Homily for the Feast of
the
Baptism of the Lord
Jan. 9, 2022
Luke 3: 15-16, 21-22
St. Joseph Church, New
Rochelle, N.Y.
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx, N.Y.
“He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3: 16).
John the Baptist was
baptizing people in the Jordan River and giving fiery sermons. There was no fire in the river, however; the
water he poured over people—or into which he dunked them—was only a
symbol. It symbolized interior
repentance and a commitment of the one baptized to turn away from sin and turn
toward God. It did not effect a radical
cleansing of the soul.
Such a cleansing
awaited the one whose forerunner John was, or his advance agent, we might say
today. “One mightier than I is coming,”
John announced. “He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and fire” (3:16).
Jesus, too, came to
John and was baptized (3:21). Many
people ask why. Jesus had no sins to
repent of. He was already perfectly in
tune with God’s will. As the heavenly
voice proclaimed, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (3:22).
The Fathers of the Church, ancient explainers of our faith, tell us why Jesus was baptized. For example, St. Maximus of Turin in the 5th century preached: “Christ is baptized, not to be made holy by the water, but to make the water holy, and by his cleansing to purify the waters which he touched. For when the Savior is washed, all water for our baptism is made clean, purified at its source for the dispensing of baptismal grace to the people of future ages.”[1]
The grace of Christ’s
baptism bestows on us who are baptized in his name the Holy Spirit and
fire: the same Spirit that “descended
upon him in bodily form like a dove” (3:22), the same Spirit that descended
upon Mary and the apostles on Pentecost in the form of tongues of fire (Acts
2:3). You and I as baptized Christians
are graced with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
Pope Francis has
stressed that we should remember the day of our Baptism as one of the most
important days of our lives. Not that we
who were baptized as infants would remember the experience, any more than we
remember being born. But like our
physical birthday, our spiritual birthday merits remembrance, gratitude to God,
and celebration. The Pope urges us to
know that day. I can tell you that the
anniversary of my Baptism at St. Barnabas in Bellmore on Long Island comes up
in 14 days.
During his preaching,
Jesus said that he had come to set the earth on fire, and how eager he was to
see that fire kindled (Luke 12:49).
That’s the fire of the Holy Spirit, the fire in which we were baptized. What does that mean?
When I go camping in Harriman State Park, I and my companions love a good campfire. Fire gives us light and warmth. It may provide a sense of security amid the darkness. We might cook over it.
The fire of Jesus
Christ kindled in our souls likewise is meant to give light, warmth, and
comfort to the world. Jesus tells us we
are the light of the world (Matt 5:14).
Actually, the light, warmth, and comfort are his. But filled with his Holy Spirit, we bring the
world the light, warmth, and comfort of Jesus—by modeling our words, our
behavior, and even our thoughts on his.
St. Paul challenges us to have in ourselves the same mind that was in
Christ (Phil 2:5): humility, kindness,
generosity, love. St. Paul’s Letter to
Titus reminds us that God’s grace empowers us to “live temperately, justly, and
devoutly in this age” until the final appearance of Jesus Christ at the end of
history (2:12-13).
When Jesus was
baptized in the Jordan, the voice from heaven proclaimed him as God’s beloved
Son with whom his Father was well pleased.
When we’re baptized in Christ’s name, we also become God’s beloved
daughters and sons. When we act like
Jesus the beloved Son, we remain God’s beloved children, and with Jesus “become
heirs in hope of eternal life” (Tit 3:7).
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