Sunday after Epiphany: The Baptism of the Lord

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Merry Christmas!  This is the last day of the Christmas season, but it celebrates the first day of Jesus' public ministry.  Thus, the Church connects the birth of Jesus, the beginning, with the Paschal Mystery, the end!  Each Gospel has the Baptism of Jesus in it with variations.  Mark's version is the shortest with a statement of the baptism followed by a theophany, or the visible manifestation of God, with the Holy Spirit represented as a dove, and God the Father speaking from the heavens approving of God the Son.  Matthew adds John's objection to baptizing Jesus because John is not worthy.  Luke adds a historical element by naming the political leaders of the time as well as some of John's teachings.  The Gospel of John has John the Baptist giving testimony to Jesus' Baptism as though he were in a court of law.  He also calls Jesus the "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (Jn. 1:29).

The Baptism of Jesus is also important for the post-Ascension Christian community when they chose a replacement for Judas:  "Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become with us a witness to his resurrection" (Acts 1:21-22).

We are baptizes so that we may fulfill the command of Jesus:  "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Mt. 28:19-20).  As we share in the life of Christ, we call others to share in Christ's life, his life of love. 

*https://www.flickr.com/photos/ian-w-scott/7420840650

December 25--The Nativity of Our Lord

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Critics of Christianity sometimes like to point out that Jesus wasn’t born on December 25, or Christmas was instituted by the Emperor Constantine, or the Christians were just using a pagan holiday called Saturnalia to lure pagans into worshiping Christ. Given that the Jewish concept of birthdays was not we have, there are reasons to think it is reasonable to use December 25. The feast of the Annunciation is March 25, which is nine months before Christmas and also held by the ancient Church as the date of Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection. The first recorded Christmas celebration was in AD 336, during the reign of Constantine. And even though Saturnalia was not the basis of Christmas, Christians did take pagan holidays and Christianize them to help convert the people through their culture.

But all that, interesting as it may be, is not the point. The point is that God became man. The incarnation began at the Annunciation, but the birth of Jesus is the birth of the new era of reconciliation between God and humanity. To quote John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:1, 14). We are the recipients of the greatest gift ever given, Jesus Christ, who, through his Paschal Mystery brought about our salvation. What can we do to respond to such a great gift? We can say thank you. We can give others the gift of our love. We can praise God with joy and offer mercy and grace to our neighbors. We can say “Merry Christmas”!

*https://pixy.org/529082/

Sunday in the Octave of Christmas: The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

The Sunday in the Octave of Christmas is when we celebrate the first family of Christianity: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. The Gospel from Luke is about the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple where Simeon makes his prophecy, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted—and you yourself a sword will pierce—so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Lk 2:34-35).

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are the perfect family and the perfect model for family life. But how can we hope to follow their example? Through the grace of God! The family—mother, father, and child—is the ecclesia domestica, or domestic church; the first place where the faith is shared with a new generation. In the marriage of man and woman, a sacrament of mercy for humanity, we are given the grace to grow in love for God and one another.

“The family is the original cell of social life. It is the natural society in which husband and wife are called to give themselves in love and in the gift of life. Authority, stability, and a life of relationships within the family constitute the foundations for freedom, security, and fraternity within society. The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and make good use of freedom. Family life is an initiation into life in society” (CCC, #2207).

We need to pray for those who don’t understand that family is not about two people contracting with each other for their own sakes, but about a covenantal love that is lived in and through their fruitful love culminating in children in order to bring about the Kingdom of God.