SCRIPTURE:
1ST READING: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
2nd reading: Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7
Gospel: Luke 3:15-16, 21-22
Can you remember the most important day in your life! Some might say, “My birthday, of course”. Yes, that is pretty important I would say! But that’s really not it, is it? Some might say, “The vacation I took last year.” Is that really it? Some might say, “The day I got my drivers license.” That is pretty important, don’t you feel?
Some might say, “my day of HS graduation.” Well, that is really important. Some might say, “My graduation from college.” That is real important and most likely sets the way for one’s life. Some might say, “ The day I gave my life to another in the sacrament of marriage – till death do us part.” Well, these are important days in our lives but does any of them really seem to be the most important?
We, as Christians, are reminded today of what transpired around 2000 years ago and in the present time how our souls were transfigured when words were spoken and water of new life was poured over our heads three times: “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
Yes, our baptismal day, that day when we were configured to Christ, the day when we became the temple of the Holy Spirit, the day when our souls were cleansed and they became white as snow, purified from all past evil and given the grace to move forward towards the Father in the purest love by the power his Holy Spirit, the most important day in our lives.
That alone should bring chills down our spines and I know at times it
2 does, however I also know that it does bring memories of past sins,
when we chose freely to look the other way when the evil one, the
devil, had a slight hold on us. But by the power of the Holy Spirit we
looked up asking for God’s mercy and forgiveness.
What is so special about this day as we celebrate Jesus’ baptism, is that he came to give us comfort and to protect us as a shepherd guards his flock. He came to share the Father’s love with you (Point) and you (Point) and you (Point) and Father Rick, Myself, and all of us. He came so that we could share in eternal happiness.
As we come to the end of the Church’s celebration of Christmas and we all return to our ordinary lives whether it be our jobs, school, and life as usual, we enter into the Ordinary time of the liturgical year. But life is never ordinary for those who are led by the Holy Spirit, the gift we receive at the time of our baptism.
Our first reading from Isaiah mentions making a highway for our God in the wasteland. This is the choice Israel had-whether to turn the other way from God, living in a self-imposed exile or when hearing the promise of redemption choosing to accept it. That is our choice as well.
When we sin, we find ourselves in that moment where the devil gets that slight hold on us. What happens? We self-impose on ourselves to abide in the wasteland, not allowing God’s love to sustain us. On the other hand, we can choose to open the wastelands of our hearts to create a highway for God’s Spirit to guide and nurture us along our life’s journey.
Through our baptism, we come to know, over time, the choice that is right for us; the choice of a Spirit filled way of life. Sure, there are challenges along the way, however, if we learn from those challenges and
3 keep the wastelands of our hearts open to God, they bring us to a closer relationship with Jesus.
The second reading reminds us that, through our baptism, we are
configured to Christ. That is, we are called to live as Jesus lived, loving ourselves with all our heart, soul, and mind, loving our neighbor as ourselves. That brings the realization that Jesus will come again in His glory and we will be placed in His presence to be judged on our lives lived. Will we be ready to stand before him, face to face saying, “I did the best that I could!” Or will we struggle to look at Him all the while hanging our heads low because of how we did not live our lives?
Some of us were baptized as infants, or as a young child, or even as an adult. No matter what age, we received the Holy Spirit in a very intimate way, becoming the temple of the Holy Spirit.
The gospel shows us what happened to Jesus when John, his cousin, baptized him in the Jordan River. We heard; “After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, 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 beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.” Can you see the Holy Trinity in all this?
I have been so blessed to be able to be involved, in a very intimate way, in conferring the sacrament of Baptism here at St. Hubert and I see some of you here today that I have baptized. I am truly blessed in seeing the miracle of change in a life newly configured to Christ.
My sisters and brothers, keep your hearts open to the endless possibilities of living in the Spirit through your baptism and every sacrament you have received. Keep the wastelands of your life open to
4 the working of God’s spirit to guide and nurture you. Then, those Wastelands will become fertile fields which will produce much fruit. No matter what age you are, let the Holy trinity bring you new life through the cleansing waters of your baptism. Let yourself emanate Jesus’ example and let the Spirit fill your heart and soul and you just might hear God saying, “ you are my beloved child, in you I am well pleased.”