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Daily Scripture

+ 21st Week in Ordinary Time

Every day is a gift and a blessing.

Readings: I Corinthians 1:1-9 Psalm 145:2-7 Matthew 24:42-51

I give thanks to my god always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gifts as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” [I Cor 1:4-5, 7]

My mother used to say that every day is a gift and a blessing—an opportunity for grace indeed, many graces.

I suppose it’s all according to one’s perspective. The greatest challenge in life is to find something to be thankful for every day. This is particularly difficult during stressful times and certainly during illness of one kind or another.

I think I may have shared difference between a hermit and a nightclub performer. The hermit wakes up at dawn and says, “Thank you, God!” The nightclub entertainer wakes up at noon and says, “Good God, morning?”

There is so much going on in the world at large and in our own particular worlds to bring anxiety and stress. It’s hard work to maintain balance. An active spiritual life based on the confidence that nothing can happen today that can defeat us if we are grounded in the belief that God’s presence is abiding but it’s difficult and sometimes terrifying to let go.

I still remember the first time I road my two-wheeler bike without my dad holding on to the seat. We started off—I, confident that he hand was firmly attached to the seat. I had ridden almost a full block before I realized that he had let go and there I was, gliding down the street. It’s that way with God. We just need to remain conscious that God’s ‘hand’ is not a crutch but that God’s grace within us is real.

Some days it seems as if we are starting all over again.

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Sunday January 13, 2008

Tapping into the Sublime Life of God

The celebration of baptism for infants and adults has changed dramatically over the last forty years. Some of you may remember that the ritual was “performed” almost clandestinely in Latin rather than celebrated public before the congregation. Fathers and godparents accompanied infants to the church. Mothers did not participate and in most instances remained at home. There were some practical reasons for this related to health and recovery after giving birth. The normal hospital stay in those days was five days. Babies were to be baptized within two weeks. We might speculate beyond this but suffice it to say that mothers were relegated to the background on this most significant occasion.

Some may even recall that mothers were expected to be ‘churched’ on their return to the church. It was a rite of ‘purification’ as it somehow the birth of a child made a woman unclean. This practice was rooted in the negative view of sex of St Augustine with a good dose of Jansenism. The practice fell out of favor after Vatican II, thank God!

There was no catechesis or spiritual preparation prior to the ceremony. The baptistry was located in a gated enclosure in a remote corner near the entrance to the church. Except for the baptistry, the church was in darkness and sometimes without heat depending on the mood and/or generosity of the pastor. The baptismal water having been blessed during the Easter Vigil weeks or months before still contained the holy oils in the stagnant pool—not a very good symbol of life-giving waters.

Information about the baby—vital statistics, etc. was collected immediately prior to the ceremony. Depending on the number of infants to be baptized, the entire ritual took approximately fifteen to twenty minutes. The fathers did not participate but stood outside the gated enclosure.

The child was to be named after a saint and it was not unusual for the baptizing priest to substitute for or add to the given name the name of a saint spontaneously during the ceremony. Is it any wonder that some parents never became full church participants until the next sacrament?

Adult baptism was not very different. It was a quiet private ceremony performed in the presence of one witness or sponsor and usually took place on a Saturday afternoon following six weeks of private instruction by the priest. on a Saturday The same ritual as that used for infant baptism was used for adults with some minor modifications.

As bland and antiseptic as the ceremony was, the underlying theology was even more so. The motivation for requesting baptism was the removal of original sin in which the baby was born into the world and which was believed to be an obstacle to a full life with God and indeed, which would prevent the child from ever seeing God should an untimely death occur prior to baptism. Limbo has since been quietly phased out. It never was a solemnly defined teaching but an innocuous theological construct to justify cleansing from Original Sin. There is much more which could be stated about the inadequacy of the theology of and the lack of appreciation for the sacrament of baptism in those days but that must be reserved for another occasion when time permits.

Despite the theological and pastoral renewal inspired by the Vatican Council and the catechetical progress over the last several years, infant baptism is still viewed more often as an antidote against sin than as a sacrament of adoption into the fullness of the Christian life. The new catechesis still has not been fully absorbed into the spirituality of parenting. I suppose it is also fair to say that the Church still needs to make clearer the connection between the sacramental rites and the mission of Christ, indeed, the priesthood of Christ.

For the Christian, Baptism is the primordial sacrament and unites us with Christians all over the world—Catholic and other than Catholic. Moreover, in baptism we speak and act ‘in persona Christi’ (in the person of Christ) not by permission of the Pope or pastor. We participate fully at liturgy because we share a common priesthood. Lectors, Eucharistic ministers, acolytes, musicians all have their rightful place in virtue of their baptism. Therefore it is difficult to understand why a bishop would limit these ministries to the ordained. It is one more indication of a not-so-gradual regression in sacramental theology and the attempt by some church officials to undo many of the reforms of Vatican II.

Not good!

Several years ago, a young couple requested that the celebration of the baptism of their infant daughter take place in front of the congregation during the celebration of Mass. Not only that, but they also wanted the baby ‘dunked’ into the water and I was to do the ‘dunking!’ With great apprehension, I did so and then held the baby aloft in the view of the congregation. There was applause, there were tears and there was laughter. Any explanation of what had just taken place would have been superfluous. The ritual was sufficient. A second birth had taken place. This child had been reborn in the spirit.

The baptism of adults has changed radically with the restoration of the catechumenate, more commonly known as the RCIA — Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Baptism takes place only after an extensive formation process in which a number of people from the parish community participate as hosts, welcomers and sponsors. Although instruction is included, it is not an instructional process. Much of the formation is based on the testimonies and faith stories which emanate from a communal reflection on the scriptures and on the tradition of the Church. Candidates for baptism are literally ‘absorbed’ into the life of the Church as the Spirit begins to breathe in them more fully. Actually, it is the breath of the Spirit that brings them to the RCIA.

The commemoration of the baptism of Jesus is yet another opportunity to re-look at the sacrament of baptism through the lens of Jesus’ baptism.

Many explanations have been offered for the ‘why’ of Jesus’ baptism. John’s baptism was a cleansing ritual for Jews who were serious about turning their lives around. John’s gospel states that it was a baptism of repentance. Was it because he wanted to make it clear that Jesus was indeed taking on the fullness of human nature, even the effects of sin, though he himself did not sin?

Could be. It makes sense. And the scriptures seem to bear this out.

Matthew identifies Jesus with the prophecy of Isaiah as the servant of God, “the beloved Son of God in whom the Father is well pleased.” It is quite likely that Matthew wanted to make it clear that Jesus did not fit the prevailing description of the long expected Messiah. He draws from the words of Isaiah a portrait of Jesus at his baptism. ‘Behold: my chosen one, endowed with my spirit; he breathes my spirit. He will do what the world considers impossible. He is the one who will bring justice to the nations—not just to one nation but to all the nations. His love as my love is indiscriminate. He will not shout; he will not crush the wounded nor quench the flame that flickers. He will be the sign of an enduring covenant; a light to the nations, he will give sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf.’ The baptism of Jesus was not a solitary event, performed in private. It was a public event for the whole world to witness.

It is interesting that this is also the image of Jesus in the Muslim writings as recorded by Tarif Khalidi author of a book entitled, “The Muslim Gospel. Among his collection of sayings is this one attributed to Abdallah ibn Qutayba: “Christ passed by a group of people who hurled insults at him, and he responded with blessings. He passed by another group who also insulted him, and he responded likewise. One of his disciples asked, ‘Why is that the more they insult you, the more you bless them, as if invited this upon yourself?’ Christ said, ‘A person can bring forth only what is within him.’” This is the essence of Christ’s attitude.

This is the Jesus into whom you and I have been baptized. This is the Jesus who continues to minister to the world through you and me in significant and not-so-significant ways. The words of the prayer of Theresa states it much more succinctly than I:

Christ has no body now but yours;
No hands, no feet on earth but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which he looks,
Compassion on this world.
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good.
Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes.
You are his body.

I would have sung it for you if I my voice were not crackly today. This is Michael Talbot’s version which has been recorded on a CD. Click link to the right to listen to the music. You may need to download instant player to listen.