GOD’S SECOND SMILE

                                                                                                                                                        FEAST OF BAPTISM OF THE LORD 2013

                                                                                                                                                            (Lk 3:15-16.21-22)

Today’s feast marks the end of the Christmas season. We observe that all through the events surrounding the Nativity of Jesus, a cloud of silence covered the new born Jesus. He lived in serene silence till this day. After His baptism, He will be moving from place to place and we will hear His voice. In other words, Jesus’ baptism marks the inauguration of His ministry. Among other symbolic gestures noted in the history of theology, Jesus’ baptism can be seen as the clearest explanation of the necessity of baptism for salvation. It becomes Jesus’ ratification of our baptism and, in a way, of His internal involvement in our baptism. Hence, our participation in the ‘one baptism’ (Eph 4:5) becomes a sharing in the ‘one body’ (1Cor 12:13-14) of which Christ is the Head. Thus, He goes ahead of us as the Good shepherd to direct us to this fountain of grace (cf. Jn 10:4). Now, let us reflect on what happened after the Baptism as given in the Gospel of today.

The Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove and the joyful voice of the Father came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you’ (Lk 3:22).

This event takes our mind back to the very dawn of creation. Then the Spirit, the divine wind descended and hovered around as God called things to existence (cf Gen 1:2). God looked at His creation and saw that it was good. By certifying His creatures as good it implies that God was pleased with creation. It equally means creation was beautiful and God took pleasure in it. In other words, creation increased the joy of the Lord (Neh 8:10) and spread His glory abroad.

But not for long! Sin unexpectedly interrupted the beauty, fear emerged and God’s displeasure reigned. Immediately, God initiated the process of reclaiming His pleasure in creation, of restoring His creatures to goodness and beauty. This process of salvation found its ultimate fulfilment in Jesus Christ.

Today as Jesus stepped out of His baptism, God is smiling again; He has regained His pleasure in creation. In Jesus, creation is renewed; once again it is good and beautiful, reflecting God’s glory. The Spirit descends, not just as hovering wind, but in concrete form; now as a dove, at another time as tongues of fire (cf Lk 3:12, Acts 2:2-4). The seal of the Spirit will always be the mark of this new creation (cf. 2Cor 1:21-22, Eph 1:13-14).

In His pleasure (cf. Eph 1:5. 9) God’s voice echoes again in creation as it was in the beginning when God communicated directly with man and walked hand-in-hand with him in the garden. His voice radiates joy—a confident smile. So in Jesus God is smiling again!

Brothers and sisters, God will also smile at us if we remain faithful to the one baptism we share. Through baptism we have become God’s adopted children. If we remain firm in our baptismal grace, God takes pleasure in us. It is not that the joy of the Lord is dependent on us. Already God has had His full pleasure in Christ Jesus. But if we are in Jesus we spread and multiply this joy. And this should be our primary ambition: to please God.

If we target to please God, the joy of the Lord will bounce back to constitute an inner strength and freedom for us. We become partakers in His joy. In fact, we have no other joy other than rejoicing in the Lord through Christ Jesus. God is pleased—He smiles again—anytime we strengthen or renew our baptismal life in Christ Jesus.

Fr. Jude C. Nwachukw, C.Ss.R

St Anthony’s Catholic Church,

Jabi, Abuja.

13^th Jan, 2013

THE GIFTS TO PAY HOMAGE

                                                                   SOLEMNITY OF EPIPHANY 2013

                                                                                   (Mt 2: 1-12)

Today we reflect on the visit of the wise men from the East to the new born Baby Jesus. We journey with them as they depart from Herod’s palace, gradually tracing the trail of the bright star down to the little town of Bethlehem. At least, the evidence of the chief priests and scribes had given them convincing assurance that the star was moving in the right direction. We follow them in silence and contemplation, watching them keenly with closed eyes but open hearts, hoping to learn from them how to be wise and pay homage to Jesus.

The joy on their faces was overwhelming as the star halted. How come following the star to an unknown destination brought such delight to them? (cf Mt 2:10). Obviously, their delight lies in what the star was leading them to and, having arrived, their joy knew no bounds. We come to realize from this experience that such a journey to meet with Jesus carries some spark of joy even when it appears to be heading to an unforeseen destination.

Watching from a close distance as they enter the manger, we see their eyes gazing on the Child Jesus and His Mother Mary (Cf Mt 2:11). This simple and quick act of these nomadic sages immediately passes a message: the eye that beholds Jesus will equally recognize his Mother, who is always at the service of her Son. Mary does not take the homage, but her presence gives the wise men some sort of prompt to pay homage to Jesus. Indeed, wise men behold Jesus and Mary!

Suddenly and dramatically they fall on their knees… (Mt 2:11). We look at them and give a half smile; these men do not look a bit like the modern man. After such a long and weary journey they should be relaxed in a comfortable cushion and express their homage or, at least, remain standing. Is it not the heart that matters? However, as we watch them in silence with a modern disposition, we wonder why they did not flaunt their expensive gifts first but bent their knees before Jesus. Looking at them on bended knees, it dawned on us that they did not just come to present gold, frankincense and myrrh but to acknowledge Jesus and offer themselves. This self-offering would be symbolized by their gifts.

Now, they are laying down their gift of gold. Its sparkles dazzle our inner eyes. We can behold its durability, glamour and beauty. Yes! Gold is the king of metals, and it is a gift fit for a king. It is not a surface metal; it is hidden at the heart of the earth. Learning from the wise men, our homage must not be empty and it must recognize Jesus as King. What then shall be our gold every time we come to pay him homage? Our hearts! It is here that we recognize His kingship and allow Him to rule over us. Our hearts are the precious gold, deep within, full of glamour and beauty. If we do not lay before Him our golden hearts, we will be like Herod who, in his frustration, perceived the new born King as an opposition.

As the sages unfold the second treasure, the calm fragrance of frankincense filtered around the manger. Deep within we are still wondering what these men are up to. Why are they offering this liturgical perfume used by the priests to Baby Jesus? These men must be exceptionally wise to have been able to project through their offerings what their faith grasps about Jesus! The presence of this priestly perfume deepens our contemplation to see in Jesus our eternal priest and mediator (cf ITim 2:5, Heb 9:5), the God among us. Here is the one through whom our prayers are granted (cf Jn 14:13-14). Therefore, we must always come before Him with the frankincense of our prayers:  praise, adoration, thanksgiving, petitions, etc.

While wrapped in the soothing fragrance of the frankincense, the scent of another perfume intervenes. Looking up, we can see the wise men laying down their gift of myrrh! This balm was used in anointing dead. The sages are giving the message: this child is born to die. He would offer His life in sacrifice. In paying Him homage, wise men (of all generations) do not forget this saving sacrifice. So they will always come with myrrh, the balm of sacrifice. And the myrrh we present to Jesus today are our sacrifices for one another i.e. the moments we lay down our lives for others (cf. I Jn 3:16). The ingredients making up our myrrh include our little acts of charity, kindness, forgiveness, patience, etc. We cannot come to pay Him homage empty handed. That would be foolishness.

Now we have learnt the lesson. The nomadic sages are the best teachers in this regard. In paying homage to Jesus there is nothing else to bring other than our gold, frankincense and myrrh i.e. our hearts, prayerfulness and love of neighbour. If we do this, God will speak to us (cf Heb 1:2) as He did to the wise men from the East. And He will direct our steps away from the wicked Herod (Mt 2:12), opening for us a new pathway that will lead us to our eternal home.

Fr Jude C. Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

St Michael's Catholic Church,

Kado, Abuja,

Nigeria.

January 6th, 2013.