Sermon 13 January 2013

Christ's baptism is a MYSTERY, because we don't know why He did it! Neither did John the Baptist who asked, "Why are YOU coming to ME?" Think about it: baptism removes sin, but Christ was sinless--so He didn't need it! This feast is always a puzzle to theologians.

 

When I teach about Christ's Baptism to students, I always teach about rituals. Rituals are significant to human beings. Not many of us would feel very good about combining our lives, our future and our fortune with someone, but have NO ceremony--even if it's the signing of a pre-nuptial agreement in a lawyer's office, with brunch to follow! Some people can do it, but most of us don't "feel married" without something that says to the world: "She's mine, and I'm hers," or "He's mine, and I'm his."

 

Not many want to come home from the hospital with a new baby with NO rituals at all--even if it's a new crib and flowers and a cake--we want SOMETHING that says to the world: "Welcome, little one! You're with us, now, and we love you, and we'll be here for the long haul."

 

Some students say, "I don't need to go through the graduation ceremony--let them mail me the diploma...but MOST of us could hardly wait to walk across that stage and change the tassel from one side of the Mortar Board to the other, and have that diploma in hand, our proud parents and relatives in the audience taking pictures and silently calculating the cost of the next one!

 

Religious rituals, especially, are "defining." They tell us who we are in the world. And Baptism tells us we are Christians, and if done by a priest, a Catholic Christian on top of it. BUT, Baptism ALSO tells us that we are now officially part of a family that is so much larger than the one that gave us birth. And I think that's why Christ wanted this ceremony. He didn't NEED it; He WANTED it. He wanted to be made one with the wider family--How Wide--His life would only show.

 

Today, you and I come here--all of us baptized, just as Christ was--and we know that it has made us Christians and Catholics on top if it, BUT, it has also made us a part of a much larger "family of God," and THAT family is bigger than we could ever imagine. So, as we celebrate this feast, let us celebrate its message--and let us make of our lives benedictions of brotherhood and peace as we come to see ourselves as part of the larger family of God--the HUMAN FAMILY. And may each of us find a way to bring a bit of understanding and peace to that family. And may God bless you all. +