“When Jesus had been baptized, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Lk 3,21-22

Dear parishioners, 

I want to focus today on the Baptism of Jesus, which closes the Christmas season

I’m sure you’ve wondered more than once, why in the world would Jesus be baptized? He’s the second person of the Holy Trinity! St. John the Baptist even resisted when Jesus came forward to be baptized. But Jesus insisted. If we just look at what actually happened at Jesus’ baptism, we understand why he was baptized. We are told that he was baptized, and that upon being baptized, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, like a dove. This is incredible. For all his godliness, Jesus was so really and truly human that in his humanity,  he needed to be baptized, in order to receive the Holy Spirit, in order to live the human vocation that the Father had marked out for him from all eternity. 

And what life was that? It is hinted at in the words that Jesus hears from the heavens: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well-pleased.” These words, especially in their Greek original, are clearly a loose quotation of the first verse of the first of the four Songs of the Suffering Servant that we find in the prophet Isaiah, and the first of which is, fittingly, today’s first reading. By quoting the first verse of the first of the four Songs, the author, in this case Luke, is telling us to go the Songs of the Suffering Servant to understand the vocation that awaits Jesus, the human life in preparation of which he receives the Holy Spirit through baptism.   The Songs of the Suffering Servant paint the picture of an unidentified, perfectly obedient servant of God, who proclaims the gospel of God unwaveringly, who engages in acts of redemption of many kinds, who is persecuted and ultimately dies as a consequence of his obedience to God. But who rises again after having been put to death, and whose obedience and death will be the ransom for the disobedience to God of all humankind. The writer of the gospel is actually saying to the one reading the gospel: “Jesus is being baptized in order to receive the Spirit, in order to be the fulfilment of the four songs of the suffering servant of God.

That, in a nutshell, is why Jesus was baptized. So what about us? Well, we know that as the Church, we are, taken collectively, the presence of Jesus to the world until the end of time. Not that we are all clones of Jesus.
 Each one of our vocations within the Body of Christ is unique. But collectively, like Jesus, we are baptized in order to receive the Holy Spirit, in order to live out the part of the life and vocation of the Suffering Servant of God that God has predestined for us from all eternity. We can’t predict which part of the life of Jesus we are intended to live. We simply go with the lights we have, the circumstances of our lives, and the gifts of nature and of grace that we have received, the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and trust that our lives, as parts of the life of Christ, are unfolding as they should, as God willed them to from all eternity.

It follows from all I’ve said that baptism is a very serious matter.  It’s a promise of trouble. Indeed, those who live the Servant’s life should expect in some way or other, the Servant’s fate. But at the same time, it’s a promise of God’s unrelenting presence and strength for the living out of the part of the life and ministry of Jesus that he has carved out for us. It’s the promise of a life full of meaning and vast horizons, of a peace and a joy and a freedom deep down, that the world cannot give. It is a promise of extreme fruitfulness. A promise of thrill, of adventure.

At its core, the Christian life that begins with baptism is a life marked by the ever-present, life-giving thought that “I am a part, a member of the person and life of Jesus, the Suffering Servant of God, living out his obedience to the Father, come what may, his redeeming presence to my fellow Christians and to the world. Where he has gone, I will follow.”   I simply can’t think of anything that could constitute a fuller life.

As we venture back into “ordinary time”, I wish you all a happy life in Christ. 

It’s time to issue receipts for your 2021 donations for income tax purposes. If your address has changed in the past year, please give Marianne your new address, otherwise, she won’t be able to send you your receipt. Speaking of donations, your box of envelopes for donations to the parish in 2022, if you have requested one, is available before and after all Sunday masses in the church basement.

Just a reminder to all ministry leaders that until further notice, we are not allowed to have any in-person, indoor gatherings other than liturgical. We can, of course, meet online if we choose.

 

Finally, we have a very limited number of beautiful calendars available at all exits when you leave the church this weekend. Please take one. Also, help yourselves to any remaining copies of our Christmas 2021 souvenir cards and pink parish contact information slips.

God keep us all safe and well in the week to come.

Fr. Guy