The Baptism of the Lord
Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
Ps 29:1-4, 9-10 (with 11b)
Acts 10:34-38
Matt 3:13-17
http://www.usccb.org/nab/011308.shtml
Next Sunday we celebrate the "initiation rite" that launched Jesus' public ministry. We, too, have experienced this same Baptism: Our first Sacrament of Initiation immersed us into the life of Christ. The other two initiation sacraments — Confirmation and Communion — confirm this holy life and empower us to live it. Thus says the Lord God about you: "Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my Spirit...." (see the reading from Isaiah).
What is this Spirit doing in you that is pleasing to the Father? How is this Spirit serving the kingdom of God through you? Are you giving this Spirit the freedom to continue Christ's ministry in the here and now?
You were baptized into this, but it's the hardships you've endured and the passions you feel that have initiated you into your own particular areas of ministry. This is why children of chronically or terminally ill parents often grow up to become doctors and nurses, why those who escape from and recover from abuses often become ministers of healing for other victims, and why workers who suffer from unjust employers often start their own businesses and create jobs where the staff is treated in the manner of Christ.
Whatever you feel passionate about, you've received this from the Passion of Christ through the Sacrament of Baptism. If you give it attention, it's renewed in the Sacrament of Communion, because the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist reunites you to his ministry. If you take it with you from church, you can change the world, just as Christ did, one day at a time.
And if you feel frustrated because you're not yet doing what you'd like to do, as long as it's something that God wants you to do, you're being prepared, not blocked. You have been chosen by the Father and he is very pleased with you!
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