Homily, January 15, 2023
From The Pastor
The rhythm of the liturgical year is a seamless bridge of revelation and fulfillment. Christmas reveals the incarnation of God in human flesh through the womb of the Virgin Mary. That God chooses to use a human being in the act of conception and childbirth should not go unnoticed. God uses our human nature as creatures to serve as agents of our own salvation. God became flesh through the womb of the Virgin Mary.
Epiphany reveals and celebrates the Divinity of the Child Jesus. The humanity and Divinity of Jesus is fulfilled through the life, death, and Resurrection of the innocent Child who becomes the adult Christ. The separation and division caused by sin has been reconciled through the perfect love of the human-Divine Son. Redemption is a singular act of God revealed in the dying and rising of Jesus. The Cross is a fully human act empowered by the Divine nature of the One who freely chooses suffering and death for our sake.
The Baptism of the Lord is the third act of revelation in the Christmas cycle. The Lord’s Baptism is a further expression of the identity of Jesus as he begins the mission for which he was sent. The nature and intention of God is made known in the action of this Baptism. Washed in the waters of the Jordan River, Jesus is confirmed and sent forth in the power of the Holy Spirit. The essence of God as Father is revealed in the presence of the Spirit poured upon the Son.
What do we learn from the Lord’s Baptism? Jesus is identified as the Beloved Son of the Father. He is a man fully realized in the Spirit. What we learn is not only the love of the Father for the Son, but that this same belovedness is given to us. The Baptism of Jesus becomes our Baptism. The love given to Jesus is fully shared and given to the world and every human being through the action of the Cross. This act of love reconciles sinful, wounded humanity to the unitive love of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
This is the grace and the identity of our Baptism. Our redemption is confirmed in the work of the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus. Now Baptized in Christ, we are empowered in his Spirit to work out our salvation through the course of our daily lives. In redemption, our identity is the same as Jesus: beloved one. Salvation moves forward in the deep realization and acceptance of our identity as the beloved of God.
The seamless movement of our worship in today’s liturgy repeats the story of the Lord’s Baptism according to St. John. Notice the reading again serves as an action of revelation. The bridge between the Old Testament and the New is completed. John the Baptist comes to the fulfillment of his prophetic call.
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’” This inspiration is given to John by God. Note we are being told who Jesus is: ‘Lamb of God,’ and “who takes away the sins of the world.” This is the bridge which the crowd would understand the meaning of the words. It refers to the blood of a sacrificed lamb sprinkled on the door posts of the Israelites in protection just prior to their Exodus through the desert. In the new covenant, Jesus becomes the Blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The plan of God is moving to fulfillment.
John testifies to the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus as the Beloved Son. God blesses John with this revelation as the fulfillment of his prophetic call. Now all shifts to Jesus and the work of human redemption begins even as we unfold the grace and gift of our Baptism.
More personally, we must each ask and answer the question for ourselves. Who do you say Jesus is? Is he merely the God of our Church religion? Or has the Holy Spirit moved you to profess Jesus as Lord and Christ of the world, as well as your personal Savior? If we profess the latter, do we allow and embrace his nature and identity as our own? In doing so, does Jesus become the power and the meaning of our daily lives as we seek our fulness in him?
This is the challenge and the call of our Baptism. Through faith, prayer, worship, and living the ways of the gospel it should become clear that Jesus is our way, our truth, and our life. This is going to look different for each of us. Though we share a common and unitive life in Christ, the gifts and the call of each of us will be personal and unique in our relationship with Jesus. We all play some role in the work of our common salvation as we work toward the final gift of redemption.
Spend some time thinking about your Baptism and what it means in your life today. You are holy and beloved. You have the Holy Spirit. God knows your name. Revel in your dignity before God. Be a revelation of this truth for many others.
Father John Esper
Recent Sermons
Homily, November 24, 2024
November 21, 2024
Homily, November 17, 2024
November 18, 2024
Homily, November 10, 2024
November 07, 2024