My Dear Sisters and Brothers,

I enjoy reading articles in the newspapers and magazines that describe how married couples met.  I also enjoy asking couples that come into the office in preparation for marriage, how they met and how they got engaged.  Quite often these stories begin with some very ordinary event that has twists and turns which eventually brings two people together for a life long friendship or even marriage.  It proves the point that any day, and any moment, has incredible potential.

A very ordinary event begins the extraordinary ministry of Jesus in the Jordan River.  Jesus steps into the river to be baptized by His cousin, John.  Suddenly some thing unique happens.  A voice speaks from the clouds and a dove hovers over Jesus in the water.  These signs from God marked that event, and they indicated the power and the importance of what was still to come in the life of Jesus.  The details of St. Matthew's Gospel so highlight this event as to emphasize its humanness: a common scene by a river, John's refusal and protest, his giving-in despite his doubt, and finally the baptism of Jesus.  From this point onward, the cross looms as the goal and the purpose of all that Jesus says and does and is about.

Our life too is often mapped out by events that are so common, yet events that can change the course of our journey and pilgrimage of life.  Our Baptism set in motion a relationship with God and His People that not only changed our life's path, but also defines who we are and what we hope to become.  For as we stepped into the baptismal pool and walked down those three steps and were submerged three times --- in the name of God the Father, in the name of God the Son, and in the name of God the Holy Spirit --- or had water poured over us, we died to ourselves to live for Christ.  We became Christ living in the world today, by becoming His hands to touch and comfort, by being His feet to carry His message of hope and joy to others, by being His eyes to see goodness in others and to help them see that goodness in themselves, by being His voice to encourage and empower, etc.     

Let us renew our Baptismal Promises today, and see in the ordinary water the beginning of a flood of grace that changed and still daily changes our lives, and makes us Christ's instruments in our world today.

"He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."