THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD 2003
We have, this day, both an end and a beginning in our lives! We come to the official end of the season of Christmas, when we relived the centuries of expectation for our salvation and the dawn of a new day: the Light of the World -0 the Word made flesh who dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory...Christ the Lord! His light and His birth were announced by the angels and the shepherd and shown the whole world through the Magi. The same light and the same glory is revealed also in the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus in the River Jordan. St. Mark (friend and secretary of St. Peter), says quite directly: Here it is, here the beginning of it all! The beginning of Jesus' public ministry and we are invited to follow. As with the glory of God to the Magi - the glory of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (the Trinity) is revealed at the River Jordan. The same holy Trinity who came to our lives in our baptism, and in whose life we share! The voice who said "You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, calls us to see the light of the World, to share in his glory, and let that light illumine our eyes, our hearts, and our souls! The revelation of God, in Jesus Christ, is given to us, as St. Paul would say "as heirs of the promise of eternal light" Our salvation!
The theme of light is so integral to our Faith - the light to all of the nations, that I would like to reflect on it in a rather unusual context: The Rosary! It is a subject seldom heard, usually in May and October, if at all! I thought of it last night, as I was flying into St. Louis from Houston. It was dark, and the lights on the runway caught my attention. The string of them called to mind the Rosary, especially the mysteries of Light, which the Holy Father gave us just this past year! We have the rosary in our Church, maybe in our pockets, and maybe we pray it once in a great while. Yet, the new mysteries of Light - the luminous mysteries begin with - Guess What - Today's feast day, the Baptism of the Lord. The others are: 2) The wedding feast at Cana; 3) The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God by Jesus; 4) The Transfiguration and 5) The institution of the Eucharist.
Speaking of the first of these mysteries, Pope John Paul reminds us that the Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan, is first of all a mystery of Light. Here Christ descends into the Waters, the innocent one who became sin for our sake, the heavens open wide and the voice of the Father declares Him the beloved Son, which the Spirit descends on Him to invest him with the mission which he is to marry out!
Lest is seem like why bother with this repetitious prayer which some have thought to be outmoded or old fashioned, May I suggest we at least give it a try again, begin again with the luminous mysteries.
The beginning of the Gospel, the public ministry of Jesus remind us that we too are at a new beginning, a new crossroad in life, maybe in our Faith. Do we not need all of the light possible to see?
The rosary is prayer for new beginnings because it is a chain linking us directly to God. It is a compendium of the Gospel, a prayer of great power: for peace, parents, and children. Remember the family that prays together? Is not peace needed sorely today in so many personal lives, and in the world today? The Holy Father says that the "Rosary allows us to hope that, even today, the difficult battle for peace can be won. Far from offering an escape from the problems of the world, the Rosary obliges us to see them with responsible and generous eyes, and obtains for us the strength to face them with certainty of God's help and the firm intention of bearing witness in very situation to love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."
