Dear friends,
Today’s the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. God’s never ceases to amaze us. After taking flesh and becoming one like us in everything but sin, He goes deeper to even accept to be baptized by John, He who is sinless. That is how much important we are for Him. He takes unimaginable steps to save us; He came down from Heaven, took flesh, was born in a manger in total poverty, and today He takes the path of the sinful to ransom us.
Usually, the sacrament of baptism is defined as integration in the Church, the Body of Christ.” While this is true, there is another aspect of this sacrament about which we are reminded today, namely, that Baptism and mission are intrinsically connected or linked. One is baptized for a mission and purpose. Once chosen, the baptized is meant to proclaim the kingdom of God through words and deed. The Son of God whose baptism we celebrate today shows us the way.
Today, as we renew our baptism promises, we take the resolve to not be bystanders but courageous disciples aiming at transforming the world by the testimony of a life totally dedicated to God and to transforming the world to the kingdom for which we are made coworkers and partakers. When we hear the voice of God telling us that we are His beloved children, adopting us through Jesus Christ, we are invited to bear witness to that unmeasurable love that gives another face to the world. Our adoption as children of God by virtue of our baptism will be meaningful only in so far as we reflect the identity of the One who became like us in everything but sin.
Let us rediscover our baptism identity as children of God whose mission is to make tangible the kingdom of God in our world by our courageous commitment to living the Gospel; and let us continue to pray for one another and for our parish family.
Fr. Emery