January 13, 2013 at Saint Mark Catholic Church in Norman, OK
Isaiah 42, 1-4,6-7 + Psalm 29 + Acts 10, 34-38 + Luke 3, 15-6, 21-22
The culture and the age in which this event takes place believed that a person’s identity depended completely upon the father. This even carried over into biology. They had no sense or knowledge of genes and chromosomes. They thought that at conception the an entire human being was passed from the father to the mother for her nurturing. In other words a tiny but complete human being smaller than the eye could see was passed from father to mother for a time of nurturing. Then at age twelve, the relationship with the mother was over, and the two men began their relationship. When you understand that cultural/historical fact, then the story of Jesus in the temple begins to make sense as a rite of passage, and this story takes on even greater significance, because here, the Father is claiming his son. By this time, Joseph is our of the picture. The work of the Holy Spirit at the conception of Jesus is now acknowledged and settled. This is the Father’s Son. Notice the words: “The Holy Spirit descended upon him in a bodily form.” In other words, the Holy Spirit was already there, but now visible, active, and effective. Luke will make an issue of the Holy Spirit again and again throughout this Gospel.
We proclaim this Gospel to confirm who we are, and what has become of us because of our Baptism. We proclaim this gospel to one another because those who share faith and life with us are Spirit Born people made holy by the Spirit that has filled us and burns in our hearts when we are together and recognize the risen Lord at this table. We proclaim this gospel to acknowledge and remember that we are claimed by God as His own no less than God claimed Jesus Christ. For having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we have been, as it were, grafted into Christ and in communion with Him we are God’s own. Because of that, every time we acknowledge the presence of God and pray, we begin In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. When we do that in public, we are signaling to everyone who sees us that we are Baptized. We are God’s own children. We make that sign to draw brothers and sisters who are baptized into prayer with us as God’s claimed and chosen ones.
Young people, hear this. When others look at you and make so bold as to ask if you are saved, or suggest that because you are a Catholic you are not a Christian, get in their face with the Sign of the Cross. It is the fullest witness to your companionship with Christ and fellowship among the Baptized and Saved that God has called His own. If they who question you have any memory at all of their Baptism, they will recognize the sacred formula of that rite for they too were Baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. That is how Jesus commanded us to embrace one another and gather God’s children together.
This world is full of lonely and sad people who do not know or feel claimed by God or by anyone, and this is the surest sign that the work of Jesus Christ is not yet complete. Who is to do it? Who is to claim them, to embrace them, to hold them except God’s own children. This in the end was exactly what Jesus came to do, and it is exactly why we have been privileged and called into this faith.
Once Jesus realized, knew, and understood who he was and what he was as God’s Son, he was free to act with courage, to stand up for the poor, to reach out to sinners, the unpopular, and heal those others feared. Belonging to God frees us all. Once we begin to exercise and live in that freedom, we will have no need to impress others or seek their approval. We will know our gifts and what a difference they will make when we use them for God’s purpose and God’s will.
So today is not just the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. It is the Feast of our Baptism as well. It is the day when we remember again and remind one another that we are God’s chosen ones. We are claimed by our God. We have a purpose, a mission, and everything we need to accomplish that mission. We have a God/Father who will not ask more than he has given. We have a God/Father who will seek and find us even if we stray. We have same Spirit that moved Jesus Christ into his mission which began as soon as he stepped out of that water. We know how to do it by watching our brother Jesus Christ. We know what it will cost. We also know that nothing can stop that Spirit-driven mission, not even death itself for we are a people who live and pray, play and rejoice always In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.