Bible Study: Isaiah 40, 1 to 11. Titus 2, 11 to 14 and 3, 4 to 7. Luke
3, 22 to 30.
Good morning my dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Merry Christmas to
you all! According to St. Maximus of Turin, “At Christmas, Jesus was born a
man; today he is reborn sacramentally. Then he was born from the Virgin; today
he is born in mystery. When he was born a man, his mother Mary held him close
to her heart; when he is born in mystery, God the Father embraces him with his
voice when he says: This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased: listen to
him. The mother caresses the tender baby on her lap; the Father serves his Son
by his loving testimony. The mother holds the child for the Magi to adore; the
Father reveals that his Son is to be worshiped by all the nations.”
That is to say Jesus was born twice just like everyone of us here today.
Since we are baptised, we have two birthdays; the birth from our mothers’ wombs
and the second birth from the womb of sin and darkness. Unfortunately we only celebrate
our physical birthdays. Our ignorance or say, lack of concern about our
baptismal birthdays bears heavily on our lack commitment to our baptismal
promises.
Today, our liturgy reminds us of our own baptism and what baptism means.
Baptism is really about God, fathering his children. When we are baptised, we
become fathered, that is, adopted, tenderly held and received by God. This is
the meaning of the words we hear from the voice; “You are my beloved Son; with
you I am well pleased.” On the day of your baptism, those were the same words
God spoke to you. He called you by name and said in a pleasing tone; “N…, you
are my son (daughter), and I love you.”
As a father, God also becomes a tender shepherd to us, a shepherd who
carries us in his very arms. The prophet Isaiah was actually speaking about
baptism when he said; “Behold your God! Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might….
He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms ….”
Isaiah 40, 9 to 11. In Baptism, God fathers us, he becomes personally involved
in our story, he begins to feed us and carry us carefully in his bosom.
To really understand the God-fathering process that happens at Baptism,
we consider that the sacrament completely washes away all our sins. It makes us
pure and acceptable to enter into God’s presence as his beloved children. As
St. Paul explains in the second reading: “But when the goodness and loving
kindness of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of
righteousness that we had done, but by virtue of his MERCY, through the water
of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3, 4 to 5.
So much happens to us at Baptism, so much that if we really understand
what that sacrament is, we would not want to deny ourselves of it. If anyone
here is not yet baptised, please do yourself a favour by coming today to begin
the process. Remember, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Very truly, I tell you, no one
can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.” John 3, 5.
As Jesus said, we must be born again of water and Spirit. There is a
baptism by water which is visible. There is also a baptism of the Spirit which
is the invisible transformation of the heart. Just as no one can be reborn to
life without first dying, in baptism we die to our old self, we die to our past
life, we die to our former habits, we die to our sinful inclinations and we
become new creatures. This death is concretized in the baptismal promises to
which we respond “I do.”
What is the meaning of the “I do”? I reject Satan. I reject everything
that Satan has to offer. I refuse to eat the forbidden fruit like Eve did. I
refuse to listen to Satan’s promises. I reject sin. I live in freedom as a
child of God. I reject the glamour of evil. I am not envious of evil people. I
am not carried away by the glamour of evil. I refuse to be mastered by evil. I
refuse to form any sinful habit. I reject darkness. I refuse to be worldly
minded. I stand for Christ, I walk in his light. I believe in God. I believe in
Jesus his son. I believe in the Holy Spirit. I believe in the Holy Catholic
Church. If our baptism does not beyond the mere rites, if we do not concretely
live out and fulfil these baptismal promises on a day to day basis, then we are
not yet born again.
Being born again is not a matter of going from church to church. Being
born again is saying “No” to sin - a heavy and concrete “No” that issues
straight from the heart, a “No” that is not pretence, a “No” that remains “No”
regardless of who is watching, regardless of the gravity of the temptation. The
Grace of God builds upon this firm attitude of the mind and assists the person
in the continuous rejection of sin. As St. Paul says: “For the grace of God has
appeared…TRAINING US to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the
present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly. Titus
2, 11 to 12.
The heart has to reject sin first before Grace comes in to strengthen
this rejection. You constantly fall into sin because you still believe you
stand to gain something good in that sin. You still sin because you are yet to
reject it, you still believe Satan’s lies that those who indulge in the sin
must be enjoying something or that you lacking something by not partaking of
that sin. It is not enough to have a baptismal card. The very life we live
should testify to our baptismal promises.
Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, as I recall my second birthday today, deepen my commitment
to live as your child. Amen.
God bless you. Good morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is
well with you. Happy Sunday.
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