Baptism of Jesus
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January 13, 2019
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We read about Peter in our second reading.
Word comes to him that a Centurion of the Roman guard named Cornelius, a
Gentile and therefore in the eyes of the Jews an unclean man, wished to
be baptized.
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Peter hesitated at first. After all, this
man was defective in so many ways. He was a foreigner, a Gentile, a
soldier of the occupying force, there was no way God could be calling
him. Peter has a change of heart and says, I truly understand now that
God shows no partiality. And so he takes this unclean Gentile, this
sinner, into the faith community through baptism.
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Many of us at times can identify with
Cornelius. There are times we feel like unclean sinners, defective in
one way or another, and unlikely candidates for holiness. A pagan once
asked the rabbi, why did God choose the humble thorbush as the place to
speak to Moses? Could He not have chosen a grander tree, or a mighty
mountain? The rabbi said, God chose the humble thorbush to teach us that
there is not place on earth bereft of the divine presence. Not even a
thorbush.
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That little parable tells us that we are
all candidates for holiness. The divine presence wants to settle in our
sometimes miserable thorbush lives. As Jesus himself said, I come to
call the sick, not the well. We are all candidates for holiness, no
matter who or what we are. Who else but Jesus would have called Peter,
the one who denied Him, and made Him the head of the Apostles? Who else
but Jesus would have called St. Paul, the persecutor of the Church, to
spread the Gospel? Or St. Augustine, the Libertine, to teach the masses?
Or Thomas Merton, the playboy, to popularize the contemplative life?
And Dorothy Day, the Communist, to care for Christ’s poor?
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All these people were flawed, and so are
we but our imperfections, our sins, cannot be used to duck God’s call to
grace, to holiness, to conversion; the call we received at our baptism.
On this feast of the baptism of Jesus, it might be well to remember
that baptism, like membership in any organization or group, carries with
it privileges, obligations, and expectations.
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Let me tell you a true story. A Franciscan
priest who I knew, Fr. Brennan Manning, grew up during the depression
and told the story of some salesmen from that era who had a few drinks
while waiting for a train. They realized they were late for the train as
they rushed across the street to Grand Central Station. As they barged
into the terminal, one man inadvertently bumped into a ten-year old
blind boy who was selling apples. The men just kept going, all except
one who stopped. He gathered up the apples, and noticed that several of
them were bruised. He reached into his wallet, took out five dollars,
put it into the blind boy’s hand and said, I’m sorry, we did some
damage, this is five dollars. I have put the good apples back in the
basket, I hope you are okay. As he started to walk away, the bewildered
boy called after him, Sir, sir, are you Jesus?
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We could all ask ourselves the question,
when was the last time I did something Christ-like? What would Jesus do?
At our baptism through symbol and ritual, we are welcomed into a
community, a community of contradictions. We are not perfect. It is a
sinful community, always in need of God’s grace and favor, but, it is
made up of people striving to make it a community of love. In an age
that can be inhuman, there is compassion. In the midst of death, there
is a stress on life. For all the apparent absence of God in the world,
we Christians can joy in the presence of Christ. In spite of our
weaknesses, Christ is our hope and our strength.
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Perhaps St. Paul puts it best when he sums
it all up by saying: “For in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God.
For as many of you as were baptized, there is neither Jew nor Greek;
there is neither slave nor free; there is neither male or female. For
you are all one in Christ Jesus, our Lord.”
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Baptism is not just something we do when a
child is born. Baptism reveals your identity, and tells the world who
you are. You are baptized into Christ. You are to strive to be
Christ-like, try to act Christ-like, and when you do that, then the
heavens will open again. And the Father will declare with pride, you are
My son, My daughter, whom I love. With you I am well pleased.
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P.S. Today, January 16th,
is the birth date of Father Paul Wattson, Founder of the Franciscan
Friars of the Atonement. Born in 1863, Father Paul has been named a
Servant of God and Apostle of Christian Unity and Charity, in his cause
for sainthood. Father Paul was a pioneer for Christian Unity and
believed in the At-One-Ment of all God’s children. He was an apostle of
charity as a true Franciscan who loved and served the poor. Visit the Father Paul of Graymoor Guild to learn more about the life, works and spirituality of Father Paul of Graymoor.
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