A homily for the Baptism of the Lord, January 9, 2022
Is 42:1-4, 6-7, Ti 2:11-14; 3:4-7, Lk 3:15-16, 21-22
So: God in Heaven is well pleased with Jesus.
Duh.
Could anyone expect anything else?
Even though his ministry was still in its infancy, Jesus was living the right way, working the right way, teaching the right way and following the Law and the Prophets as any observant Jew of his age should.
Simply put, he was doing everything that a man of his time and place believed would please God.
And God literally said as much.
Jesus, son of God, got high praise.
So where does that leave us?
In a pretty good place, actually.
When we are baptized according to the rite of the Roman Catholic Church, especially as children, we are washed clean of sin through water and the Holy Spirit, and anointed priest, prophet and king as our brother Jesus was.
Our brother Jesus.
Which reaffirms that God is both wise Almighty Creator and loving father.
Our Father, as we dare to pray.
So is God well pleased with us?
With us, ourselves, we who are created in God’s image? Yes, always.
With our sinful actions, with the ways we think we know better than God (but really don’t!) and do what we want to and not the things that keep our lives holy and loving? That would be no.
But because God is love and God loves in ways that surpass any human capabilities, God helps us pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and climb back onto the straight and narrow.
Which really isn’t all that narrow, when you think about it.
Be kind.
Be respectful.
Be open to learning about the differences among the billions of children of God, and embrace them.
Every one of these life choices is simple and even easy.
We don’t have to overthink or overstate.
As St. Paul wrote to Titus, Jesus was baptized as one of us so he could claim us as a people as his own, eager to do what is good.
Let us be God’s own people. Let us be eager to do good.
And deep in our hearts and souls, we will rest secure in the knowledge that God is well pleased with who we are and what we do.
