The Baptism of the Lord (Cycle C,Year I)
Community Word: Like Mary, we are the light of the New Evangelization.
Theme: We are the light of the New Evangelization when we help open the eyes of the blind and those who live in darkness.
Promise: “… whoever fears him and act uprightly is acceptable to Him.” (Acts 10:35)
Reflection:
Coming as it does after the celebration of the birth of the Infant Jesus and His manifestation during the Epiphany to the Three Wise Men from the East, the Baptism of the Lord is sometimes overlooked, perhaps not given the prominence it truly deserves.
The event actually signals the start of Jesus’s public ministry, the time the Father prepares and commissions Him for the work of salvation. It is one of the more dramatic stories ever told in the bible, “…heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, You are my beloved Son, who I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:21-22)
The identity of Jesus as the Son of God was established in no uncertain terms on the occasion of His Baptism, the same way we too gain our identity as children of God at our own baptism, albeit in a less dramatic fashion. One can argue that the choice was not ours, since most of us were baptized as infants. As members of BLD, we are truly blessed, because we had the privilege of having been baptized again as consenting adults during out Life in the Spirit Seminar. During the LSS Baptism, we die to our sinful ways and rise up as beloved sons and daughters of God. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we walk out of that weekend equipped with gifts to help us bring the good news of salvation to others. This is our theme for the week: We are the light of the New Evangelization when we help open the eyes of the blind and those who live in darkness.
As renewed Christians, God claims us as His own. In this life-changing event we are made one with God and co-heirs in Christ. This does not happen instantly, but is a lifetime vocation, a process of transformation and growth in Christ. This is what our formation track in BLD is all about. After LSS, we start the arduous journey of renewing our lives slowly but surely, until we finally go through the last phase, aptly called the Discipleship Program to discern, accept, and confirm our covenant with the Lord. We may consider the covenanting process as a deepening of our baptism, and affirmation and profession our conviction that we are “summoned by the Lord…to the holy work of evangelizing and shepherding others towards a personal relationship with God… and through our own personal witnessing of authentic Christian love and faith, service and worship.” Summarized as follows, we take this commitment as disciples to a different level in our 8 Pledges to the Lord and the BLD Community:
• Submission and servanthood to God’s authority as represented by the Catholic Church.
• Nourishment of our spiritual lives through individual, conjugal and family daily prayers; and up-building of the
Community through intercessory prayer.
• Reading, studying and living the Word of God in Holy Scriptures and sharing our knowledge and experiences in the
weekly Word Sharing Circles; and continuing to learn and understand the Living Word thru the formation programs.
• Regularly receiving the Sacraments of our Faith particularly the Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation.
• Faithfully praying and worshipping in unity and fellowship as one Community.
• Serving in at least one Community’s Mission or Ministry.
• Actively assisting in ministering to the spiritual, personal and material needs of other members of the Community,
and of other members of the Body of Christ.
• Supporting the Community’s Mission and Ministries with regular tithes and love offerings.
The covenanting process, unique to our community, enriches our baptism as a chosen people of God to fulfill our particular mission, as Jesus Christ Himself did. We share in His mission to be bearers of the good news and light of the New Evangelization to our brothers and sisters, trusting in faith that God’s favor will rest on us as it did on Jesus Christ. This is our promise for the week, “… whoever fears him and act uprightly is acceptable to Him.” (Acts 10:35)
Prayer:
Lord, as we start the New Year, we re-commit our lives to You. Full of gratitude for choosing us to be Your sons and daughters through our baptism in the Spirit, we profess and affirm our covenant to you and our Community, through the 8 pledges listed above. It is not an easy journey, but by the power of the Holy Spirit we will remain faithful to our calling to evangelize and shepherd those who live in darkness. At the end of our life here on earth, we look forward to seeing You face-to-face and hear you say: you are my beloved son whom I am well pleased. All this I pray in Jesus mighty name, Amen.
Reflection Questions:
1. Can we readily recall the 8 pledges for Covenanted, and 5 pledges for Committed Disciples? As baptized Christians
and disciples of BLD, how faithful have we been in fulfilling these pledges in 2012?
2. Have we done enough in carrying out the mission of Jesus to “open the eyes of those who “live in darkness”?
How can we do better in 2013?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
January 13, 2013 (Sun) Is 42:1-4,6,7/ Ps 29:1-4, 9,10/ Acts10:34-38/ Lk 3:15,16,21,22
January 14, 2013 (Mon) Heb 1:1-6/ Ps 97:1,2,6,7,9/ Mk 1:14-20
January 15, 2013 (Tues) Heb 2:5-12/ Ps 8:2,5-9/ Mk 1:21-28
January 16, 2013 (Wed) Heb 2:14-18/ Ps 1:2-4,6-9/ Mk 1:29-39
January 17, 2013 (Thur) Heb 3:7-14/ Ps 95:6-11/ Mk 1:40-45
January 18, 2013 (Fri) Heb 4:1-5,11/ Ps 78:3,4,6-8/ Mk 2:1-12
January 19, 2013 (Sat) Heb 4:12-16/ Ps 19:8-10,15/ Mk 2:13-17
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
