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Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

January 13, 2019

Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

Next week the “Baptism of the Lord” leads us deep into the mystery of Christ Jesus. It is full of profound truth about God, about Jesus Christ, and about any of us who are Baptized into divine life. I believe that his baptism was the central moment in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. When Jesus stepped forward to be baptized, he affirmed his solidarity with us, who are sinners in a public way. By that action, he revealed to us how intimately God wishes to be in solidarity with us sinners. Jesus stood in the water of the Jordan just as he lay in a stable and grew up in a home with Joseph and Mary. He knew human weakness. He worked for a living. He made friends and enemies. Desiring to be one with us so completely, he took his turn joining the self-admitted sinners at the Jordan. He identified with every single aspect of the human condition. Eventually his identification with us would lead him to death. He came that day to understand that he was “THE BELOVED OF GOD”. He came to understand that others might leave him, but God would never leave him. That voice he heard wrapped him in divine love. His strength and his hope were found in that identity. He was loved by God! That same gift is given to each of us who are baptized. No matter what happens, God does not stop loving us. No matter what we do or where we go, God does not leave. We have been welcomed as children of God, and have been proclaimed “Beloved.” When we face the struggles that are a part of our solidarity with each other and with Jesus Christ, we must remember and repeat the blessing: “I am beloved of God.” Then we can live in the hope found in that identity.

Fr. Tom Boyer