DAILY- HOMILY

January 13, 2008
Feast, Baptism of the Lord - A

ISAIAH 42:1-4, 6-7
Thus says the LORD: Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one
with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring
forth justice to the nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making
his voice heard in the street. a bruised reed he shall not break, and
a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on
the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching. I, the LORD,
have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the
hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light
for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners
from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

ACTS 10:34-38
Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered in the house of Cornelius,
saying: "In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in
every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to
him. You know the word that he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed
peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, what has happened all
over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached,
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He
went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him."

MATTHEW 3:13-17
Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.
John tried to prevent him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and
yet you are coming to me?" Jesus said to him in reply, "Allow it now,
for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he
allowed him. After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and
behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the
heavens, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well
pleased."

REFLECTION
There are three approaches to the Gospel: to listen to it, to learn
from it, and to apply it to life and live it.

In the first approach, we merely listen carefully to the story. We
learn that after John baptized Jesus, three unusual events happened:
the sky opened, the Spirit descended, and a voice spoke from heaven.
And so, in the first approach, we simply listen to the story. Perhaps
this was the way we first encountered this Gospel passage when we were
in grade school. The catechist merely tells the story and we listen.

In the second approach we go a step further. We try to learn the
meaning of the story. We try to understand the significance of the sky
opening, the Spirit descending, and the voice speaking.

What does it mean when the "sky opens"? The "sky opening" suggests
that God has heard his people's prayers. He is coming to rescue them.
In other words, a "new era" is about to begin on earth.

This brings us to the second unusual image: the image of the Spirit
hovering over Jesus and the water. This image is almost identical with
the image in the Book of Genesis describing the beginning of creation:
"God's spirit hovered over the water." (Gen. 1:2) The image of the
Spirit moving over Jesus and the water suggests that the new era, just
beginning, is a "new creation" or "re-creation" of the world.

That brings us to the final image: the voice from heaven saying, "This
is my own dear Son." These words of God the Father identify Jesus as
his Son. Jesus is the "new Adam" of the new creation. St. Paul
compares Jesus and Adam this way: "'The first man, Adam, was created a
living being'; but the last Adam [Jesus] is the life-giving Spirit ...
"The first Adam... came from the earth; the second Adam came from
heaven." "Just as we wear the likeness of the man made of earth [the
first Adam], so we will wear the likeness of the Man from heaven [the
second Adam, Jesus]." (Romans 15: 44-48)

And so we can summarize the meaning of the baptism of Jesus in these
words: Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River marks the start of a "new
era" in history. This new era is a "new creation" in which Jesus is
the "new Adam."

This brings us to the third way we can approach the story of Jesus'
baptism. Besides listening to it and learning its deeper meaning, we
can also relate it to our lives and live it. How do we relate the
story of Jesus' baptism to our lives?

We can do so by thinking about the story in our minds; pray over it in
our hearts. We can recall that the "new creation," which began with
the baptism of Jesus, became a personal reality for each one of us at
our own baptism. When we were baptized, in a very true sense, the sky
opened above us, and a voice said to us, "You are my son."

Describing what happens in Christian baptism, St. Paul wrote to a
group of newly baptized Christians: "When you were baptized you were
buried with Christ, and in baptism you were raised with Christ ... You
were at one time spiritually dead because of your sins ... But God has
now brought you to life with Christ." (Col. 2: 12-13)

Paul, then, gives a beautiful explanation of how Christians ought to
apply Jesus' baptism to their lives and live it. And it is with Paul's
beautiful words that we would end.

Paul says: "You have been raised to life with Christ, so set your hear
t on the things that are in heaven ... Keep your mind fixed on the
things there, not on the things here on earth ... "Your real life is
Christ and when he appears , then you too will appear with him and
share his glory! (Col. 3:1-4)

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
... for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
... for the strength, healing and speedy recovery of:
- Damaso Guevara and Eligia Fernando
- Herminia Guiden
- Eric Lagumbay
- STIMM
- Guillermo Samaniego, Jr.
- Bebe Lastimado
... for the personal intentions of:
- Dumauas families
- Mayjay Cubelo
... Good health: Margie, Evelyn and the members of the Ponce de Leon
Family
... for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Francisco Tong
... for world peace and reconciliation.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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