Ps 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10
Acts 10:34-38
Mt 3:13-17
This Sunday we celebrate the "initiation rite" that launched Jesus' public ministry. We, too, have experienced this same Baptism: Our first Sacrament of Initiation immersed us into the life of Christ. The other two initiation sacraments — Confirmation and Communion — confirm this holy life and empower us to live it. Thus says the Lord God about you: "Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my Spirit...." (see the reading from Isaiah).
What is this Spirit doing in you that is pleasing to the Father? How is this Spirit serving the kingdom of God through you? Are you giving this Spirit the freedom to continue Christ's ministry in the here and now?
You were baptized into this, but it's the hardships you've endured and the passions you feel that have initiated you into your own particular areas of ministry. This is why children of chronically or terminally ill parents often grow up to become doctors and nurses, why those who escape from and recover from abuses often become ministers of healing for other victims, and why workers who suffer from unjust employers often start their own businesses and create jobs where the staff is treated in the manner of Christ.
Whatever you feel passionate about, you've received this from the Passion of Christ through the Sacrament of Baptism. If you give it attention, it's renewed in the Sacrament of Communion, because the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist reunites you to his ministry. If you take it with you from church, you can change the world, just as Christ did, one day at a time.
And if you feel frustrated because you're not yet doing what you'd like to do, as long as it's something that God wants you to do, you're being prepared, not blocked. You have been chosen by the Father and he is very pleased with you!
Questions for Personal Reflection:What is the Holy Spirit doing in you that's pleasing to the Father? What will you do to give this Spirit the freedom to continue Christ's ministry in your world — in your home, your workplace, your parish, your community — wherever you live, work and play?
Questions for Community Faith Sharing:
Choose one line from Isaiah's scripture and explain how this describes your life in Christ. Take turns sharing on this until all verses have been covered.
For most of us, the Christmas season ended a couple of weeks ago. Decorations are packed away, and some of the kids' toys are already broken. We're into a new year, and trying to reconstruct a daily routine.
But liturgically, the feast of the Baptism of the Lord marks the end of the Christmas season and the transition to "Ordinary Time." Matthew's simple account of the baptism today ends with the heavenly voice introducing "my beloved Son." Recalling his coming, which we've celebrated in the Christmas season, we're invited to welcome the Beloved One into our midst once more. As a community, we will pledge ourselves—through each Sunday celebration which follows—to listen and respond to Christ's proclamation of the Good News.
You've probably heard people express the wish that the spirit of Christmas would last all through the year. Christians really are called to take that responsibility seriously. The meaning of Christmas is the central fact of our lives—we must reflect the fact that God has come to dwell with us in Jesus Christ. It can show on our faces, in our words and in what we do. If you haven't made a New Year's resolution, here's a simple one: let all that we say and do manifest that basic truth that God is with us. And, Merry Christmas, one more time!
•The Lord will bless his people with peace. (Psalm 29:11)
•He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. (Acts 10:38)
•After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. (Matthew 3:16)
Reflection:
•How does your baptism prepare you to follow Jesus in completing Isaiah’s prophecy?
•What can you do in this New Year to realize the grace and promise of your baptism to bring peace to the oppressed of the world?
What can the world promise? Let it promise what it will; it is making that promise to someone who may die tomorrow. (Augustine of Hippo)
The future enters into us, in order to transform itself in us, long before it happens. (Rainer Marie Rilke)
Published by Jacob Soo
Credits to American Catholic.org and Good News Ministries
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