THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD
Cycle
“A”
We are so familiar with the story of Jesus’
baptism that it is hard to think of him starting his ministry in any other way.
He could have succumbed to the devil’s temptation in the desert and immediately
risen to fame by trotting out sensational miracles, or he could have exerted
the power of his personality among the leaders of the nation. Usually, people
in the world, especially politicians, want to start their careers with
attention-grabbing headlines. Films stars have got used to having a crazy crowd
following them, and they can be devastated if they are not taken notice of. But
Our dear Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, deliberately chose to be one of the
crowd of penitents, waist-deep in the Jordan. (Quite a dirty river, I must tell
you). He mingled with those who were humbly presenting themselves for baptism,
forgiveness and cleansing.
You must have, of late, read or heard about
the Harry Potter novels written by J. W. Rowling. The stories are a great hit
with young readers who identify with the schoolboy Harry and his schoolmates,
because Harry and friends want to escape from the straitjacket of adult
discipline and religious conformity. They want their own way to freedom, and
their own way to fight evil. Harry Potter finally has to fight against the
sinister Lord Voldemort, an arch-wizard, bent on global domination. Young Harry
and friends don’t mind making use of sorcery and magical animals in their
fight, which is why certain religious people have condemned the books. Actually
Harry and friends want to save the world, even if it entails turning it upside
down. It is essentially their youthful joy of life, “joie de vivre”, against
the controlling mind of the overbearing adult, white magic against black, good
against evil - and guess who wins in the end.
Children have an entirely healthy desire to
turn the world upside down. And this desire is an echo of the Good News of
Jesus Christ. Like Jesus, the young Harry Potter rejects totally all worldly
power and success. Here is an echo of Jesus’ option to join the sinners in the
Jordan, standing in solidarity with their alienation, their disappointment with
themselves, their moral confusion and sinful shame; and there in the mess he
was recognised by the Father very pleased with his beloved Son. This is
followed immediately by Jesus’ rejection of both political and religious power
in the desert, and finally his rejecting of the use of force at Gethsemane and
as he stood before the powers that were, Pontius Pilate and the mad king,
Herod. He could have smashed them with an act of his will, but he preferred to
remain the Suffering Servant, making way for the Father to take over.
My
dear friends, in a world that is still reeling from global terrorism and the
shock of the horrific events of 11th. September - a
dark day for humanity - we need to look and learn from Jesus in the
Jordan. There we see penitence, reconcilement and godly happiness. This is a
far cry from worldly power and intimidation. There is no foundation for terrorism
in the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths; and revenge will only allow the
perpetrators to set the moral tone of the world’s agenda. This is not to extol
the agents of violence and murder, since they must be brought to justice. At
the same time Pope John Paul II in his New Year message reminds us that
forgiveness can co-exist with justice. Forgiveness can co-exist with justice.
May the light of Christ help us to expose
the violence lurking within our own hearts with their prejudices, if any, and
hopefully guide us and our world on a new journey of respectful tolerance and
peace.
PRAYER
(after the Chaldean Rite):
O Christ, you humbled yourself and received
baptism at the hands of your friend and cousin, John, showing us the way of
humility,
help us to follow you and never to be
encumbered with pride.
O Christ, by your baptism, you took our
humanity into the cleansing waters;
give us new birth, and lead us into life as
sons and daughters of God.
O Christ, by your baptism the material
world became charged with your holiness,
make us instruments of your transformation
in this our world.
O Christ, by your baptism you revealed the
Trinity, your Father calling you his beloved Son, and the Spirit descending
upon you like a dove;
renew our worship, rededicate us in the
spirit of our baptism, and mould us into our true nature, in the image of God.
For your love’s sake.
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