Sunday Homily 11-28-10, 1st Advent
Readings: Isaiah 2, 1-5; Psalm 122, Let us go Rejoicing to the House of the Lord; Romans 13, 11-14; Matthew 24, 37-44
First Sunday in Advent – Intro to Readings
With the start of a new Church year we begin a new cycle of readings, this year is Cycle A and the gospel readings will focus on Matthew’s Gospel. It was written about the year 85-90 CE and used Mark’s Gospel, a source now referred to as “Q” and some material unique to Matthew. The audience had knowledge of the Old Testament and is presumed to have been Jewish.
A familiar phrase occurring some 41 times in the gospel is “this was to fulfill….”. In Luke’s Gospel the major theme centered on Jesus journeying up to Jerusalem. Matthew’s Gospel had five major sections, each ending with a great discourse, the most well known being the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew’s Gospel is one of the two gospels to tell us about Jesus’ birth. Joseph is the focus in this gospel and Mary is the focus in Luke’s Gospel.
The trigger event for Matthew’s Gospel was the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Since the temple was central to the Jewish faith – what was to become of Judaism? For Matthew it was Jesus, he is the fulfillment of the Old Testament, he is the way forward.
Homily
The last line of our first reading from Isaiah was “let us walk in the light of the Lord” and I would like to use that line as our starting point for a few ideas on the Sacrament of Baptism. In the rite of infant baptism, the priest hands the parents and godparents a lighted candle and says “receive the light of Christ”. By our baptism we are put on a well lit spiritual highway.
We know that in the gospels, Jesus begins his public ministry by being baptized by John in the Jordan River. This baptism of John’s was a baptism of repentance. The next time baptism is mentioned in the gospels is in Matthew’s gospel at the very end of the gospel “go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”.
The Acts of the Apostles and Paul’s letters make clear that this command of Jesus was very quickly identified as the method of joining this group of followers of Jesus. It became a ‘Rite of Initiation’. Remember that for this early group, they were Jews first and then baptism made them different. We have a clear disagreement between Paul and the other apostles over whether gentiles who were baptized needed to be circumcised also. Paul won that argument.
Within a couple of centuries we find a big change when the church declares that only those who are baptized can enter heaven and so we have Original Sin invented and baptism was the only way that could be forgiven. This later let to the invention of Limbo. It wasn’t until the Second Vatican Council that the focus on baptism shifted back to its being a sacrament of initiation or joining.
The point I would like to have us consider this morning is this: what does being baptized mean to me today? It may have happened when I was two or three days old, or maybe when I was an adult. It was a one-time event, but I believe that has an effect in my life every day. By being a member of the Christian community I am part of a group which focuses on living life according to a set of ideals, has a faith in a God who loves me and who wants me to love my neighbor.
Just a few words about water, as the main symbol used in baptism. Water is one of those primal elements, necessary for life. Our experience of water is fairly simple, great for washing things, essential to keep a lawn alive here in Texas, wonderfully refreshing on a hot day for quenching thirst. But for the Old Testament people it also reminded them of the escape thru the Red Sea from a life of slavery in Egypt, it was there at the beginning of time at the creation,
and the waters of the flood destroyed all of the evil in the world.
Even though my baptism was a once only event, each time I come here to the community to celebrate the liturgy, each time I try to follow God’s way I am reaffirming what my parents had done to me when I was three days old.
Picture 1: Tony beginning with Advent Candles
Picture 2: Sacrament of the Sick with Curtis
Picture 3: Curtis' daughters, Marlene & Cindy
Picture 4: Ryan with mom & dad, Jim & Michelle
