Homily for the Week of January 12, 2014

Baptism of the Lord, 2014

Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7: Psalms 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10: Acts 10:34-38: Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

         There is a great time-shift in the Gospel.  Today is the official conclusion of the Christmas season. Thirty years have passed in the life of Jesus since last-Sunday’s Gospel when the Magi were visiting the Holy Family at Bethlehem.  Today we celebrate that day when Jesus’ cousin John baptized him in the Jordan River.   Like you and I Jesus was baptized with water and the Holy Spirit. 

         The feast of the Baptism of the Lord gives us an opportunity to reflect on our own baptism and what it means to us and for us. Our Baptism was the day in which we became a Catholic. We officially were given a name by our parents. Our parents and godparents promised for us that they would do all they could to help us be practicing members of the Catholic church.  All of this was completed with water.

         Just reflect, for instance, on the natural and symbolic power of water, that earthly substance we use in so many ways every day with a simple formula: H2O. Looking at water, we might think that it's the most simple thing around. Pure water is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. Water is vital for all life on Earth. NASA has spent billions of dollars to determine if there is water on Mars. Where there is water there is life, and where water is scarce, life has to struggle. Our human body literally baths in water. Up to 60 percent of the human body is water, the brain is composed of 70 percent water, blood is 82 percent water, and the lungs are nearly 90 percent water.

          We drink water when we are hot and thirsty and we immediately feel strengthened. We take a shower after a hard workout and feel refreshed. We water the plant on our window sill and suddenly it perks up again. We toss our dirty clothes into the washer and out they come, clean again. Without drinking water none of us would be here today. We need it for survival. Imagine a day without water. Thousands of persons in West Virginia right now are struggling to find pure water.

         But water has another side.  Without proper care we could die from drowning. We also see the power of water when a gentle river like the Saranac suddenly becomes a roaring torrent, overflowing its banks in the Spring. We have seen another aspect of water such as when an earthquake creates ocean waves that travel faster than a jet plane, and kills thousands of persons. In all of these examples water speaks to us of comfort, soothing warmth, but it also naturally warns us of the deadly power contained within it.

         It is not unlikely then, that over many centuries we humans have also discovered a certain religious or spiritual meaning in water.  In the Bible water has been both a symbol of death and of rebirth.  The book of Genesis portrays a great flood which destroyed all human life except Noah’s family.  The Jewish people had dozens of different washings which they observed practically every day, mainly to be ritually purified,  They would wash when they came in contact with blood, or a dead body, or eating some forbidden food. Many of you took a small bottle of Holy Water after the Easter Vigil last year.

          Jesus is no longer a baby or a child but is ready to take on his mission as an adult.  Jesus had no need for baptism, and initially he objected. But Jesus insisted that it was important “to fulfil all righteousness.” and to prepare for his the work which God had intended for him.

         While Jesus was being baptized by John the Baptist, he experienced a mysterious call from God, telling him that he should consider himself, an anointed one, a specially called Son. In other words, it was at Jesus' baptism that he first learned what God wanted him to do with his life. Jesus came to this event by free choice and it was for him the beginning of the rest of his adult preaching and healing ministry.

         Because Catholics are usually baptized as young babies, it is often many years before we begin to understand the fuller meaning of what happened to us at our Baptism. Unfortunately, if parents and godparents do not teach and recall the Baptism of their children many grow up without any understanding and appreciation of what Baptism was for them.

         So then, this feast of the Baptism of Jesus is a good time for us to consider our own baptism, the time when we too became beloved children of God. Baptism is the most precious gift we have received.   Parents and godparents might again renew their commitment to raise their children to be aware of their baptism.  At Baptism the priest prays these words: with your family and friends to help you...bring that dignity unstained into the everlasting life of heaven. Baptism is also a sacrament that allows us to receive all the other sacraments of our Catholic church.

         Our Baptism was both an event and a process. This brief Baptism ceremony began a lifelong process. We began to live as the beloved daughters and sons of God. The water poured over our heads at Baptism was a sign that all our life we need to be aware of the spiritually drowning waters of sin, and refreshing waters of goodness.  Our baptismal certificate may be old, but we need to live our baptism every day.