When the song of the angels is stilled, when the shepherds have returned to their flock, when the Christmas decorations are put away, the work of Christmas begins: to bring peace among people and to make music in the heart.

BAPTISM OF THE LORD  A  2020

When the song of the angels at Bethlehem is stilled, when the star in the sky that guided the magi is gone, when the magi have returned to the East, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins:  to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among people and to make music in the heart.

The feast of the Baptism of the Lord which we celebrate today concludes the Christmas season.  The Baptism of the Lord and our own baptism as well reminds that the gift of the Christmas season remains with us every day of our lives.  Jesus, the beloved Son of God, came to earth to save all people from sin and to show us the way to the Father.

Today’s feast celebrates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by John the Baptist.   As Jesus was baptized, the Spirit, like a dove, descended upon Him.  And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”  His baptismal identity was that He was the Father’s beloved Son.  His baptismal mission was to teach, to heal, to forgive, to love, to save us from our sins, and to give us share in His Risen Life.  In the Lord’s baptism his identity and mission were given.  The meaning of the Christmas season began at the Bethlehem crib but the grace and meaning of the Lord’s Christmas gift to us is lifelong and forever.

This feast invites us to see the connection between the Baptism of Jesus and our own baptism.  In our Baptism, we too become God’s beloved son and God’s beloved daughter in whom the Father is well pleased.  Such an incredible grace we receive in Baptism, and the grace of Baptism is lifelong.  In the spiritual journey of each of us, we need to ask ourselves the question:  Do we claim our own baptismal identity as a beloved child of God?   When I am stressed out, when I am fearful and a bit anxious, am I claiming my baptismal identity as God’s beloved?   The words spoken to Jesus are words that are spoken to us as part of our baptismal identity.

May you hear this day and every day these words spoken to you by our loving God: “This is my beloved son, this is my beloved daughter in whom I am well pleased.”  These are spoken not because of our worthiness; rather these words are spoken because of God’s unconditional love for us.  May you always be able to recognize this voice of God in your life.

Now it is true that throughout all our lives, a cacophony of voices will attempt to drown our attentiveness to the voice of God.  There’s the voice of Wall Street calling us to find our security in stocks, bonds and mutual funds.  There’s the voice of Madison Avenue alerting us to unnecessary needs and undue desires.  There’s the voice of Rodeo Drive warning us not to be out of style, and the voice of Broadway luring us to the superficial aspects of contemporary entertainment.

Amid the clamor of all these voices, it may be difficult to hear the voice of God and grasp the hand of God.  Nevertheless, that voice and that hand are ever near, and God’s grace is ever at the ready to keep our hearing acute and our understanding full and clear.  The question for our prayerful reflection this day is: Whose voice will you listen to?  Whose is the hand you will grasp?

In today’s Gospel, after the baptism of Jesus, a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son: with you I am well pleased.”    As we pray over these words, may we ask ourselves:  What actions of ours this past week is our heavenly Father well pleased with?

The grace of baptism is lifelong.  We are always and forever the community of the baptized.  We are always and forever missioned to give witness to the love of Jesus in our lives.  A sobering, accountability question to be asked of each of us is:  Would we be convicted in a court of law for being Christian?  Is it obvious by the way we live our lives that we are the disciples of Jesus?  Is it obvious by how we live that we believe that love is the first requirement of being a Christian?

 May we pay attention to both our baptismal identity and to our baptismal mission.  What is our baptismal mission?  Your baptismal mission is to serve the needs of one another.   It is in our love for one another that we become more aware that God remains in us.  This baptismal mission very much embraces a life and spirituality of stewardship.

In a spirituality of stewardship, we are to share of our time, of our talent, and or out treasure in carrying the mission of the Church – in our love for one another, in our service of people, and in leading all people to encounter Christ more deeply in their lives.

Next weekend is our stewardship commitment Sunday relative to the stewardship of treasure.  You will receive in the mail this week a brochure and a stewardship commitment card.  We ask that you pray over your tithing commitment to the parish in 2020.  Then there will a special collection next weekend in which we ask you to return your commitment card.  I intend to use this opportunity to increase my tithing to the parish.  If you are able to increase your tithing, your generosity will be greatly blessed.  Equally, if you are not able to increase your tithing, you will still be very much blessed as God’s beloved.  No matter at what level you are able to give, we ask that you return the commitment card as we seek 100% commitment from our parish.

At his baptism, Jesus experienced divine love with new intensity; he responded to that gift with such fierce passion that his subsequent life and death transformed the world.  At our Baptism, perhaps many moons ago, we too experienced divine love – a grace that goes with us to this day and always.  May we too embrace our baptismal mission and a spirituality of stewardship that transforms the vibrancy of our parish life.

Our baptismal mission is to keep alive the gift of Christmas always and forever.

When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the magi have returned to the East, when the shepherds are back their flocks, when the Christmas decorations are put away, the work of Christmas begins:  to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among people, and to make music in the heart.

Have a Blessed Day.