January 9, 2017: Feast of the Lord's Baptism

The Christmas Season is all about celebrating new beginnings in our world with the coming of Christ.

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord celebrates the event that signaled the beginning of Jesus's ministry.  At this important moment, God revealed Himself, anointing Jesus with the Holy Spirit and calling Him His own beloved Son.  God furthermore announced how pleased He was with Him, for submitting obediently to doing the Father's Will.  Throughout the next couple of years or so of His public ministry, Jesus would continue revealing God's presence in the world, doing the Father's will, by preaching, healing, and calling people to repentance.

This is a great Feast to end the Christmas Season, when we've celebrated the many ways God has come to our world and revealed Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ, His Son.  One line from Father Hurlbert's Epiphany homily stands out to me: "To get to know God, get to know Jesus.  To get to know Jesus, get to know those Who He's most concerned about."

We are called to be in relationship with God, getting to know Him by getting to know the Son He gives us, and getting to know the Son through those in Whom He is present, especially the lowly and those who would not seem to have any kind of place in God's people.  We share in the revelation of God to all the world through baptism, as, like Jesus, we are anointed by the Holy Spirit, and named children of God, and sent forth to do His work of healing and calling others to the new way of Life in Him, to which He gathers all people, who are His by living His Truth.