Christmas
– Baptism of the Lord Homily: Fr. Bill Bowling January 10, 2016
Isaiah
42:1-4,6-7 Psalm 29 Acts 10:34-38 Luke 3:15-16,21-22
Today, for the last time this liturgical year, we celebrate
Christmas. Today, we get to say once
more – merry Christmas. During these
days of Christmas we have been thinking about the gift of mercy God has shown
us in Jesus. At his nativity we
remembered that Jesus is manifested as the promised “Emmanuel” -- God with us. God’s mercy has been shown to us. At his epiphany we remembered that Jesus is manifested
as the savior of the nations. All
peoples, symbolized by the Magi, have been included in God’s plan of salvation
as co-heirs to the blessings promised to Israel. God’s abundant mercy has been shown to
us.
Today, in this feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Jesus is
manifested as the Beloved Son of God. In
this we are shown in ever more detail the gift of mercy to us through Jesus.
First of all, we see more clearly today what Jesus does for
us in his role as messiah. Luke chapter
3 is the opening act of the public ministry.
The very first thing that Jesus does is to go to the Jordan river.
The Jordan has been the scene of several of God’s amazing
works of mercy. Remember the first
one. Moses had been leading the people
of Israel in their exodus from slavery in Egypt into the freedom of the
Promised Land. They had been wandering
in the desert for 40 years. God was
raising up a new generation of the faithful to enter into the Promised Land and
inhabit it. Moses saw the Promised Land,
but died before entering in. The new
leader was Joshua. He was the anointed
one of God – the one whose name means “God saves.” He led the people to the river. He held his staff over the river. God parted the waters for the people, and
they passed through to enter the Promised Land
Let’s remember another spectacular act of God’s mercy. Elisha the prophet was calling Israel to
repentance, because they had wandered from the faith. Namaan the leper, was from a different
country. He heard about Elisha, and with
faith in the God of Israel he asked for healing. So Elisha told Naaman to bathe in the Jordan
river 7 times, and then he would be clean. At first Namaan did not want to do this, but
then he consented to wash himself in the Jordan and did so 7 times. And after the 7th time his skin
was clean and pure again. He was healed
of his sickness.
God’s mercy for us was shown dramatically when he made a way
out of slavery and a way for healing. Exodus
and healing. These themes connect with what
John the Baptist was preaching. He was
the forerunner of the messiah, preparing the way.
·
Preparing the way for Jesus to lead the people
out of the slavery of sin and into the heavenly promised land.
·
Preparing the way for Jesus to heal Israel and
through Israel all of the nations.
·
Preparing the hearts of the people to go with
Jesus by calling them all to repentance.
When Jesus went down to the river Jordan – when Jesus went
down into the waters of baptism – something amazing happened for all of the
people – and for all of us today.
Jesus made all of the waters of baptism a place of exodus
for us.
Through the waters of baptism we have a way out.
A way out of sin. A way out of violence. A way out of injustice. A way out of
alienation.
A way out of everything that separates us from one another
and that separates us from God. Jesus
leads us in the way of purity, peace, justice, and unity toward our heavenly
homeland. This is the new exodus that
Jesus began when he went down to the river Jordan.
Jesus made all of the waters of baptism a place of healing
for us. The old curse of original sin
was broken there. The voice of God was
heard saying to Jesus “You are my beloved
Son; with you I am well pleased.” What
God the Father was saying to Jesus the Son becomes a blessing over all of the
baptized. What God the Father saw in
Jesus the Son at that moment, he sees in each of us. Belovedness.
This baptismal grace shows us that God is doing a new work
of mercy in the world. God’s mercy is so
very much needed. Today, instead of
slavery in Egypt, people are enslaved by a global culture of death, addictions,
attacks on the family, persecutions against people of faith, and the rise of
terror and fear. The world is infected
with that terrible leprosy of the spirit of anti-Christ manifested by those who
want to impose the new world order.
But while multinational anti-Christ forces scheme and
manipulate, something new is happening.
Today is the year of favor from the Lord. This is the extraordinary Jubilee Year of
Mercy. The Lord is revealing his mercy
in powerful ways.. Now is the time to
remember our belovedness in God and live as his saints. Now is the time to be messengers of
mercy. This is the time for a new exodus
out of the slavery of sin. This is the
place for a new healing from the leprosy of the culture of death. And we, the church, are to be the instruments
of God’s mercy and healing.
On this feast of the Baptism of the Lord, let us pray for a
new baptism in the Holy Spirit, that we may be infused with grace and courage
for the mission set before us. Hear once
again, the words of the prophet Isaiah, spoken to us in a fresh way as a sign
for this Year of Mercy. Listen!
“I, the Lord, have
called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by
the hand;
I formed you, and set
you
as a covenant of the
people, a light for the nations,
to open the eyes of the blind, to bring
prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in
darkness.”
Dear people, you are baptized Children of the Most High
God. The year of mercy is upon us and
this is the generation chosen and elected from all eternity for this. Let’s do this!
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