The Baptism of the Lord
Isaiah 42:1-7 Acts 10:34-38 Matthew 3:13-17
Every beginning follows on the heels of an ending…and every ending is the prompting for a beginning. While ‘The Baptism of the Lord’ is officially considered the ENDING of the Christmas Season, it is also considered the FIRST Sunday of Ordinary Time…so is it an ending or a beginning? Perhaps like those who do not like to balance their checking account or clean out their cupboards, there are those who dislike thinking of things ‘ending.’ Thus, there is never an acknowledgement that life is not one continual flow but rather a series of starts and stops and starts…and sometimes each of the starts takes us in new and untried directions. With one week of the New Year under our belts this might be a safe time to consider what the ‘endings’ of 2010 were? Did we lose a loved one to death or did a relationship slip from our grasp? Did we suffer a job loss or have to move because of reduced income? Did one of our kids move out or go off to school and the empty-nest syndrome came calling? Did we perhaps wake up one morning and suddenly realize that we were no longer 16 or 21 or 35 or 50…and all that growing older implies? Did we have to stop eating spicy food because it no longer agrees with us or perhaps curb our alcohol intake because our liver is not what it used to be? With our celebration of the ‘Baptism of the Lord’ we have an opportunity to not only take an accounting of this just-past year (which has now ended) but also consider whether our relationship with Jesus is keeping pace with the changes (beginnings and endings) in our life? Are we still speaking with him as we did when we were children? Are we still doing the same devotions, in the same manner, as we were taught in fifth grade? Have we settled into a pattern (rut) that attempts to defy the changes that have occurred all around us…thus, our spiritual life may be slowly starving by being out of sync with reality? While the purple of Advent ended with Christmas Eve, the purple of Lent will not appear until mid-March….so we have lots of good-old Ordinary time to consider…how are we different today than we were a year ago, five years ago, ten years ago? Has our relationship and conversation with Jesus kept pace with our endings and beginnings?
Yes, it is true, 2010 is gone and 2011 is in full flower. Thank you for joining with our community this weekend as we gather for worship and community nourishment. This week you will be receiving the first Pastoral Services Appeal mailing: ‘WE are the ROCKS upon which WE will build OUR Church.’ A second mailing will be arriving next week, make sure you look for it…and have fun assembling your OWN mini-Church! Bulletins await you as you depart, with news of upcoming events. Please note especially our first Chapters Women’s Ministry event on Friday, January 21, a breakfast following the Friday morning 8:00 a.m. Mass. As each beginning gives way to an ending, which gives birth to a fresh beginning, remember, you are loved. FKB
