Monday, January 14, 2019

Homily - Baptism of the Lord (Year C) (2019)

This weekend we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, which officially marks the end of the Christmas season. You may recall Father John’s homily from Christmas Day, in which he instructed us to keep celebrating Christmas until mid-January. And here we are! I don’t know about you, but I’ve been celebrating, including resisting the temptation to improve my diet or to exercise more. But starting Monday, now that the celebrations are over, I’ll try to do better at all of those things I’m supposed to be doing - I will let you know how it goes. In addition to extending the Christmas season and the joy that we celebrate in our Creator God entering into our humanity, I like having today’s celebration on the liturgical calendar for a another reason. And that is that in the celebration of Jesus‘s baptism, we are reminded of our own baptism and the transformation that happened to us in that wonderful sacrament. After his Easter resurrection, Jesus gave his followers (His Apostles, those who followed them, and you and me today) these instructions: “Go into to all the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). This is often called “the Great Commission.” From this commission, we are Called to be baptized, and then to become his disciples to go and bring others to Christ through baptism and knowledge of God’s commands. The key is our calling to be a disciple. Dr. Edward Sri in his book Into His Likeness, which has been at the doors of the Church throughout the Advent and Christmas season (and I think there still a couple at the doors), says: The goal of a disciple in the first-century world of Jesus wasn’t nearly to master his rabbi‘s teachings, but imitate the way he lived: the way he prayed, worked, trusted in God‘s providence, helped the poor, lived friendships, and serve the people. Dr. Sri goes on to say: if we are going to be disciples of Jesus today, we must aim for a lot more than believing a set of doctrines and following the rules of our faith. We must go deeper and consider what is happening interiorly in our spiritual lives: are we moving closer to Christ, encountering him a new each day and becoming more like him? Being a disciple of Jesus, Dr. Sri continues, is not merely going through the motions with our faith: attending mass, saying some prayers, and avoiding bad things. Following Jesus as a disciple is a whole way of life - his way of life transforming us in an incredible love radiating through us. One additional point from Dr. Sri: our discipleship is a lifelong process of becoming ever more convinced of our littleness, learning to rely on God and cooperating with his grace as we are slowly being transformed into Christ likeness. The Fourth Century saint, St. Gregory, in speaking of the Jesus’ Baptism and of our own Baptism said that: God wants us (you and me) to become a living force for all mankind, lights shining in the world. We are to be radiant lights as we stand beside Christ, the great light, bathed in the glory of him who is the light of heaven. We are to enjoy more and more the pure and dazzling light of the Trinity, as now we have received (through Baptism) - though not in its fullness - a ray of its splendour, proceeding from the one God, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. (A sermon by St Gregory Nazianzen, The Baptism of Christ) It is then God’s gift of Baptism that helps us to be the disciples we are called to be. The immersion in water and repeating the words of Jesus: to baptize “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” accomplishes three things for us spiritually. First, we are freed of all Sin - Original Sin, and also any personal so that we may have in our lives. Second, we are joined to Christ and his Church - literally and spiritually. And third, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and all of the wonderful fruits that come from the outpouring of the love between God the Father and the Son that give us the help we need now: wisdom, courage, patience, whatever it is now that we need most. It is with, through, and in this gift that we become the disciples we are called to be. Immediately after the immersion in water at our baptism, there are a series of rites and blessings and prayers. One of my favorite is the anointing with oil. That oil, which has been blessed by the bishop, is placed on the crown of the head and this prayer follows: The God of power and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has freed you from sin, given you a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and welcomed you into his holy people. He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life. Amen. In other words, we (you and me) are anointed priest, prophet and king. As a priest we are called to pray and to lead others in prayer. As a prophet, we are called to know the truth, to seek the truth, to share the truth, and even defend the truth, when necessary. And as kings, we are called to humbly serve others. And as Jesus’ disciples, we do this in imitation of Jesus Christ who was and is supreme Priest, Prophet, and King. To be his disciple, we imitate Christ: Priest, Prophet and King - praying, seeking and sharing the truth, and humbly serving others. The rite of baptism, whether it is for an infant or an adult, is a beautiful sacrament and liturgy. I invite you to join us on the last Sunday of any month after the 1130 mass when we celebrate our infant baptisms. And for our adults who are seeking to join the church, we will baptize them - and especially this year, our catechumen: Amanda - at our Easter vigil service. The rite of baptism, our baptism, has so much more to offer us as disciples. However, I will leave you with one final prayer from the rite of baptism that is offered for those children or adults that have just been baptized and who are our newest disciples in Christ. We pray: The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father. Amen. And so my prayer for you is this: that today and every day that your ears maybe opened more and more to receive his word and your mouth to proclaim God‘s great love to others.

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