11th January 2009 - Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
In just a few days, the Church's liturgy has moved from the Stable in Bethlehem to the River Jordan and through about 30 years of the hidden life of Jesus. The baby has grown into the man and with it a growing awareness that he is the Son of God, sent here for a purpose and a mission that needs to begin. We know very little of what happened in between Bethlehem and his baptism by John. However, we can presume that he lived a normal life under the guidance of Mary and Joseph. Nevertheless, all through that time the awareness of who he was grew day by day untill the time he said goodbye to Mary and was drawn by the Spirit to the Jordan River.
As a priest one of the more special occasions is when you celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism. Those days are all about beginnings, they are about families coming to give thanks to God for the gift of a child. They are also days when Parents and Godparents take on special responsibility in looking after the spiritual needs of the child. Those promises should never be taken lightly, because faith is too precious for that. Faith is like a fragile plant that needs to be protected and nourished or it will die. The times we live in today are times when faith is sorely tested from all sides. However, there should be no retreat from following the gospel even if it is counter cultural. We should celebrate faith, not just behind closed doors in the name of so-called pluralism. The recent decision before Christmas to ban an advertisement by Veritas was in my opinion another example of political correctness gone mad. As if a figure of a child in a manger could offend anyone. We need to be strong in the face of such small-mindedness.
The Words spoken by God to his Son in today's gospel are words he addresses to us too; you are my son, my daughter, my child in whom I am well pleased. Those words should give us the same courage it gave to Jesus, to go out and make a difference and be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world we live in today. Amen.
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Homilies Archive
17nd May 2009
26th April 2009
3rd Sunday of Easter
12th April 2009
Easter Sunday
9th April 2009
Holy Thursday
29th March 2009
5th Sunday in Lent
22nd March 2009
4th Sunday in Lent
17th March 2009
St. Patrick's Day
15th March 2009
3rd Sunday in Lent
8th March 2009
2nd Sunday in Lent
1st March 2009
1st Sunday in Lent
25th February 2009
Ash Wednesday
22nd February 2009
8th February 2009
1st February 2009
25th January 2009
18th January 2009
11th January 2009
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
6th January 2009
Feast of the Epiphany
4th January 2009
2008 HOMILIES ARCHIVE
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