. For Catholics, statues, holy cards, icons, rosaries, crucifixes are sacramentals that draw attention to God. When we pray before a statue we know that we are not praying to the statue, but it reminds us of God's presence in the world.

Our life is delicate and can easily get snagged, even to the extent that some lives can become broken. But we are not alone in this story. That story began hundreds of thousands of years ago with our first parents known as Adam and Eve. The actions of Adam and Eve have affected all of us, just as the coming of Jesus as a little baby and child has affected all of us. Isaiah tells us that God chose someone to whom he would place his spirit and love. Jesus showed us how to live good lives even to the point of being told by God: You are my son and I am happy with you.
God has provided us with the opportunity to overcome and repair the damage done by Adam and Eve which is known to us as original sin. Whenever evil is done we are all affected, and whenever good takes place we are all affected. In a sense we need to be reborn.

We can also compare sin as getting spiritually dirty. We usually use water to wash away dirt. In the same way the Bible uses the image of water as a way of purifying and cleaning ourselves. It does that through the story of Noah's Ark in which 8 persons were saved from a flood. At another time the Jewish people were saved from slavery when the waters of the Red Sea separated so that the Jews could go back to their homeland.

The early Christians dramatize this dimension of Baptism in a spectacular way. Every church had a place for baptism in the floor of the church looking something like a tomb. There were three steps going down into the water reminding them of the three days that Jesus was buried in the tomb. So when a person was baptized they walk down the three steps into the water. This symbolized dying with Jesus. Then coming out of the water it symbolized rising with Jesus. That was very much like John the Baptist did when he baptized Jesus as we just heard from our Gospel today. As I baptize a child we are reminded of these days when I pour water over the baby's head three times saying: I BAPTIZE YOU IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. While baptism by immersion is for adults, there is evidence that from the second century infants were also baptized. It was very common for a whole family to be baptized at one time. Of course, this included children.

Since the early church we use water not only for baptism but to remind us of our baptism. When you enter the church you look for and dip your fingers into the holy water dish and make the sign of the cross. So often you may be busy looking around for a seat or even whispering to someone that the words of the sign of the cross are not said. At the beginning of a funeral the casket stops at the door of the church and the priest blesses the body with holy water. And then a covering is placed on the casket. All of this is a reminder of the day the person was baptized. The covering of the casket is in memory of the baptism dress in which this person was baptized.
Our church teaches that baptism is necessary for salvation. But the church has always taught that those who are not baptized but die because of their faith have baptism of blood, and those who would be baptized if they knew about it have baptism of desire. Children who die without baptism are entrusted to the mercy of God.

It is important for parents to realize that baptism opens the door to salvation. Parents and the adults around the child must also show and teach the child what is spiritually good and bad. The baptism of a baby places a tremendous responsibility upon the child's parents, the older brothers and sisters, the in-laws, the relatives and the God parents. The spiritual formation of the newly baptized baby is completely in the hands of these persons.

We should also take this day of the Baptism of Jesus to celebrate our own Baptism. It is unthinkable for a person not to known their birthday. Even rather young children anticipate the cake and gifts that come with their birthday celebration. Baptism is our spiritual birthday. But very few of us know the date of our Baptism. That is because parents do not talk about it to their children, they do not celebrate it. At the Baptisms with which I have been involved I suggest that parents make Baptism an important celebration in the life of their children like they do for their natural birthday. Baptized persons have two birthdays.

Baptism is the light that shows us the way to be good and holy. But be faithful to the spiritual demands of that Baptism.