Homily for the Baptism of the Lord, C

Like a shepherd gathering the lost, the glory of God is the sons and daughters of God coming home. (Reading Isaiah 40:1-5,9-11)

I have Mass on Sunday January 12 at St. Isidore @ 7:30/9:30/11:30 am

The 7:30 am Mass is live-streamed https://stisidore.church/worship-online/

frjoedailey@gmail.com

Transcript

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke. 
The people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ. John answered them all, saying, "I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." 
After all the people had been baptized, and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, 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; with you I am well pleased." 
The Gospel of the Lord. 

The Advent Christmas season comes full circle today at the waters of the Jordan River. After wandering in the wilderness for forty years, the Israelites crossed the Jordan River to live in the land of promise as sons and daughters of God. In today's reading from the book of Isaiah, the Israelites, exiled in Babylon, hear a prophetic announcement, "In the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." 
The children of Israel will return through the same wilderness, cross the Jordan River, home at last in the Promised Land. The prophet Isaiah is in Jerusalem on Mount Zion, standing among the ruins of the temple, sets you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings. The glory of the Lord that was once in the temple is returning. Say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God. See the Lord God comes with might." 
What do we see? A shepherd who gathers the lambs in his arms, carrying them in his bosom, gently leading the mother sheep. Like a shepherd gathering the lost, the glory of God is the sons and daughters of God coming home. 
At Christmas, heaven and earth come together. In the 2nd Century, St. Irenaeus said, “The glory of God is the human person fully alive.”
Today we hear these words again, "Heaven was opened," and heaven comes to earth, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. A voice speaks over the waters, "You are my son, the beloved. With you I am well pleased." 
So far, Jesus hasn't done anything. Even before he begins his ministry, Jesus is the beloved one of God. The voice that names Jesus "my son," the beloved, names each of us, beloved sons and daughters at the waters of our baptism. As we read in the letter to Titus, "The kindness and generous love of God our Savior appeared not because of any righteous deeds we had done, but because of his mercy."
Jesus is the door, inviting us to live within the circle of the Father's kindness and mercy. At baptism, we enter through the open door into the community of faith. 
In three weeks we'll read from Luke chapter 4. Jesus returns home to Nazareth. Empowered by the same spirit that descended upon him at the Jordan, he reads from the prophet Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor." 
The Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5 begin in the same place. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The very first word that comes out of Jesus' mouth is "blessed." The Beatitudes appear at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount before a single instruction is given, before there has been time for obedience or disobedience. If the blessings were only for the deserving, they would most likely be stated at the end of the Sermon, "If you have done all these things." But appearing at the beginning, they say that God's favor precedes all our endeavors. In fact, all our efforts at kingdom living are in response to divine grace, motivated by "because of," not "in order to." 
Can anything separate us from God’s love? We will read Luke, chapter 15, twice this year. It begins: "Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus, and the Pharisees and scribes were grumbling and saying, 'This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.'" How do they know that the people Jesus welcomes are sinners? They are judging behavior, breaking the Ten Commandments. 
So Jesus tells a story about a father with two sons. The younger son demands his inheritance, which is something you get when your father dies. For the son, the father is as good as dead. Isn't there a commandment about that? The younger son goes off to a distant land where he wastes all his money. He's feeding pigs, and no one gave him anything. In the wilderness, he wakes up. How many of my father's hired hands have bred enough and to spare? I will get up and go to my father. 
When his father sees him, he runs to him and embraces him. "Father, I have sinned. I am no longer worthy to be called your son." The father said to his slave, "Quick, get the fatted calf and kill it. We have to eat and celebrate because this son of mine was dead and is alive again." 
The elder brother refuses to join the feast, so his father goes off to him. He says to his father, "Listen, all these years I've worked for you like a slave. I've never disobeyed your command. But when this son of yours came back who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him." 
"Son, we had to rejoice and celebrate because this brother of yours was lost and has been found."
Jesus doesn't eat with sinners. Jesus eats with sons and daughters. Even when we forget, God remembers. Father Greg Boyle says, "God sees sons, not sins." This is where we begin. You are my beloved; with you, I'm well pleased. Hold on to love.