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Baptized into Christ

Funeral, Sacrament-based, Holy Day, Holiday, Special Occasion - Sample homilies to be adapted for your use

Sacrament: Baptism Readings: Mark 1:7-11 IF WE WERE CHILDREN before the gathering of the Second Vatican Council, we probably learned in catechism that one of the reasons we need to be baptized is to remove the original sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve. Nowadays, we prefer to teach that Baptism initiates the non-baptized into a lifelong relationship with Jesus Christ in the context of the pilgrim community we know as church. Although both of these theologies are correct, there are perhaps even more profound reasons why we need the sacrament of Baptism in the church. Mark’s gospel on the Baptism of Jesus gives us a hint of the profundity at work in the sacrament of Baptism. That hint comes to us in the form of a question. It could be put like this. If we need to be baptized in order to remove original sin or to begin a new life in the church, then why did Jesus need to be baptized? After all, Jesus was born without sin, and it is we who are initiated into a relationship with Christ, not vice-versa. One reason that is often given is that in being baptized Jesus shows his solidarity with the rest of us. Although he did not have to be baptized, Jesus asked John to baptize him so that he could be seen as one with the rest of us. Although that explanation is plausible, there are others that are more profound. A more plausible explanation is one that turns the tables. It is not so much that Jesus is baptized to show solidarity with us, but, rather, to give us an example so that we may show solidarity with Christ. In other words, Christ asked to be baptized in order that we may imitate him. Jesus, in being baptized, offers us a kind of imitatio Christi, imitation of Christ. The imitatio Christi is a centuries-old practice of spiritually following Jesus through all his earthly sufferings, even unto the cross. We do this by reflecting deeply on our own sufferings and identifying them with Jesus’ own. Christ asked to be baptized in order that we may imitate him. If Baptism is a kind of imitatio Christi, many of us are not aware of it. Nonetheless, if we listened carefully to the words of the rite, we would hear the words of suffering and the cross. As the priest or deacon baptizes, he speaks about a great flood, of dying and rising with Christ. These are the words of an imitatio Christi. They are the words of an invitation to follow Christ in our Baptism in his suffering. We often do not hear these words of future suffering because we are enthralled with the familiar picture of an infant or child being proudly presented to the community. Nonetheless, there is an element of tragedy in the baptismal rite—an invitation to follow Christ even to the cross. This tragic element, however, has to be understood in the fullness of following Christ. We not only follow Christ to the cross but also into his Resurrection. Baptism invites us fully to imitate Christ. It is this element of the baptismal imitatio Christi that gives the baptismal rite its festive and joyful character. Unless, however, we understand the reason for that joy, the sure promise of the resurrection—that there exists certain hope even in the midst of the world’s suffering—our festivity at a Baptism may not be as rich or profound as it is meant to be. THE MOST PROFOUND REASON, though, for Baptism is that depicted in Mark’s detail of Christ’s Baptism. The heavens open up while a dove descends and a voice is heard to say: “This is my Son with whom I am well pleased.” Of course, we usually do not experience an ordinary Baptism in this way. We do not ordinarily see the heavens open up or hear voices from the sky. We do not see something glorious or heavenly happening before our very eyes. We do not really need to. In being baptized, Jesus taught us that we, too, should be baptized because it pleases God. In being baptized, Jesus revealed God’s will for us. This is, after all, the most important reason for being baptized—that in being baptized we please God. Indeed, if we had the spiritual eyes to see and the spiritual ears to hear, we, too, might be able to see and hear, as the water is poured over a soon-to-be Christian, a marvelous light and a wonderful voice that says: “This is my child with whom I am well pleased.”

Authors Alex García-Rivera

sacrament baptism Mark 1:7-11 rite of initiation

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God obliterates your sins

Funeral, Sacrament-based, Holy Day, Holiday, Special Occasion - Sample homilies to be adapted for your use

Sacrament: Reconciliation ONE OF THE MOST remarkable things Saint Paul ever wrote was a single word in the second chapter of his Letter to the Colossians. The Colossian Christians were a little confused about their new faith, and Paul worked hard to explain who Christ was and what he had done. One of the most important things Christ had done, Paul said, was to forgive sins. To explain that Paul chose his words carefully—particularly the verb describing what Christ did with our sin. He “obliterates” it, the New American Bible translation says (Col. 2:14). Paul could have used other words with milder meanings—that Christ “cancelled” our sin or “crossed it out” or, simply, “forgave” it. But he very deliberately picked a word that conveys the idea that God erases all traces of our sin from the record. God not only forgives; God forgets, too. This is what will happen this evening in the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. We will bring our burden of sin to God. If we repent of our sin and ask forgiveness, God will lift our burden from us—and then God will forget about it. This will happen because God is who God is. As the psalmist says of God, “You are kind and forgiving, most loving to all who call on you” (86:5). God overflows with mercy and love. Tonight, look at yourself honestly. Consider the ways you have failed in your responsibilities, let other people down, cut corners, given into pressure, disguised the truth, lashed out at others, abused yourself. Look at all this without embarrassment—and bring it to God without fear. God will obliterate it. This is the miracle of God’s forgiveness of sin. But along with this miracle comes a great responsibility—the responsibility to do likewise, to forgive others as God forgives us. Along with this miracle of God's forgivenss comes a great responsibility—the responsibility to do likewise, to forgive others as God forgives us. Jesus often spoke of this duty to forgive. One day, Peter decided to question Jesus more closely about it (Matt. 18:21ff). He wanted to know where the limits are. He asked, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” We all ask Peter’s question. When do we stop forgiving the wayward spouse, the hostile in-law, the vindictive neighbor, the scheming co-worker? Jesus gives Peter a hard answer. He answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” “Seventy-seven times” is a reference to an infinitely large number. We never stop forgiving, Jesus says. To underline the point, Jesus tells a very tough parable. A king decided to settle accounts with his servants. One of these servants owed the king a very large amount, yet the king had mercy on him and forgave him the debt. However, the servant turned around and attacked another servant who owed him money. He refused to forgive the debt. When the king heard about this, he called the man back, revoked the pardon he had granted, and had him thrown into prison. The lesson of the parable is very clear: Jesus insists that his servants have a forgiving spirit. It is a very challenging lesson because it seems impossible to act the way Jesus wants us to act. The wounds that people have inflicted on us are not superficial injuries. Consider the abused child, the betrayed spouse, the person cheated by a business colleague or lied to by a treacherous friend. Perhaps it is possible to be civil to people who have injured us this way. Perhaps we can refrain from exacting revenge. But to forgive, to really forgive? To forgive and forget—the way God forgives? That seems impossible. But it is possible to forgive this way, precisely because we are forgiven this way. God does not forgive us because we deserve to be forgiven. We are not basically good people who have a right to ask God to excuse our infrequent slipups. We are sinners who are redeemed by a merciful, loving God, a God whose mercy knows no bounds. We can forgive those who have wounded us not because they deserve to be forgiven, but because the grace of forgiveness lives in us through the sacrament that we will receive tonight. This sacrament is called the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. The church added the term “reconciliation” some years ago to emphasize the way this sacrament restores the sinner to the community. Tonight, as you come forward to receive God’s forgiveness for your sins, pray for the grace to make reconciliation a reality in your own life. Pray for the grace to forgive those who have sinned against you. Pray for the grace to forgive as you are forgiven, the way God forgives you—the grace to forgive and forget.

Authors Jim Manney

sacrament reconciliation Colossians 2:14 Psalm 86:5 confession rite of initiation

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Secularity is the child of religion

Short essays about observed trends in Roman Catholic life - Pastoral trends

We live in an age of secularism, and many who once would have identified as Catholic are now “nones” who espouse no religion. The odd thing is that many core beliefs and practices of so-called secularists have all the telltale marks of religion, even a specific religion. Those who are secular nonbelievers are the children, or children’s children, of believers. Their values and ways of looking at the world, even their critique of religion, often reflect the same values they inherited. Even more, the rejection of a religious heritage often happened for religious reasons. The church was not seen as sufficiently loving, for example, or hypocritical. Sources for a discussion of love or hypocrisy are found in the gospels and in all scripture; one does not need to look far beyond that. Typically, a person leaves the faith not because of doctrinal or dogmatic issues but more often due to ill treatment, a sense of unfairness on some issue, or simple slow drift. Religion is more in danger when people lose the habit of it over time and there is no effort to retain and reengage them. But if secularity is our child, maybe we have a right to claim this child and find ways of keeping the engagement of those who are engaged. Church growth happens most, after all, by keeping those we have rather than attracting new members from outside the fold. Yet how often do we celebrate the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and those entering the church while failing to see those who are no longer in church and once were? © 2012, Bryan Froehle.

Authors Bryan Froehle

secularism rite of initiation

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