For Catholics, the Christmas Season is marked by three great
Feasts. The Feast of the Lord’s
Nativity, the Feast of Epiphany, and today’s feast of the Lord’s Baptism. These three feasts teach us some very
important things about the Lord Jesus, and hopefully should help us encounter
his love for us in a more profound manner.
On Christmas, we journeyed with the humble shepherds to the
manger in Bethlehem. The poor shepherds
give testimony that this child associates with the poor and the lowly. The Most High God doesn’t simply love us from
a distance, he comes into the grime and the muck of humanity—into poverty, and
filth, and obscurity, and suffering to be among us, to save us from our sins,
and to show us the way to true peace and freedom
At Epiphany, we journeyed with wise men from the east bringing
gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The
gold testified that he was a king, the frankincense testified that he would
reconcile us to God, and the myrrh testified that he would die for us. Jesus was born to save us from our sins, and
desires to sit on the thrones of our hearts.
On this Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we heard St. Mark’s
version of Jesus’ Baptism. This is one
of the rare stories found in all four Gospels. Where the other Gospel writers tell us how
John the Baptist protested when Jesus asked to be Baptized, Mark, in his usual
style, is pretty sparse with the details.
All Mark really tells us is that John the Baptist was preparing people
for the coming of the kingdom. But he
also includes, as do the other Gospel writers, what happens WHEN Jesus is
baptized.
Something amazing happens, right? The Holy Spirit descends like a Dove and the
voice from heaven speaks. So, at
Christmas, we had shepherds testifying to Jesus’ identify, on Epiphany we had
the wise men testifying who Jesus is, now at his Baptism, not only is John the
Baptist testifying to Jesus’ Identity, but God the Father and God the Holy
Spirit show up as well, to testify that Jesus is the Son of God.
Jesus is not just a wise philosopher like Socrates, he’s not
just a moral teacher or spiritual guru .
He’s not a peace activist. He is
God, the second person of the Holy Trinity. His teachings are not just opinions;
they are not an amalgamation of human wisdom.
They are the Word of God.
And therefore his Church is not just a social group, like
the Rotary Club. We can join or leave
the Rotary Club without consequence to our immortal soul. That cannot be said for the Church. What Jesus teaches we believe firmly and
without reserve because he is God; where Jesus goes, we follow, for his and his
alone is the path that leads to eternal life.
I began Mass this morning asking our catechumens two
questions. What do you ask of God’s
Church? They answered: Faith. For what does Faith offer you, I asked? Eternal Life.
What a wonderful amazing thing, that these five people from
diverse backgrounds, jobs, families, have come here, like so many of you, to
receive eternal life. They have come here today to commit to walking
the way of Christ which leads to eternal life.
Our very first session of RCIA I asked them, why are you here? How did the path of your life lead here? Some said, I want to know more about the
Catholic faith. I want to be
Catholic. I want to share the faith of
my family. I have come to recognize that
the Catholic Faith is true.
For many of us: we
were baptized as infant and received our religious instruction as
children. But, I think each of us
realizes that being Catholic is not just a choice that was made for us, when we
were baptized as infants. It is a choice
we make daily. A choice to believe and
profess all the Church teaches. A commitment of our lives daily to God’s
care. A choice to avoid the things that
are harmful to our souls, which may compromise our faith.
Tori, Kenitha, Jennifer, Michael, and Stephen choose freely
to be here today. But also because God
has been working in their lives to bring them here. God has worked through the members of this
parish, through the testimony of our faithful parishioners to enkindle in them
the fire of faith. They are here in
answer to your prayers. And I ask you to
continue to pray for them as they continue their journey towards full
initiation in the Church at Easter. When
you see them at Mass, greet them, let them know that you are praying for
them.
In a few moments we will each personally recite the
Profession of Faith. This is the faith
of the Church, this is the faith of the Baptized. We are proud to profess it. We look forward to the day that our
catechumens will profess it with us as full members of the Church. Through this faith, may each of us come to the
joys of eternal life with Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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