Feast of the Baptism of Jesus, January 8th, 2007

Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-5,9-11. Psalm 104:1b-2-4,24-25,27-28,30. Luke
3:15-16,21-22:

All of the Gospels touch upon the Baptism of Jesus. Only John does it
indirectly as we have already seen in our readings for the time before
Epiphany.( John1:29-34). Today because we are in Cycle "C" we have the
event as Luke describes it. I find this event very important to me as I
move on in life. It shows me both the humility of Jesus in his submitting
to a ritual of cleansing when he had no need of this, and, it confirms his
realness, his oneness with those around him and gets us away from
separating him from the human condition. He is like us in all things except
in sin. This baptism of Our Lord confirms him as an historical person in
the Gospels. The evangelists could have easily avoided mentioning this type
of a "humiliation" for the Son of God/Son of Mary. It was a difficult thing
for the early Christians who thought about it and even theologized around
it. For example, in the apocryphal Gospel according to the Hebrews we
read,"The mother of the Lord and his brothers said to him, 'John the
Baptist baptizes for the forgiveness of sins; let us go and be baptized by
him." But he said to them, 'In what have I sinned that I should go and be
baptized by him? Unless, perhaps, what I have just said is a sin of
ignorance.'" (in Jerome, Against Pelagius III.2). Today I am sure some
pious Christians may have difficulty with this incident being included in
the Scriptures just as they are shocked by such a good film as The Nativity
Story. In returning to the Gospel of Luke we see that Jesus and John the
Baptist are presented in the context of a community of people who are at
prayer. Prayer is one of the most prevalent themes of Luke and fits into
this Baptismal narrative. I was led to think about my own baptism and
commitment in religious life which is often said to be a second baptism.
Baptismal theology impels me to renew my dedication to the Lord even each
day. My act of consecration or dedication to the mission of Mary of
bringing Jesus into the world is consonant with my daily metanoia or
renewal. By being part of a community that prays enables me to be even
more aware of my baptismal calling. It is God then through Jesus who says
to each of us, "This is my beloved son, this is my beloved daughter,with
whom I am well pleased." Of course, this demands our living up to what
Jesus calls us to do. Amen.