
Sunday 12/01/2025
It could be argued that Jesus did not want to start his mission without the approval of his Father. Being fully human he joined all those seeking baptism from John the Baptist. Afterwards while at prayer, the Father spoke to Jesus telling him he had his full backing for his mission. This is also true for us at our baptism. God’s favour rests on us as it rested on Jesus. The Holy spirit appeared and reassured Jesus offering him full support. The Spirit will also support us in fulfilling our mission. Having been baptized with sinners, Jesus went on to share table with them and ended up being crucified between two criminals.
In being baptised, Jesus showed that he wanted to journey with us in all our brokenness, frailty, failures and sinfulness. Jesus lovingly wants to journey with us, waiting with infinite patience to help us create better order in our lives; lives in which Jesus takes pride of place. Jesus never asked people to change for the better before engaging with them. Jesus journeys with us like a ‘shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms and holding them against his breast’. In this way Jesus hoped that we would be empowered to change. Jesus came as a doctor who sought out the sick; he came not to call the righteous but sinners. After his baptism Jesus was bathed in God’s favour so that he could be a channel of that favour to all those who were open to receive it. He remains the channel of God’s favour for all of you here today.
Today’s second reading declares that the kindness and love of God was revealed to us through the cleansing water of rebirth and the generous outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon us. In baptism, God said to us, ‘You are my beloved son, my beloved daughter, my favour rests on you’. On the day of our baptism, most of us would not have had any real awareness of these gifts because we were infants. It is only as we grow older that we can begin to appreciate the graces of our baptism. It can take a very long time for us to really hear and believe those words that God speaks to each of us at our baptism.
Today Jesus reminds us of God’s baptismal gifts. Our baptism sets the tone for all our lives. What God said to us on the day of our baptism, he says to us every day of our lives. That is why we say ‘I am baptized’, rather than ‘I was baptized’. Baptism identifies us as God’s beloved sons and daughters on whom his favour rests. That is why we are only baptized once. We spend the rest of our lives embracing our baptism and all that it means.
Jesus’ baptism was the springboard for his mission to reveal the kindness and love of God for everyone. This is our baptismal mission too. Like Jesus, we are called to share with others the favour of God which rests upon us. Let us welcome this trust of God as we journey through our Jubilee Year with the blessings of the Hope that is promised to us.
Hope is gifted to us to bring blessings to a world that can appear to have lost its way. Our Jubilee Hope is one that cries out for universal peace.
by Fr. Thomas O'BRIEN a.a
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