Baptism of Our Lord

By Bishop Paul S. Loverde
Special to the HERALD
(From the Issue of Jan. 16, 2003)

The following homily was given by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde on Jan. 12, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington.

Today’s Feast of the Baptism of the Lord marks a turning point: a turning-point in the Lord’s life, a turning pointing in our lives as members of His Body the Church and a turning point in the lives of our parish catechumen and candidates, who will enter the Church at the Easter Vigil.

The sacred liturgy we celebrate today recalls the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by St. John the Baptist. The Gospel account just proclaimed in our midst describes this event. Jesus’ baptisms truly marked a turning point in His life as the Son of God made man. After years of quiet, ordinary living at Nazareth, unknown except to His mother, relatives, friends and townspeople, He was becoming a public person — "The Servant of the Lord." In Him was now beginning to be fulfilled the prophesy of Isaiah heard in today’s first reading: "Here is my servant … my chosen one … upon whom I put my spirit … I have called you for the victory of justice … I formed you, and set you… as a light for the nations…."

When St. John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan, Jesus formally and consciously committed Himself to begin His public life — His ministry and mission as the Beloved Son of the Father and the Savior of all peoples. His was a ministry of preaching and healing, proclaiming that God’s kingdom or reign has come. His was the mission to invite all people to union with God, to authentic holiness, in a word, to salvation. The antiphon for Evening Prayer on the Vigil of the Feast of the Lord’s Baptism sums up so well the Lord’s ministry and mission, which began with His baptism. "Our Savior came to be baptized, so that through the cleansing water of baptism he might restore the old man to new life, heal our sinful nature and clothe us with unfailing holiness." Yes, the baptism by St. John the Baptist truly marked a turning point in the life of Jesus.

Today’s observance of Jesus’ baptism reminds us of our baptism, that turning point in each of our lives whereby we become disciples of the Lord and members of His Body the Church. Whether it was many years ago or only recently, whether we were infants or adults, through the Sacrament of Baptism, you and I were born again through water and the Holy Spirit — born into a new way of life: a life of worship and of service.

Before baptism, we were creatures of God; after baptism, we became and remain real, though adopted, sons and daughters of God, sharing His very life — sanctifying grace. Once baptized, we call God our Father in the community of the Church, with both the privilege and the responsibility to worship Him through daily prayer and through the celebration of the sacraments, especially the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The Eucharist is at the heart of our prayer life. Receiving the Lord Jesus in Holy Communion enables us to become one with Him in a unique way and, through Him, one with each other. I remind us to come forward in a reverent manner, bowing just before receiving the Lord Jesus, to signify our adoration and respect.

Before baptism, we were members of the human family; after baptism, we became and remain united with one another as members of the Church established by Jesus Christ as a visible organized community and willed by Christ to be His Other Presence in the world as a sign uplifted among the nations.

Moreover, this recalling of our baptism becomes the occasion for us today to recommit ourselves to living a new way of life, to living life differently because baptism truly marked a turning point in our lives. From then on — from now on — in ways proper to our individual vocations and to the various roles of service we exercise, roles that are not identical but complimentary, we must make holy, teach and serve in and through Christ Jesus.

The turning point which baptism marked and caused in our lives means from now on that we live life with all its problems and uncertainties in a spirit of faith, hope and love; that we inject into our society huge dosages of compassion and forgiveness, of justice and peace; that we be the catalysts — agents of change — for a renewed morality in the personal, civic, political and social arenas of life; that we respect and protect human life from its beginning at conception all the way through to its end at natural death; that we live, united in faith and practice, in union with our Holy Father and with our bishops; that we find in our union with Jesus the strength to go about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil (cf. second reading) as we cling to the hope of one day sharing eternal life in heaven.

Today also marks a turning point for our parish catechumen and candidates. Glenn Davey will be received into the order of catechumens, preparing for his initiation into the Christian faith by Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist at the Easter Vigil. Cynthia Campbell, Kevin Reich and Sarah Reidy, already baptized, wish to complete their Christian initiation through Confirmation and Eucharist, likewise at the Easter Vigil. As we welcome them, we assure them of our prayer-filled support at this turning point in their lives.

Finally, today’s feast also marks a turning point in the Church Year; today we end the Christmas season and tomorrow we begin "ordinary time." As we journey together through this turning point into the days and weeks ahead, may we make of "ordinary time" an "extraordinary time" of fidelity to God’s Word and Will. Holding one another in prayer and encouraging one another to do good, may we deepen the turning point of our baptism, so that we will live as God’s beloved sons and daughters in whom He will be well pleased (cf. Gospel).

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