On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” – Mk 1: 10-11
God is good, all the time.
Friends, Today I want to make two propositions to you. The first is that those who trust Jesus with your faith and life will see him bring them safely to heaven. The second is that those who trust the church with their faith and life will get the support to get them to heaven.
As we conclude the Christmas season, we celebrate the baptism of the Lord. The baptism of the Lord reminds us of the mission of Jesus in coming to the world. Jesus didn't need John's baptism of repentance. But he submitted to it to express how God seeks to touch our lives and strengthen us in our fragility and sinfulness. From his words, attitudes, and actions, he indicates that his father is a God of love, compassion, second chance, and a new start.
In the first reading today, Isaiah invites humanity to the living waters. He says, "All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk! Why spend your money for what is not bread, your wages for what fails to satisfy?" Isaiah's invitation to come to the living waters was a prefiguration of Christian baptism. Christ will undergo baptism to establish it as a condition sine qua non for all Christian fraternity and access to heaven. Consider how Isaiah links the living waters with eating bread and drink wine for satisfaction. He is talking about the Holy Eucharist, which one participates in after their baptism. We are baptized in Christ and nurtured with the body and blood of Christ for maturity and life.
At the baptism of Jesus, the father set his seal on him by declaring him as the beloved Son with whom he is well pleased. Later, in his disciples' glaring view at the mount of transfiguration, a second declaration from the father demanded that we listen to His Son. "This is my Son, whom I love; with him, I am well pleased. Listen to him!"(Matt 17:5). So, the proposition that if we can trust Jesus with our faith and life, we can be safe that he will take us to heaven is justified and defended by God's own pronouncements.
It is also true that we receive baptism in the church and become part of God's family. As Catholics, our baptism constitutes us into a Eucharistic community, and our faith is rooted in the Eucharist, which we come together to celebrate each weekend. The church keeps nurturing and transforming us through all the other sacraments we receive and the good practice of virtues we engage in our Catholic homes, the community, and the church.
Most Catholics respond to our baptismal responsibilities by sacrificing our time, talents, and treasure, for which I couldn't be more grateful as a priest for all of you. Though we acknowledge that the church is not perfect because it is made up of people with imperfection, yet because of Jesus, it still a channel of grace for helping us to fulfill our lives even as the church itself, the bride of Christ, matures into perfection. Therefore, trust the church with your faith and your life, and it will support you to get to heaven.
Fellow Catholic Christian, we should listen to Jesus and the church. Do not stake your life on anyone or anything other than Jesus and his church. Pay more attention to the Lord who speaks to us from the deep recesses of our hearts and souls and escape the voice of the many wolves in sheepskins.
If we pay attention to the prince of peace and look at his life and conduct as he lived among us, we will not make mistakes to move where the Spirit of Jesus is not leading us. For "whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:16-18).
And we all know what the authentic image of Jesus is. For, "he is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (Eph 2:14). God bless us in his servant Jesus Christ.