HOMILY – FEAST OF THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD

ST. ANTHONY CATHOLIC CHURCH & FURMAN U.

JANUARY 10, 2010 – 8, 10 NOON & 6:30PM

May our newly baptized Lord give us His peace.

Take His hand, peace man, keen eagerness.

Today we hear the Prophet Isaiah commissioned, and he speaks God’s Word for the first time. He brings the Good News. Justice will be established. A new covenant, light, people freed. No more darkness.

This is what God decided to say through Isaiah the very first time God had Him speak. These Words are Words applied to Isaiah but also the Messiah who was to come. “I have grasped you by the hand. I formed you and set you to bring my justice.” Isaiah tells it, but who will bring it?

Take His hand and watch Him bring it through you. I remember that 70’s church song, “put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the water.”

God intended then, now and for the known future to work this justice of His through us. Take His hand and let Him lead. Where would Jesus lead you today? To whom? To those in darkness, those away, blind, for us here we are looking at the unhoused, the hungry, the poorly educated, those in prison. That’s a lot of darkness. Take His hand! Take it and go.

You were baptized for that.

Peace man. The Acts of the Apostles recalls God’s message of peace from the justice that was to be made. This peace was to come through Christ.

He is the peace-man. You can almost picture a hippy Jesus saying, “peace man.” But He is no hippie. No offense to you hippies. The peace that will come through Christ comes from having made justice. Pope Paul the sixth said “If you want peace, work for justice.” When people think things are fair they won’t fight, cheat, lie, steal, vandalize. That is the peace Jesus can bring.

Imagine if one day people could feel so given to by God, by the Lord’s offering His body and blood, that they now make a call that all has been made fair. What He did corrects it all. You may not have done what I needed but He DID. You may not like me, love me, but HE DOES.

Imagine feeling healing presence and love course through your sick veins, your left out heart, your sadness and disappointment. Healing presence, the healing presence of the peace-man. Peace man. You hippie.

Keen eagerness. The Gospel starts out with the words, “The people were filled with expectation.” They badly wanted a Messiah, generations waited for one, He could be it! They were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ, but John’s testimony came quickly. “One mightier than I is coming.” Then they saw it. The dove, the Spirit and fire filling Him and the voice, “You are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” It’s HIM! Their keen eagerness was rewarded.

Well how is your eagerness? World and its stuff got you down? Waiting for a little deliverance yourself? Look and see with keen eagerness also.

Jesus Christ has come. In each given moment you and I are invited to the mercy of God instead of remaining in sin. We can go to John’s baptism, then Jesus’ if we can stand the calling. Once I believed that God desired to use the likes of sinful me to show Himself I jumped in with keen eagerness.