01.10.2021 Homily

We observe today the feast of the baptism of the Lord. This feast marks the inaugural moment, the first moment that the scriptures record of Jesus' public life. John the Baptist is at the Jordan River. He is baptizing people from throughout Judea. People have come to him. He has told them that they are to repent and be baptized, that the kingdom of God is at hand. It's a baptism for forgiveness. It's a baptism. It's a baptism for the remission of sin. It's the baptism of conversion.

Jesus comes to the water, and He steps into the water to be baptized along with all the other people who are there. At this first moment of his public ministry, He puts himself in solidarity with all of sinful humanity. He bares His human body, and at this, His first public appearance, He chooses to go down into the waters of the Jordan to be baptized by John, to be a representative of our collective guilt. This first moment of His public ministry is meant to say very clearly that He is one of us and that He has chosen to be with us.

Now, as He's being baptized, the heavens are torn open. It's a fairly strong word that is used. It's a violent word. It's a ripping. It's a shredding. It's a tearing. The heavens just don't open. They're ripped open. And God's action is now manifest by the coming of the spirit. And the voice of God is, "You are my son. Upon you, my favor rests."

Now in the person of Jesus, in this event, there is the beginning of a new age, a new relationship of earth and heaven, a new relationship of all of creation and our human condition with God. This is an inaugural moment. This is the beginning. And in the beginning is already seen the end, the completion. God rips the heavens apart, and he irrevocably, in Jesus' baptism, never closes those heavens again. And through this gracious gash in the universe, He pours forth His spirit upon all of creation. There is no mountain quaking and no violent cosmic disturbance in this rending of the heavens. It's a gracious opening.

And the symbol of like the dove reminds us of the spirit of God, as that spirit brooded over the vast abyss. And out of that abyss came the created universe. And now that the spirit has descended once again, the whole world is charged with the grandeur of God. And the spirit flames out like shining from shook foil. It gathers to a greatness like the ooze of crushed oil. The spirit of God seeps into every crook and cranny and crevice of all of creation.

Our baptism. Our baptism was an entry into this very mystery. You and I were, if you will, plunged into the Jordan waters, as Jesus was plunged into it. We are baptized to bear the life and the light of God to those who are lost and those who are brokenhearted.

Now this is the final moment of the Christmas season. This feast is, if you will, the linchpin between Christmas and the public ministry of Jesus. It's the connecting moment. The beginning of this feast begins to show us how we are to live out the Christmas message. The poet Howard Thurman writes, "When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flock, then the real work of Christmas begins. To find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, release the prisoner, rebuild the nations, to bring peace to sisters and brothers, and to make music from the heart."

I think it's important on this day that we celebrate the baptism of the Lord that we ought to renew our own baptism, that moment in which we were first inserted into the very mystery of Christ. And so I would ask that you join me as we renew the baptismal promises that were part of our initiation so many years ago.

And I ask you, do you believe in God, the father almighty, the maker of heaven and earth?

Do you believe in Jesus Christ, His only son, who was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried, was raised to life on the third day, and is seated at the right hand of God?

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sin, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?