Bible
Study: Isaiah 42, 1 to 7 and Matthew 3, 13 to 17.
Long before
the era of the Gospel of prosperity, the most common question you would hear
from the lips of our Christian brothers and sisters who were known for home to
home visitation was: “Are you born again?” And I guess, many of us still
remember trying to answer that question. Anyway, that was back in the days; the
days of real evangelization; the days were men of God were literally church
rats; the days before typing “Amen” to a picture on social media meant that God
will do something specially for you; the days before a refusal to send a
message to 10 of your contacts meant that something bad was going to happen to
you.
The simple
fact that we no longer hear that question today shows that Christianity in this
time has shifted focus. Like a baby born abroad, it has forgotten its original
roots. It has taken on a new identity. Dear friends, today we celebrate the
baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ, in other words, the day that Jesus was born
again not physically, but with water and the Holy Spirit.
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.”
Today, our
liturgy reminds us of our own baptism and what baptism means. To be baptised is
to be reborn, it is becoming a baby once again free from the stain of Original
Sin which all mankind inherit from Adam and Eve. Now, why did Jesus go for
baptism? He was not born with original sin neither did he commit any sin. Even
John the Baptist resisted Jesus but as we are told, Jesus said: “Let it be so
now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” In this way,
Jesus teaches us by example of the importance of baptism.
Hence, in
John 3:5, Jesus says: “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of
God without being born of water and Spirit.” 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.”
I reject
Satan. I reject everything that Satan has to offer. 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
acknowledge that it is God who created heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus his
son, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, buried, rose from the dead
and is now seated at the right of the father. I believe in the Holy Spirit. I
believe in the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness
of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.
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. The Grace of God builds upon this firm attitude of the mind. The heart
has to reject sin first before Grace comes in to strengthen this rejection. The
grace of God does not prevent us from committing sin, it is only there to train
our hearts and support our disposition to doing good. 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.
It is not
enough to have baptismal card. It is not enough to tell me you were baptised by
the Pope or by the first white missionaries, the issue is: “Is your life that
of one who is born again?”
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, renew my spirit and deepen my resolve to reject sin. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith.
It is well with you. God bless you. Happy Sunday.
Fr. Abu.
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