MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
Today we celebrate the Baptism of the
Lord, an event which revealed Jesus’ Divinity to the world and marked the
beginning of his earthly ministry. The Holy Trinity is also revealed through
the presence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Through this event,
we are invited to celebrate our own baptism and our birthright as Children of
God. Let us all celebrate our salvation and our relationship with Jesus Christ.
It should always be a joyous occasion to contemplate exactly what we received
at no cost to ourselves: eternal life and eternal love with our God. He loves
us so much that He has given this to us. Christ is in us and Christ is with us.
This cannot be forgotten. This cannot be taken for granted. In reality, if we
weren’t so unworthy of this and clouded with our sinful nature, we would be
proclaiming the Good News of Salvation constantly without any interruption. We
should all take a step back and let the words have an effect: We are Children
of God and have received the Gift of Eternal Life. Christ in amongst us and He
is here to save us!
We are all members of the greatest
fraternity in the world. As in any fraternity, this particular membership is of
extreme importance when we interact with other members. The relationships that
we foster amongst other members should me impactful and meaningful. Each should
be approached with a deep love for the other. There should be no division or
backbiting. At the same time, the fraternity should be promoted with
invitations for membership continuously being offered to those who have not yet
experienced the full Christian Experience. The light is always on and the door
is always open. We should look at ourselves as being very fortunate that
someone early on in our lives planted that seed of faith within our hearts so
that one day it would spring forth into a giant mustard tree when it was
properly nourished and watered. Now, we are the planters and sowers responsible
for doing the same.
When Christ was baptized in the Jordan,
His holiness and spirit blessed all the waters of the world. It flowed out from
Him and entered the universe. The Incarnation, the Word becoming flesh,
transformed all of Creation. We too have been transformed continuously by the
presence of Christ in our lives. There is no turning back from where we are
now. We must ask ourselves how our baptism and the presence of Christ have
changed our lives. We must continuously relinquish control over ourselves and
surrender it over to Christ. God is wonderful and beautiful. We cannot lose our
focus. We are only baptized once but its effects can stay with us forever if we
only let it. We cannot take it for granted or we will risk being lost in this
world filled with sin and temptation.
On this glorious day let us all take a
moment and rededicate ourselves to Christ and contemplate our baptismal vows.
For it is through those vows we receive that wonderful and loving Sanctifying
Grace necessary for salvation. Receiving that particular grace now while we are
still here enables us to live our lives protected and perfected through Jesus
Christ.
Deacon Tom
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