Baptism of the Lord B 2015 (Mk 1: 7-11)

            Jesus has a momentous encounter with God at his baptism.  It is momentous because this baptism reveals who Jesus is.  This baptism shows that Jesus is determined to carry out the will of his heavenly Father.  Notice that Jesus goes to John for baptism.  John does not come to Jesus.  This is significant, because John connects baptism with repentance, and yet Jesus does not need repentance.  Why then does Jesus go to John for baptism?  What does this baptism mean to Jesus?  What does this baptism mean for us?  

            John provides part of the answer.  John told his followers that he baptized with water so that Jesus, who would baptize with the Holy Spirit, might be made known to Israel (Jn 1:31).  In seeking baptism from John, therefore, Jesus intends to be made known beyond the shepherds and beyond the magi (Acts 19:4). 

            The identity of Jesus is made known in a dramatic way, for, the Holy Trinity is at the center of this revelation.  When Jesus comes up out of the Jordan, a voice from the heavens—the voice of the Father—declares that Jesus is his beloved Son with whom he is well pleased.  The text suggests that not everyone hears this declaration; only those who were willing to hear it. 

            At the same time, the Holy Spirit descends and comes to rest upon Jesus.  The Holy Spirit descends to anoint Jesus in preparation for his public ministry.  The Holy Spirit empowers Jesus.  The baptism of Jesus is the first public revelation of Jesus as the Son of God.  It is truly a momentous encounter with God because it is a transformation for Jesus.  At this point, Jesus leaves behind the old and puts on a new life.  He leaves behind his private life and begins a new life of public ministry, teaching others about the kingdom of God and the will of the Father.

            Jesus understands his own baptism as carrying out the will of the Father.  Jesus teaches Nicodemus that no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit (Jn 3:5).  For this reason, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees and scribes for refusing to be baptized by John.  Jesus characterizes their refusal as setting aside the will of God (Lk 7:30).  In this sense, the baptism of Jesus is a model and motivation for our own baptism.

            Through his baptism and through his teaching, Jesus shows that the whole point of baptism is to set aside the old and put on a new life.  Baptism is thus a momentous encounter with God for us as well.  Most of us would not describe our baptism in this way, because most of us were not even aware of the event.  And yet, that is exactly what baptism is—a momentous encounter with God, even for infants.  Through baptism, we encounter the Father and become united with Jesus Christ the Son, and receive the Holy Spirit. 

            From this point on, we have a new life in Christ (Rom 6:4).  The white garment that we receive at baptism symbolizes this new life.  St. Paul calls attention to this new life when he says that, “all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Gal 3:27).  This reference to a new life in Christ led to the practice in the early Church of taking off old clothes and putting on new white garments for baptism.  The symbolism is clear.  Through baptism, we leave behind the old and put on a new life.  We become the Beloved of God, commissioned to proclaim the Good News with our lives.

            We have the example of Christ to guide us.  After his baptism and anointing, Jesus entrusted himself and his mission entirely to the Holy Spirit.  As a result, the Spirit led Jesus into the desert for a period of discernment and reflection.  This desert experience gives Jesus time to make sense of his encounter with God at his baptism, and to decide how to carry out the will of the Father; how to proclaim the Good News with his life. 

            Scripture clearly shows that this was no easy process for Jesus. Nor is it always easy for us.  God nurtures and develops the new life that we receive in baptism long after the original event—if we but listen to his voice.  Do we want to hear God's voice?  God responds to willing hearts, to those who are willing to hear his message.  We read in Revelation that God stands at the door and knocks.  He promises that if we hear his voice and open the door, he will come in and eat with us, and we will be with Him (Rev 3:20).  If we want to encounter God, first we have to hear his knock; we have to hear his voice.  Only then will we know to open the door. 

            Our challenge today is to remain attentive to the voice of the one true God, for there are many gods fighting for our attention.  Like Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit to guide us. The Holy Spirit did not come on Pentecost as someone the Apostles could see and touch.  Rather, the Holy Spirit came to abide in their hearts. 

            That same Spirit comes to us today through Scripture, through the Church, through prayer, through the sacraments, through our experiences, and through each other.  The question is whether we are willing to listen to the voice of God spoken in our hearts.  The Psalmist encourages us to be still and simply know God (Ps 46:10).  This stillness is the beginning of reflection and discernment.  This is the beginning of our desert experience.  And it begins with baptism. 

Feast of the Holy Family B 2014

            Scripture provides very few details about the boyhood and coming of age years of Jesus. We know from scripture that, for the first thirty years of his life—90% of his time on earth—Jesus lived a very ordinary family life with Mary and Joseph.  He grew up in a town called Nazareth where he became strong in spirit and filled with wisdom. The young Jesus was not a willful child or a rebellious teen, but was obedient to his parents.  He behaved as he should have.  He did chores around the house.  He studied Scripture as well as his school lessons, and he went to the Temple with his parents at the appropriate times. 

            As he grew older, Jesus worked with Joseph and earned his living as was expected at the time. Throughout his life, Jesus never travelled more than 200 miles from his home, even after he began his public ministry.  Jesus experienced a normal growing up process, both physically and mentally, that most everyone goes through.  All of this shows that Jesus placed a great deal of importance on ordinary living.

            The ordinary life of Jesus was holy because he was dedicated to God from the moment of his conception.  In the same way, our ordinary lives are also holy.  Indeed, the feast of the Holy Family shows that ordinary living is sacred living.  We celebrate this feast during the Christmas season, for this is a very holy time of year when family takes on special meaning and importance. 

            We tend to think of family in very traditional terms of mother, father, and children—all of whom reside together in one household and are related by marriage, birth or adoption.  We know the reality is often very different, but we hang on to this ideal because thinking this way keeps us in our comfort zone.

            Jesus makes it clear, however, that our relationship with each other in the household of God is spiritual rather than biological.  He reveals his view of family in particular when he responds to someone who says to him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.”  Jesus responds with the question, “Who is my mother?  Who are my brothers?  And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers.  For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother’” (Mt 12:47-50).   

            The message is clear.  For Jesus, natural kinship is only “half” the story.  Jesus’ “whole” family includes all those who do the will of his heavenly Father.  With this response, Jesus shows that we are a spiritual family in the household of God, united in ways that enlarge the traditional terms of family.

              In his letter to the Colossians, Paul calls attention to what life in the household of God means in ordinary, practical terms.  According to Paul, we are equal “citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God…For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God” (Rom 8:14-17). As a result, Paul says we are to put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience…bearing with one another and forgiving one another…and above all, we are to put on love (Col 3:12).     

            From this ordinary standpoint, we should experience our own families as safe havens.  Just as the baby Jesus found rescue and safety with his family, we too should find rescue and safety in our families.  Family is the place to find love and acceptance, encouragement and support, freedom from psychological and physical abuse.  Family is where we should find mercy and forgiveness, and a less critical eye than the world brings to bear.  Family is where we can learn genuine love for God and for others.

            Genuine love means taking an active regard for those around us.  And we can do this in very ordinary and yet sacred ways.  We can bring the love of Christ to others in our own families and in our spiritual family.  Our words and actions can be life-giving and life-affirming.  We can inspire others to search for truth and abandon old, destructive ways.  We can be open to all people, especially the foreigner and the stranger.   Sometimes all it takes is a simple act of kindness—just being there when somebody needs you.

            This is what the feast of the Holy Family means—showing love for others in very ordinary and yet sacred ways.  Ordinary living is sacred living.

Fourth Sunday of Advent 2014

            In the Annunciation story, the focus is usually on the “Yes” that Mary ultimately gives to the Lord’s invitation, despite her initial confusion and fear. The message is delivered by an Angel who engages Mary in dialogue.  During their conversation, the Angel reveals to Mary what the Lord has in store for her.  This revelation is not meant to impose an obligation on Mary, however.  Rather, the Lord waits for her response. Apparently, none of this scenario will unfold as it is revealed unless Mary gives her consent.  Although Mary starts out perplexed and afraid, ultimately she does indeed give her consent with the now familiar reply, “I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done unto me according to your Word.”

Another focus in the Annunciation story worthy of attention is what Mary says first in response to the Angel.  Before Mary says yes, she gives voice to her confusion and asks the Angel a question:  “How can this be?”  This is the first thing that Mary says, for clearly she has some misgivings over what this message will mean for her and for Joseph.  From a practical standpoint alone, none of it fits with what she and Joseph have already planned.  The Angel responds to her question with an answer that apparently either satisfies her, or at least allays her fears.  For, only after Mary receives the Angel’s explanation, as mysterious as it is, does she respond with her yes.  This simple response not only expresses Mary’s consent; it also expresses her profound trust in the Lord that things will work out for the best. 

We have the advantage of hindsight to know much about how things did work out for Mary and Joseph, as well as for Jesus; indeed, for the whole world.  But, the question for us today has to do with what the story means for us.  What lesson can we draw from the story of the Annunciation and from Mary’s reaction to that mysterious invitation given by the Lord so long ago.  There are at least three aspects of the story that hold meaning for us today.

First, it’s okay to ask God what’s going on.  Although it was clear that the Angel was a messenger from the Lord, Mary was not afraid to ask what was happening. Her question shows that she is paying attention to God, to his message, and to her own life.  The same holds true for us.  When we ask God about what is happening, we show him that we are not just wandering around in the wilderness refusing to ask for directions.  We care about his message and want to know and understand what he has in store for us.

Second, God will tell us.  The Angel did not brush off Mary’s question.  The Angel answered with an explanation of how things would unfold.  Only then did Mary put her trust in the Lord.  We probably shouldn’t expect an angel to appear with answers to our questions, but we can be sure that God will provide the answer.  Ask and you shall receive.  Seek and you shall find.  Knock and it will be opened.  We just have to listen with our hearts, as Mary did.  God may tell us through Scripture, through his creation, or through his messengers. And, who are his messengers?  His messengers are his friends—our friends, our family, our associates and sometimes even total strangers to us.  God speaks to us through others, sometimes unlikely others.  The Angel, after all, was an unlikely messenger and total stranger to Mary.

Third and finally, after God tells us what’s going on, we may well feel empowered and brave enough to take on the challenge, whatever it may be.  Mary clearly did not get a complete picture from her dialogue with the Angel.  But, this did not prevent her from accepting the Word of the Lord with courage and trust.  The Lord reciprocated her trust with the gift of the Holy Spirit, who empowered Mary to carry out her role in God’s will to the fullest.  Likewise, we don’t have to have all the answers before we go forward with trust in the Lord.  For, we have the same assurance from Jesus that the Holy Spirit will overshadow us, guide us in his way, teach us all truth, and remain with us until the end of time.  With the Holy Spirit at our side, we can be sure things will work out for the best.

The irony in Mary’s response to the Angel is that she most likely did not understand or perceive the reality at that moment that she was to give birth to the Word of God made flesh. Mary accepted this idea at face value without a full understanding, and her acceptance paved the way for countless others to encounter the Word of God as well.  We find that Word in Jesus, in how he lived his life, in how and what he taught, and in how he remained true to his mission.  He remained steadfast even when others set out to kill him for his unconventional beliefs and teachings.  As a result, we have the opportunity to imitate Jesus and through him come to know the Father better.

You might say that today’s reading is a Profile in Courage.  Mary, a young girl, has the courage and temerity to ask God, “What’s going on?”  Through his messenger, God tells her, although it is a mysterious explanation.  And, despite the mystery and her own personal fear, Mary accepts with courage what she hears, namely, that the Holy Spirit will overshadow her and empower her to carry out the will of God.  Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will overshadow us, and that we will listen to the Word so that we can be courageous and true to Jesus, and true to the Father’s will for us in our own lives.

Feast of Christ the King, Year A, 2014

Kings and queens are out of place in our American culture and way of life.  For us, kings are little more than a social curiosity with celebrity status.  We value independence, self reliance and democracy far too much than to allow a serious role for a king in our society.

           

For this reason, the feast of Christ the King presents us with a challenge.  Because this feast reminds us that Jesus Christ is the true King of heaven and earth, the challenge is how to acknowledge and honor Jesus as the king of our lives. 

This feast also presents us with a paradigm.  Through his life and mission, Jesus shows us what HE means by king, and how we can participate in the kingdom of God.  The paradigm that Jesus offers as a guide is the very opposite image of an ordinary understanding of royalty.

The challenge and paradigm both begin with the birth of Jesus, who was born into poverty rather than wealth.  His birthplace was a stable for animals rather than a castle for monarchs.  Soon after his birth, he becomes a political fugitive rather than ruler of an empire.  With no royal army for protection, he flees with his family to Egypt out of fear.  At the age of 12, with no palace guard to watch over him, he gets left behind in the temple, and when found, makes the odd claim that he is about his father’s business.     

As an adult, he lives as a hermit for forty days in a desert.  Afterward, he visits a social outcast named John and asks John to baptize him.  Jesus then travels the countryside as a homeless person with no place to sleep, let alone a country estate.  He preaches the good news of salvation.  Some of his followers see him as a political warrior who will save them from Roman oppression, not from the slavery of sin and death.  He eats with tax collectors and sinners, and enlists the aid of women to lead his mission. He even treats women as equals—hardly the mark of royalty in his day.  Indeed, a woman anoints his feet with tears and oil, rather than his head as the high priest would anoint a king of this world. 

In fact, Jesus promotes a kingdom not of this world, where membership is freely granted to faithful servants, not earned by loyal subjects, and where love rules supreme, not power and wealth. Those who listen do not understand nor do they accept his message that love of God and love of neighbor go hand in hand.  Serving others as the way to love God is not in their vocabulary.

And yet, this is the message that Jesus delivers over and over.  He informs his followers that the Son of Man came to serve, not to be served.  He tells them that they must not lord it over others.  That the greatest among them must be the least, the one who washes the feet of the others. 

Jesus demonstrates though word and deed what being a king means and what participation in the kingdom of God entails.  He heals the sick; he cares for the poor, the vulnerable, the marginalized; he challenges injustice; he insists that mercy and compassion overrule custom and ritual; he sums up the entire Mosaic Law with the dual command to love God and to love neighbor as self.

Jesus is no one’s fool, however.  He warns his disciples that following in his footsteps is also risky.  He makes clear that those who challenge injustice and go against the grain to oppose greed and extravagant accumulation can expect the same fate that he will soon endure.  The only assistance Jesus offers is a sure promise to send his Spirit to guide the way and provide the necessary defense.  At first, the disciples don’t understand what fate he has in mind.  But before long, they witness firsthand what awaits their beloved teacher, only to catch a glimpse of their own futures—and they run. 

The disciples watch from a safe distance as Jesus is treated as an enemy of the state rather than a beloved king.  He is arrested in the middle of the night, stripped of his own garments, and given a purple cloak and a crown of thorns rather than a bejeweled crown of gold.  He suffers a most egregious beating and torturous death, and the public disgrace of a sign overhead that mocks his kingship.  Only after his humiliating death of sacrifice is Jesus able to claim his throne of love.  Only then does Jesus come into his kingdom to rule the hearts of those who follow him in the way of love.   

Soon, we begin our Advent preparation for the coming of our great King, Jesus Christ.  We do this with full awareness of what participation in his kingdom really means.  Following Christ means picking up the cross of self denial, rather than a royal scepter of power and wealth.  It means having an active regard for others and ourselves out of love for God.  It means developing and nurturing an ambition for that which has everlasting value.  As St. Paul reminds us, following Jesus means living a life worthy of the gift and calling that we have received—living in peace and unity, with patience and humility, bearing with one another through love—living in the Spirit of Christ our King (Eph 4:1-6; cf. 2 Pt 1:10-11).