Renewal

Apparently, it is still the Christmas season - barely.  I thought Christmas had 12 days, although the song "12 Days of Christmas" was really just a covert way to teach the ways of the Catholic faith to children in Catholic families at a time and place when and where having any written material of the sort was forbidden.  But I still honestly believed that Christmas was 12 days.  I mean, we have "12th night" for a reason, right?  But then why did my parish have elaborate Christmas decorations still intact?  And why did the Roman missal refer to this Sunday as part of the "Season of Christmas?"

Well, I was not completely wrong.  This Sunday is a feast day known as the "Baptism of the Lord."  For those of you Cliff's Notes types who know the Gospel story mostly based upon Rosary Mysteries, this would be the 1st Luminous Mystery.  Early on there's the Nativity.  The presentation in the temple comes a few days later.  The finding of the child Jesus comes a few years later.  The Baptism of our Lord takes place when He is about 30 years of age.  In other words, it comes well after the birth of Jesus or the visitation by the foreign kings.

Also, this feast day is not always on a Sunday.  Sometimes it is just a weekday Mass on the Monday right after Epiphany Sunday.  In this case, the Christmas Season would be long gone before the Sunday after Epiphany comes around.  When the feast does fall on a Sunday, like this year, it represents part of the Season of Christmas but is also known as the "1st Sunday in Ordinary Time."  So it is a transition.  Out with the old and in with the new.  Renewal.  So I learn something new every day.  Renewal.  That's what Baptism is, by the way - renewal.

Jesus does not seem like one who needs any renewal.  John the Baptist certainly would not think so.  In John's mind, if Jesus were an important dignitary with a massive estate, John would have been the random dude who got chased off the property by Jesus's servants on account of being too "sketchy."  But Jesus is not like that (nor are most of His servants).  Jesus went ahead and got Baptised by John, even though it seemed well below His stature in the eyes of many.  But this was merely a testament to his humility, courage, and openness to follow His true calling.  Don't let anyone tell you what your true purpose in life is, even if your understanding of your true purpose seems to defy conventional wisdom.  You may just be in need of a change or overhaul.  A renewal.

Luke 3: 15-16, 21-22