Reflection for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord Jesus

Today is the last day of our Christmas Season. Although some radio and television announcers began saying on December 26th that Christmas has come and gone, our Christmas celebration continues yet today. Today’s Feast brings us to the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry and gives us a day to celebrate Jesus as the servant of the Father, the victor over Justice, The giver of the Holy Spirit, the promised Messiah, and the beloved Son of the Heavenly Father.
We know that in our own Baptism and confirmation, the Holy Spirit enters into us. This is similar to what John the Baptist came to understand when he baptized Jesus at the Jordan River. He had the vision of the Holy Spirit appearing as a dove descending on Jesus. Later, Jesus would say that he would give as a Baptism in water and the Holy Spirit. Later still, when the apostles began their mission, Peter said on Pentecost Sunday that by baptism we would join ourselves to the risen Christ and we would receive the Holy Spirit.
Among the very gifts of the Holy Spirit that may come to anyone who tries to have an open and willing heart, today’s selections from God’s word mention that we will be the Father’s beloved sons and daughters. God’s favor will rest on us. We will find the power to do good works, to bring God’s healing, to break the grip of evil, to be a light for others, to promote justice, to be servant’s of the risen Christ.
The gift of the Holy Spirit is the fire, the light, the guide, the power source which need for a faith- life that is truly our own and that is truly the key to the treasure waiting for us. To say that the Holy Spirit has entered into us by our Baptism and Confirmation is to say that our God is interested in every moment of our lives.
Our faith can come alive; our God can be real and important to us, we can come to know that we truly have found God’s favor. We need only to give God the time. We need to do the work of Lear our faith, and to do what God’s Word guides us to do. Then, more and more, we shall know that we have indeed been born again in the Holy Spirit and Fire.
God bless you all
Fr. Dominic
Your brother in Christ