Tag: baptism

Posted on

The Baptism of the Lord

copy of painting of Jesus emerging from the baptismal water with arms out like hanging on the cross and a dove descending

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | TuneIn | Google Play Music

The Baptism of the Lord (Feast) Mass Readings

First Reading: Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
Responsorial: Psalm 29:1-4, 9-10
Second Reading: Acts 10:34-38
Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/011220.cfm
https://www.deaconrudysnotes.org/

Today as the Christmas season comes to a close, we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus. We learn in Scripture that Jesus presents himself to John. And the baptism of Jesus begins his public ministry. Now, Jesus is without sin, so he doesn’t need to be baptized by John. Indeed, John tells him as much. Through Matthew’s account which, by the way, is the only place in Scripture where we find this dialogue between John and Jesus; we get some insight into these two cousins. I suggest to you to that reflecting just on the dialogue between John and Jesus can be a powerful experience. If you are interested in the prayerful practice of lectio divina, then I encourage you to spend some time with this particular dialogue in prayer.

Of course, the Baptism of the Lord reveals so much, and I’m sure you’ve received some excellent insights during the homily proclaimed at mass. So, in my reflection, I’d like to share what the Church teaches about the responsibility of living out a life of the baptized disciple of Jesus Christ.

Now Jesus did not need to be baptized. But he willingly enters the water as a sign of being united to the sinful people of Israel. He unites himself with sinners and gives us a clue to how he will bear the sins of the people when his mission comes to a climax on that scandalous cross. He inaugurates his ministry by stepping into the place of the sinner.

What does Jesus do next? It’s not a fair question because what happens next is not part of today’s reading, but come one, what happens next?

Does Jesus retire to some sacred place, the Temple perhaps, to pray and meditate twenty-four seven? No, Jesus is ready to proclaim the Good News, and he goes out into the world. Jesus doesn’t wait for the nations of the world to come to him; he goes out to the nations.

He goes out to “bring forth justice to the nations,” (Isaiah 42:1). Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus travels all over Palestine to “open the eyes of the blind, … bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness,” (Isaiah 42:7).

From the moment of his baptism, Jesus has been going out into the world. But he doesn’t do it alone. First, he goes out. Then he calls and send out Peter and Paul and the other apostles, and indeed other disciples like the 72 we read about in Luke 10:1-23. And now, my brothers and sisters, Jesus is sending you – each and every one of us who have been baptized according to our skills and abilities.

Now he doesn’t send you out alone. No! Jesus comes to you and he comes to me every day to fill us with the same Spirit that filled him at baptism. But there’s a catch. We need to be open to receiving Jesus every day.

You see, our baptism – our salvation – destines us to be united with God in heaven. And indeed, our baptism marks us with the seal of the Lord. But the Gospel does not teach that once saved, always saved. Our salvation, which is freely given, depends, as Scripture and St. Paul so often tell us, on our perseverance – our living and dying with Christ, (see Romans 6:8-13, 17-18; 2 Corinthians 4:11, Galatians 2:20; Colossians 2:20; Philippians 1:21; 2 Timothy 2:11, to name a few).

Part of what that means is that every day, you and I have a choice. Do we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior? Or will we today give into the luxuries and temptations this world has to offer? You see, if we believe – if we really believe that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, then that should affect the way we live our lives each and every day. We sacrifice some of the comforts this world offers so that we, following the example of Jesus, Peter, Paul, the apostles and the first disciples, reach out to those who cannot come to church, those who do not come to church and those who will not come to church.

We reach out and share with the them the Good News of Jesus Christ! And how do we do that? By following Jesus’ example. We don’t hit them with the Bible or call them to repent. That might work for some, but for most people, following Jesus’ example, we need to meet people where they are. That’s how we start. Now, this might be the person working the cash register when you go to buy a cup of coffee on your way to work. It could be one of your coworkers who seems overly curious about what you do in church. And it could be the people you encounter if Jesus calls you to go out on a mission trip. As we begin each day, we should rise with joy and profess, “Here I am, Lord! Send me to share Your Good News!”

My brothers and sisters, the Baptism of the Lord that we remember today challenges each and every one of us. Are we living lives of the baptized? That’s a good question, and that leads us to homework! After being nourished by Word of God and by the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect on the following two challenges this week.

  1. First, what does it mean to believe in a God that is not you? What does it mean to believe in your own holiness and goodness?
  2. Second, ask the Holy Spirit to settle on you, to give you courage and strength to share your faith with those you encounter.

I think doing our homework will help us strengthen our lives of as baptized disciples of Christ Jesus. Do you got it? Do you get it? Then go make disciples! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

Image credit: Baptism of the Christ #2 – Daniel Bonnell www.bonnellart.com (USA/Contemporary)

References:

  1. Himes, Michael. The Mystery of Faith: An Introduction to Catholicism. Cincinnati, Ohio: St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2004.
  2. Hoisington, Thomas. “Baptism of the Lord – January 12, 2020.” Homiletic & Pastoral Review, January 2020. Accessed 11 January 2020. https://www.hprweb.com/2019/12/homilies-for-january-2020/.
  3. Kurz, William S. SJ. Acts of the Apostles. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2013.
  4. Lectio Divina Of The Gospels. Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2019.
  5. Mitch, Curtis, and Edward Sri. The Gospel Of Matthew. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2014.

Catechism Links: Easily search the Catechism at http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm

  1. Jesus’ baptism, 535-36, 1223-24
  2. The dove, 701
  3. Seal of the Lord, 1272-74
  4. Confirmation, 1286
  5. Christ as beloved Son, 444
  6. Christ as servant, 713
  7. Salvation outside the Church, 776, 846-48
  8. Jesus anointed by the Spirit, 438, 486
  9. Judge of the living and the dead, 678-79

Mass Readings http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/011220.cfm
First Reading Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
Thus says the LORD:
Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
upon whom I have put my spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
a bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait for his teaching.

I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

Responsorial
Psalm 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10
R/ (11b) The Lord will bless his people with peace.
Give to the LORD, you sons of God,
give to the LORD glory and praise,
Give to the LORD the glory due his name;
adore the LORD in holy attire.
R/ The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters,
the LORD, over vast waters.
The voice of the LORD is mighty;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
R/ The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The God of glory thunders,
and in his temple all say, “Glory!”
The LORD is enthroned above the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as king forever.
R/ The Lord will bless his people with peace.

Second Reading
Acts 10:34-38
Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered
in the house of Cornelius, saying:
“In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly
is acceptable to him.
You know the word that he sent to the Israelites
as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all,
what has happened all over Judea,
beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached,
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good
and healing all those oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him.”

Alleluia
Mark 9:7
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The heavens were opened and the voice of the Father thundered:
This is my beloved Son, listen to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Matthew 3:13-17
Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan
to be baptized by him.
John tried to prevent him, saying,
“I need to be baptized by you,
and yet you are coming to me?”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us
to fulfill all righteousness.”
Then he allowed him.
After Jesus was baptized,
he came up from the water and behold,
the heavens were opened for him,
and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and coming upon him.
And a voice came from the heavens, saying,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Posted on

A Voice Crying Out in the Wilderness

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Second Sunday of Advent Mass Readings

First Reading: Isaiah 11:1-10
Responsorial: Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
Second Reading: Romans 15:4-9
Gospel: Matthew 3:1-12

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/120819.cfm
https://www.deaconrudysnotes.org/

“It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: A voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths,’” (Matthew 3:3).

Can you imagine it? It’s a calm day and you’re going about your business when something unusual breaks the quiet. A man with bushy hairy wearing an animal skin outfit and cinched about the waist with a strap of leather, and who eats locusts and honey, and who has a wild look in his eyes steps out onto the street and begins to yell. How would you react? What would you think about him? I’d liken him to one of those guys you might see every now and then wearing sandwich boards signs that read, “Repent! The end is near!” I tell you I’d think he was a bloody loon! And yet, people were drawn to John the Baptist – they were drawn to his message of repentance and forgiveness in preparation for the coming of the Lord.

Why? I believe it’s because sometimes we can’t see what’s directly in front of us. Sometimes we are so caught up in the mechanics of our lives or so numbed in our modern time by what we see on the news or in shows or movies that we are blind to the truth. Sometimes it takes a dramatic event, not unlike jumping into freezing cold water, to wake us up. John the Baptist was that “splash of cold water” that some of the people in Judea needed to start waking up from their slumber. It’s that whole idea of the blue pill or red pill from the Matrix.

Some people are content going about their lives without giving any real thought to their lives or their futures in this life or the next. As long as everything works out reasonably consistent with their plan, they are content to go about their everyday lives ignoring the hunger in their hearts – ignoring the nagging question, “is this all there is?” In comes John the Baptist saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2).

People – perhaps those with a burning hunger in their hearts that could not be satisfied with possessions, relationships, alcohol, pornography, food or sex. Those who understood that only God can fill the holes in their hearts were drawn to the Baptist. But they weren’t the only ones drawn to him. Scripture says that many of the Sadducees and Pharisees were coming to his baptism. Now, we don’t know their motivation. We do not know if they were really coming to be baptized by the son of the priest Zechariah, or if they were coming out of curiosity. Either way, John catches sight of them and begins rebuking them.

He calls out, “You brood of vipers!” (Matthew 3:7), and he tells them, “Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance,” (Matthew 3:8), implying they were not coming to be baptized with right intention. He challenges them to provide evidence for their conversion by producing fruit. Now this is key. He is not telling them that they need to produce fruit to be reconciled or in order to be saved. There is nothing – nothing we can do to earn our way into heaven! Salvation is an unmerited gift freely given. But if they repent, if they believe if they really believe that God would save them, then their lives should be totally transformed.

The love of God should reverberate in their lives the way a stone breaks the surface of a still pond sending ripples out in every direction. And if it doesn’t? John warns that, “…every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire,” (Matthew 3:10). He goes on to say that, “…one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals…He will…gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire,” (Matthew 3:11-12).

Whoa!

The message of John the Baptist is not limited to a specific point of time. His words echo across time and space and meet each of us on our journeys right here, right now. Holy Mother Church presents this reading at this time of year as a sort of splash of cold water to get our attention. Advent is not only a time to slow down. Advent is also a time for a little introspection – call it an end of the year review or a status check if that makes it easier. The point is that we who are baptized should live lives consumed by the love of God, because as St. Paul tells us, “yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me,” (Galatians 2:20). We should allow the love of God to transform how we behave amongst our families, friends and strangers, how we conduct ourselves in public and online, and how we manage our jobs and businesses. How do we do that? Well, that leads me to homework!

After having received the Word of God proclaimed and the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect on the following questions.

  1. First, ask yourself, what are the things that keep me distracted from hearing the voice crying out from the wilderness?
  2. Second, how is my baptismal call countercultural?

I think if we do these things, they will stimulate a little introspection to help us as we prepare not just to celebrate the memorial of Christmas, but to prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ Jesus. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! Now go make disciples! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

References

  1. Mitch, Curtis, and Edward Sri. The Gospel Of Matthew. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2014.
  2. Lectio Divina Of The Gospels. Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2019.

Catechism Links:

  1. St. John the Baptist, 523 http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p122a3p3.htm#523
  2. John’s baptism of repentance, 535 http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p122a3p3.htm#535
  3. Christ’s baptism, 535 http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p122a3p3.htm#535
  4. Baptism in Christ, 1227 http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c1a1.htm#1227
  5. The effects of Baptism, 1262 http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c1a1.htm#1262
  6. Baptism makes us adopted son of God, 1265 http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1265.htm

Mass Readings

First Reading
Isaiah 11:1-10
On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
a spirit of counsel and of strength,
a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.
Not by appearance shall he judge,
nor by hearsay shall he decide,
but he shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Justice shall be the band around his waist,
and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.
Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra’s den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea.
On that day, the root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the nations,
the Gentiles shall seek out,
for his dwelling shall be glorious.

Responsorial
Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
R. (cf. 7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
he shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

Second Reading
Romans 15:4-9
Brothers and sisters:
Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction,
that by endurance and by the encouragement of the Scriptures
we might have hope.
May the God of endurance and encouragement
grant you to think in harmony with one another,
in keeping with Christ Jesus,
that with one accord you may with one voice
glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you,
for the glory of God.
For I say that Christ became a minister of the circumcised
to show God’s truthfulness,
to confirm the promises to the patriarchs,
but so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.
As it is written:
Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles
and sing praises to your name.

Alleluia Luke 3:4, 6
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths:
all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Matthew 3:1-12
John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea
and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:
A voice of one crying out in the desert,
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
John wore clothing made of camel’s hair
and had a leather belt around his waist.
His food was locusts and wild honey.
At that time Jerusalem, all Judea,
and the whole region around the Jordan
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.

When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees
coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers!
Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.
And do not presume to say to yourselves,
‘We have Abraham as our father.’
For I tell you,
God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees.
Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit
will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
I am baptizing you with water, for repentance,
but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I.
I am not worthy to carry his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand.
He will clear his threshing floor
and gather his wheat into his barn,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Posted on

Easter: Overcome Slavery to Sin

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Easter Readings
First Reading: Acts 10:34A, 37-43
Psalm: Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-4
Gospel: John 20:1-9

Happy Easter! He is risen! Alleluia, alleluia! So, what does Easter mean to me? What is the importance of the resurrection?

Today I’m going to reflect on Paul’s reading that we used on Saturday night during the Easter Vigil, Romans 6:3-11. In the notes for the podcast today, you’ll find the readings for Sunday’s Easter mass. But I want to reflect on Paul’s reading from the Easter Vigil. Since Paul’s reading is not in the notes, I’d like to read a little bit of it to you.

“Brothers and sisters, are you aware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death, we were indeed buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead, by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.” He goes on to write, “We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.”

Think about that phrase just for a second, “…in slavery to sin.”

What does this mean in relation to Easter? Here’s the bottom line: Christ was killed for us. His death washed away our sins. By dying, he defeated death itself. That’s it. As Christians, we may have different ideas about how all of this works, but this our common belief. As CS Lewis put it, “That is the formula. That is Christianity,” (Mere Christianity, 55). But there’s the catch. We have to say yes. You see, we have a choice. Jesus will never force himself on anyone. So, we have a choice.

Why would anyone refuse the offer?

That’s a good question and Paul gives us some insight through the phrase he uses, “…in slavery to sin.” You see, temptation and sin are so powerful a force that people find themselves trapped in a cycle of sin. Yes, that sin could be things like drugs and alcohol, but people can also become slaves to money, power, influence, new technology, pornography, sex, among other things. A slave cannot do whatever they want. They can only do what their master commands.

Maybe another way of looking at sin is through the language of addiction. An addict may lack the power to resist – to fight – to decide. To break the cycle of addiction, an addict needs help from the outside, but even then, it won’t work unless the addict is wants help.

Consider the life of Venerable Matt Talbot. Born in 1856 in Dublin, Ireland, the second of twelve children, his father and most of his brothers were heavy drinkers. In 1868 Talbot left school at the age of twelve and went to work in a wine store where he soon began “sampling their wares.” By the age of thirteen, he was considered a hopeless alcoholic. He was an alcoholic by the age of thirteen! But that didn’t stop him from getting work at various whiskey stores. He frequented pubs spending most or all of his pay and running up debts. When he ran out of money, he borrowed and scrounged for money. He pawned his clothes and boots to get money for alcohol and once he stole a fiddle from a street entertainer just so he could buy drink.

At age 28, he was broke and out of credit. He waited in the street outside a pub in the hope that somebody would buy him a drink. After several friends had passed him without acknowledging him, he went home humiliated. With the help of his pastor, he turned to God for help.

He was an alcoholic for 16 years, but Talbot stayed sober for the next forty years of his life. He once said, “Never be too hard on the man who can’t give up drink. It’s as hard to give up the drink as it is to raise the dead to life again. But both are possible and even easy for Our Lord. We have only to depend on him,” (Matt Talbot).

My brothers and sisters, I have good news! Like Matt Talbot, we are not alone! By our baptism, we have access to God’s grace. You see, when we pour water over a baby during a baptism or submerge an older child or adult in the water, it symbolizes what Paul is saying – we die with Christ. When the child or adult emerges from the water, it symbolizes the Resurrection – we rise with Christ.

St. Paul reminds us that by our baptism we have God’s grace – we have the power to nail our sins to the cross and with Jesus to experience the resurrection. For Christians the Resurrection at Easter is like the Passover. Easter means deliverance from the oppression of sin and failure to new life through baptism.

Our lives can demonstrate freedom from sin’s power and show the fruits of the resurrection in our lives. Paul uses strong images to get his message across. Those baptized into Christ have been “buried with him.” We are united with him in his death, but also in his resurrection. Christ “raised from the dead, dies no more.” The same is true for us: we died with him and now we are “living for God in Christ Jesus.”

This Easter, Jesus invites you and he invites me to look at the results of our Lenten sacrifices and, by the grace of God, to nail our sins to the cross so that we can experience the liberating freedom of the resurrection. The great challenge of Easter is of course how the resurrection will bear fruit in our lives, and that leads us to our homework.

Homework!

  1. Reflecting on my Lenten experience, what sins am I prepared to nail to the cross? In other words, what is new about my faith this Easter?
  2. Like Jesus who emptied himself out for all of us, ask yourself, “as a disciple, where and how am I being called to sacrifice in my life for the good of others?”

Do you got it? Do you get it? Are you going to do it? Well good! May each of us come to experience the joy of Easter! He is indeed risen! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. +Amen!