Deacon Tom writes,
Christ Among Us
Today’s celebration of The Baptism of the Lord marks
an end to another Christmas Season. I hope the peace and joy of the Christ
Child touched you and your loved over the course of this holy time of year. You
will notice that the white vestments that have signified these solemn days of
Christmas will give way to green indicating a return to “Ordinary Time” as the liturgical calendar rolls forward.
On last Sunday we celebrated the Feast of the
Epiphany of Our Lord. This Feast’s importance is centered on visit of the magi
whose presence before the newborn King of the Jews makes known God’s loving
plan of salvation for all the nations of the world. Yes, God who first revealed
himself to the people of Israel now sends his Only Begotten Son into the world
so all may know that God is near to all by virtue of the birth of Emmanuel, the
presence of Christ among us.
In today’s gospel text Jesus comes to John to be
baptized in the Jordan River, a second occasion where God is visibly living and
active in our human family. God’s voice from on high proclaims and affirms Jesus
his “Beloved Son” as the Holy Spirit
descends in bodily form. Yes, today we experience the fullness of Trinitarian
love fully present in the completely human person of Jesus.
The baptism of Jesus reveals the mystery of the
presence of God in all of our lives. God comes to us when we are baptized just
as he came to Jesus, filling us with his Spirit and claiming us as his own. We
too become “his beloved”. How we experience being God’s “beloved”, however,
depends upon us. This is what our journey of faith entails. It calls to deepen
our awareness of the gift we have received and formulating an appropriate
response to the one who loves us even, if we can imagine this, more than we love ourselves. Just as it
would be virtually impossible to have a healthy and meaningful relationship in
this life with someone we claim to love but then constantly ignore, so to with
God. To be his “beloved” is to be in an intimate and trusting relationship with
him, a union of trust and faithfulness that is mutually nourishing, beneficial,
health, and supportive.
As we ease back into Ordinary Time, let us remember
that we are God’s “beloved”, and seek every opportunity to act accordingly so that
we may continue to grow in his love, deepen our relationship with Him, and to
share the abundance of his love with everyone whose lives touch ours.
Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom
Image
Credit: Baptism-of-Christ.jpg/ by
Davezelenka
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