Gospel For Today - 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (A)

SECOND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (A)

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Last week I wrote that through our baptism we are united with Christ's death and resurrection, and born again as children of God.  This is true.  When we say that these things are brought about through baptism, we are not speaking symbolically -- at least not in the sense that we typically think of something being symbolic.

A symbol is a sign of something else, but we usually understand the symbol to be something quite distinct from the reality it signifies.  For example, the US flag is a symbol of our nation.  But you and I know that the flag, that rectangle of colored cloth, is not actually the United States of America.  It's a piece of cloth.  But it is a symbol that represents our country and so we rightly respect it and treat it with a certain dignity; not because the flag itself is worthy of honor, but because we give honor to the thing being represented.

That's how most symbols work.  A picture of my mother is a symbol that represents her and brings her to mind.  And I may value that picture because I love my mother.  But I know that the picture is not my mother.

But that's not how baptism works.  Baptism is a symbol, but it is a special kind of symbol that we call a sacrament.  The Catechism calls sacraments "efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us" (CCC 1131).  Another common definition of sacrament is "a visible sign of an invisible grace."  A sacrament, such as baptism, is a sign, which is another way of saying symbol.  But it is an "efficacious sign."  That means it is a sign that actually brings about what it signifies.  In other words, baptism doesn't merely represent our union with Christ's death and resurrection.  It actually causes that union to occur.

This is the way that all the sacraments operate.  The Eucharist is not just a symbol of Christ's Body and Blood.  It is Christ's Body and Blood.  Through Reconciliation we do not receive a representative forgiveness, we are truly forgiven by God.  God is the main actor in each of the sacraments He instituted, and there are seven: baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, confession (or reconciliation), matrimony, holy orders and anointing of the sick.  Through each of these God makes His grace present to us in a special and particular way.

There are human actors, as well.  There is the one receiving the sacrament, of course, and also the minister who typically administers the sacrament (the exception being marriage, in which case it is the couple receiving the sacrament who administer it to each other).  There is a ritual formula. There is a physical element.  God uses aspects of His creation to impart His grace to us.  We are both physical and spiritual creatures, and so when God comes to us through the sacraments He established in His Church, He comes to us through both physical and spiritual means.  Baptism involves cleansing with water; that is the physical aspect.  We can see the clean, pure water.  We can hear the sound of it being poured out.  We can feel the cool wetness on our skin.  We feel "washed." 

But more than the physical aspect, there is a supernatural aspect to baptism that we cannot see or hear or feel but is nevertheless there.  John said in today's gospel reading that he baptizes with water, but Christ baptizes with the Holy Spirit.  When John administered the waters of baptism to Jesus, he saw the Spirit of God descent upon Him like a dove.  You and I may not be able to see it, but that happens at each and every Christian baptism.  The Spirit comes to rest upon the one newly reborn in Christ.

Baptism is the first sacrament of initiation into the Christian life, the sacrament that opens the doors of grace and brings us into the body of Christ.  It is the first sacrament we receive, and the majority of Catholics (excluding converts to the faith such as myself) are baptized as infants shortly after birth.  You may not be able to remember your baptism, but this is what happened to you.  (And if you are unbaptized and reading this, know that this can be yours).

Baptism brings about the forgiveness of sins -- all sins, both original sin and any personal sin the one being baptized may have committed in life.  Further it removes all punishment for sins.  In baptism one is made a new creation.  The old truly passes away and is no more (CCC 1263).

Baptism fills you with "sanctifying grace," making you a son or daughter of God.  The word "sanctify" means "to be made holy," and the word "grace" means "gift."  Baptism is a gift to help you become holy.  It strengthens you, giving you the theological virtues of faith, hope and love, which are aimed chiefly at God Himself (you have faith in God, you hope in God, and you love God).  Baptism gives you the power to live your life guided by the Holy Spirit and to grow in goodness by living a virtuous life (CCC 1266).

Baptism makes you a member of the universal Church, the Body of Christ.  You become united, in Christ, with Christians of all nations and races, of all places and times.  You share in the priesthood of Christ, meaning you are called to serve others, under the authority of the Church, to help spread the good news of God's love and mercy (CCC 1267-1270).

Baptism also leaves an indelible mark on your soul, marking you as one who belongs to Christ.  "No sin can erase this mark, even if sin prevents Baptism from bearing the fruits of salvation" (CCC 1272).  

This last point is important.  Perhaps you read the above and said, "Wow, that sounds great, but I was baptized as a baby and I don't exactly feel any of that."  It doesn't matter.  That's the glory of the sacraments.  A sacrament works whether you "feel" it or not.  A sign, as we commonly think of it, only has meaning if we choose to give it meaning.  But a sacrament is an "efficacious sign."  That mean it is effective on its own.  Whether you feel it or not, God's grace is truly there.

It is possible for us to ignore that grace.  And perhaps you have been ignoring all the gifts of baptism that I just described above.  Perhaps you have not been living them out in your life, not allowing them to bear fruit.  Perhaps you have forgotten about those gifts entirely.  It does not matter.  They are still there.  You still bear the mark of a child of God, and not even the gravest of sins can wipe that mark away.  You belong to Him.  

If this is you, then I invite you to start living the grace of your baptism today.  Baptism is the gateway to the sacramental life.  If you have been away from that life for a while, I invite you to recall your baptism and return to it.  Come back to Confession and the Eucharist (the daily bath and daily bread of the Christian).  You are a new creature, reborn in Christ, a member of a royal priesthood.  God has great things in mind for you - nothing short of perfection.  Don't settle for a life of mediocrity and sin.  Start living the life of love and grace.  Start living your baptism.

God bless,

Matt

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WCU Catholic Campus Ministry

Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister

www.WCUCatholic.org

  

(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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Gospel For Today - Baptism of the Lord

SOLEMNITY OF THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD (A)

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Today we conclude the Christmas season with the celebration of the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord.  A common question that arises at this time each year is, "Why was Jesus Baptized at all?"  It's a fair question, especially when you consider the reason and the effects of our own baptism.

Why are we baptized?  The short answer is, "for the forgiveness of sins."  We are sinners, plain and simple.  We are conceived in the state of original sin, which is the general state of all mankind since the Fall of our first parents, the effects of which are many but include the loss of the grace of original holiness.  We also, if we are baptized as adults, will have committed many personal sins in our life.  These sins are called "actual" sins, not because original sin is not "actually" a sin, in the way we use the word today; rather because these are sins we commit in act, or by our actions.  In either case, original sin or actual sin, baptism cleanses us of that sin.  It transmits God's forgiveness.  "By Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well as all punishment for sin" (CCC 1263).

But Jesus Christ is the sinless One.  He is God Incarnate.  In His human nature He is like us in all things except sin.  So if Christ was conceived without original sin, and if He committed no personal sin, then why was Jesus baptized by John?  

We are not alone in asking this question.  In today's gospel reading from Matthew John himself tries to stop Jesus from being baptized.  "I need to be baptized by you," he says, "and yet you are coming to me?"  Yet Jesus said His baptism was fitting, "to fulfill all righteousness."  

There is more here than meets the eye, and there is more to baptism than meets the eye.  Baptism does more for us than simply wipe away all sins.  Not that the forgiveness of all sins and remission of all punishment due to sins is not enough, mind you!  That alone is a miraculous, generous, and merciful action of our God.  It already is more than any of us deserve, but God does not stop there.

According to St. Paul, the one who is baptized unites himself or herself with Christ's death.  That sounds kind of bad, until you realize that it is only by being united to His death that we can be united to His Resurrection.  

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in the newness of life (Rom 6:3-4).

This "newness of life" begins with Christ's baptism.  When Jesus arose from the waters, our gospel today tells us that "the heavens were opened."  These same heavens were closed to us after Adam's sin; they are opened now with Christ.  The gospel also speaks of the Spirit coming down and resting over Jesus in the water.  Just as the Spirit hovered over the waters of creation in Genesis 1:2, now the Spirit descends over the waters of the new creation which is being wrought in Christ.

So why was Jesus baptized?  The answer is not for the forgiveness of His sins, but for ours.  Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  By subjecting Himself to baptism, He is emptying Himself.  The Catechism calls His baptism the "first manifestation" of His self-emptying (CCC 1224), a self-emptying that would end with His suffering and death on a cross.   Likewise the descent of the Holy Spirit over the waters is a manifestation of the new creation to be worked in Christ through His death and Resurrection.  The appearance of the Holy Trinity (the Son, being baptized, the Spirit descending over the waters of baptism, and the Father saying He is well pleased) is a manifestation of the Trinity coming to rest in our own hearts upon our baptism.  

If you recall from last week, we spoke of the word epiphany meaning "manifestation," or making known.  Thus the Baptism of the Lord is a sort of epiphany, an extension of the epiphany we celebrate when the wise men, three Gentile sages from the east, came to worship Christ the Lord.  And as a symbol of dying and rising, Christ's baptism foreshadows the passion, death and resurrection to come.  Thus it is fitting that we celebrate His baptism today, to end the Christmas season and prepare us for the great Lent and Easter celebrations to follow.

Why was Jesus baptized?  He was baptized for us, to give our own baptisms meaning; so that the waters of this earth would be made holy, conduits of His grace, in order that we might be united with Him in death, united with Him in eternal life, reborn as children of God, creatures in the new creation.  

--

WCU Catholic Campus Ministry

Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister

www.WCUCatholic.org

  

(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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Gospel For Today

FEAST OF THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD

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Here's a quick question...  why do we get baptized?  According to our Catholic faith, as taught in the Catechism, our baptism confers the forgiveness of sins (original sin, and actual sin).  It also causes us to be reborn in the Holy Spirit, united with Christ and His Church as children of God.

So here's the follow up question prompted by today's feast.  Why was Christ baptized?  Believing what we do about the effects of baptism, Jesus would not need the graces offered by God through the baptismal waters.  He was without sin; and he already was perfectly united with God as His only begotten Son.  So why was Jesus baptized?

In praying the Morning Office today, I found answers to that question in the intercessory prayers, which I would like to share with you this morning.

Christ, you made your light shine on us by revealing yourself; grant us the spirit of humble service to all people.

Christ's baptism is a revelation, a manifestation of his divinity.  In today's Gospel reading, John the Baptist said, "I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming.  I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."  Elsewhere John also said of Jesus, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."  Through his baptism, Jesus was revealing himself as the one of whom John spoke.  This manifestation is linked to the feast of Epiphany, which we celebrated last week, when Christ was manifested as king of all nations by the visitation of the magi from the east.

Christ, you humbled yourself and received baptism from your servant to show us the way of humility; grant us the spirit of humble service to our fellow man.

Christ was baptized for our benefit, not for his own.  It was an act of humility for him, just as his incarnation, being born of human flesh, was an act of humility.  Jesus allowing John to baptize him is similar to when Our Lord washed the feet of the Apostles at the Last Supper.  He is showing us that a true leader is one who serves other.  One cannot be holy without being humble.

Christ, through your baptism you cleansed us of every blemish and made us children of your Father; bestow your spirit of adoption on all who seek you.

Christ was already without sin.  Christ was already the begotten Son of the Father.  Through his baptism, he has made this sacrament the vehicle by which we become the Father's adopted children and are cleansed from the dirt and grime of sin upon our souls, so that we may be more like him.

Christ, through baptism you have consecrated creation and opened the door of repentance to all who prepare for baptism; make us servants of your Gospel in the world.

In a manner of speaking, when John poured the waters of baptism upon the head of Jesus Christ, it was not Christ who was baptized by the water, but the other way around.  The waters of the world were baptized by Christ.  God blesses his creation and transforms it in to a vehicle of his grace and mercy.  Those of us who repent and come to the waters of baptism drink from the fountain of grace that erupts from Jesus Christ.

Christ, through your baptism you revealed to us the Holy Trinity when the Father called you his beloved Son and the Holy Spirit came down upon you; renew the spirit of adoption among the royal priesthood of the baptized.

Again, Christ's baptism is a manifestation; not only of Jesus's divinity, but of the Blessed Trinity itself.  In this scene in the gospel today we have all three actors, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit on the stage.  The Trinity was not a concept known to the Jesus; it is a facet of God's inner life that is revealed to us only through Jesus Christ.  At his baptism, we receive a glimpse of the Holy Trinity, an intimate look at God never before revealed to us.  

And so let us celebrate this last feast of the Christmas season, this feast wherein all the waters of the world are made holy, the doors of forgiveness thrown open to all who repent, and God the Trinity is made manifest to us.  

Almighty, eternal God, when the Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan, you revealed him as your own beloved Son.  Keep us, your children born of water and the Spirit, faithful to our calling.

We ask this through our Lord, Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.  Amen.

For more information on the Baptism of the Lord, click the link below:

http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2013-01-13

--

WCU Catholic Campus Ministry

Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister

www.WCUCatholic.org

  

(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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