Sacred Heart Church - Bangor, MI

3^rd Sunday Year – C 2010

A naturalist was visiting a farmer one day and was surprised to see a beautiful eagle in the farmer’s chicken coop. "Why in the world, asked the naturalist, have you got this eagle living in with the chickens?"  "Well, answered the farmer, I found him when he was little and raised him in there with the chickens. He doesn’t know any better, he thinks he is a chicken." The naturalist was dumbfounded. The eagle was pecking the grain and drinking from the watering can. "Doesn’t he ever try to spread his wings and fly out of there?" asked the naturalist. "No, said the farmer, and I doubt he ever will, he doesn’t know what it means to fly."

"Well, said the naturalist, "let me take him out and do a few experiments with him." The farmer agrees, but assured the naturalist that he was wasting his time. The naturalist lifted the bird to the top of the chicken coop fence and said "Fly!" He pushed the reluctant bird off the fence and it fell to the ground in a pile of dusty feathers. The naturalist did not give up. He again and again picked up the eagle and decided to give it one more chance in a more appropriate environment, away from the bad examples of chicken lifestyle.

He lifted the eagle up and once more commanded it to "FLY!" He tossed it out in space and this time, much to his relief, it opened its seven-foot wingspan and flew gracefully into the sky. It slowly climbed in ever higher spirals, riding unseen thermals of hot air until it disappeared into the glare of the morning sun.

Like the naturalist who helped the eagle to know its worth Jesus has helped us to know our worth, helping us to know God our loving Father, full of love and forgiveness and taught us how to be the children of God. In today’s gospel he claims that his mission is: (1) to bring glad tidings to the poor; (2) to proclaim liberty to captives; (3) to give recovery of sight to the blind; (4) to free the oppressed, and (5) to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

As members of Christ’s Mystical Body, we share in the freeing and saving mission of Jesus. In order to accomplish this mission, first we should be freed from our spiritual blindness, bondages of pride and prejudice and other evil habits, addictions and hero worship. Once we receive true liberation from Christ, we have to share it with those we encounter in our daily lives in our families and workplaces. Today’s gospel tells us that Jesus performed miracles because he was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to let the power of the Holy Spirit fill us, and be ready to have miracles worked through us.

I know so many of you feel sad because of my transfer. I thank you for the love and affection shown to me. But it makes me sad when I hear some of you will not come to church once I leave. As I said it before; I say it again that’s wrong faith that needs to be corrected and cooperate every way possible with the new pastor Fr. Gordon. He can be of great help and blessing to our community. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to guide us and the church always.

I have not done anything extra-ordinary here other than just exercising my priestly ministry as the pastor. May be within my limited ability played the role of the naturalist, who helped the eagle know it’s worth, helped this community to see tremendous power of love.

Someone has written using very strong words to our beloved bishop. He is a real blessing and asset to our diocese; he is full of love for the people and his priests. By hurting him you hurt me too.  I have apologized on your behalf, I wish whoever has written does the same. It’s tough to be the leader of the church and take decisions. That’s why we pray every day during the Mass for our Pope, our Bishop and clergy. Our Bishop will be visiting our parish on 26^th April. Please welcome him with love and affection.

Paul urges the Spirit-gifted Corinthian Christians to find Jesus in their community by recognizing Jesus in one another. The same plea is being addressed to us in our day. Even if the Spirit has not granted us the gift of speaking in tongues or that of healing powers, we can always choose to exercise the gift of love, which we have all been given, and which Paul ranks higher than all the rest. Paul, the earliest Christian author, believes that it is essential for all Jesus' followers to understand and appreciate the necessity of their own presence and of their freeing role in the body of Christ. Let us pray that we continue to build our community with love as Christ has loved us. Please pray for me as well, I need it more than ever, as I take new challenges. I count on your prayers…

BAPTISM OF OUR LORD

Johnny's Mother looked out the window and noticed Him "playing church" with their cat. He had the cat sitting quietly and he was preaching to it. She smiled and went about her work. A while later she heard loud meowing and hissing and ran back to the open window to see Johnny baptizing the cat in a tub of water. She called out, "Johnny, stop that! The cat is afraid of water!" Johnny looked up at her and said, "He should have thought about that before he joined my church."

The Baptism of the Lord is the great event celebrated by the Eastern churches on the feast of Epiphany, because it is the occasion of the first public revelation of all Three Persons in the Holy Trinity, and the official revelation of Jesus as the Son of God to the world by God the Father. It is also an event described by all four gospels, and it marks the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. The liturgical season of Christmas comes to a conclusion this Sunday with the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord.

Origin of baptism: Neither John nor Jesus invented baptism. It had been practiced for centuries among the Jews as a ritual equivalent to our Confession. Until the fall of the Temple in 72 A.D., it was common for Jewish people to use a special pool called a MIKVEH -- literally a "collection of water" – as a means of spiritual cleansing, to remove spiritual impurity and sin. Men took this bath weekly on the eve of the Sabbath; women, monthly. Converts were also expected to take this bath before entering Judaism. The Orthodox Jews still retain the rite. John preached that such a bath was a necessary preparation for the coming Messiah. Jesus transformed this continuing ritual into the one single, definitive act by which we begin our life of faith. In effect he fused his divine essence with the water and the ceremony.

The baptism by John was a very important event in the life of Jesus. First, it was a moment of decision to begin public ministry. Second, it was a moment of identification with us sinners. Third, it was a moment of approval when his heavenly Father approved Jesus as His "beloved Son". Fourth, it was a moment of conviction that his mission was to preach the good news of God’s love and salvation and to atone for our sins by becoming the “suffering servant.” Fifth, it was a moment of equipment. The Holy Spirit equipped Jesus by descending on him in the form of dove, giving him the power of preaching and healing.

The 13th century king of France, St. Louis IX (1226-70), insisted that the grand celebration of his birthday should be held on the day of his baptism, and not on his birthday proper. His argument was that baptism was the beginning of a life that would continue for eternity in the everlasting glory of heaven.

The baptism of Jesus reminds us of our identity. It reminds us of who we are and Whose we are. By baptism we become sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus, members of his Church, heirs of heaven and temples of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus’ baptism reminds us also of our mission: a) to experience the presence of God within us, to acknowledge our own dignity as God’s children, and to appreciate the divine presence in others by honoring them, loving them and serving them in all humility; b) to live as the children of God in thought, word and action. c) to lead a holy and transparent Christian life and not to desecrate our bodies (the temples of the Holy Spirit and members of Jesus' Mystical Body), by impurity, injustice, intolerance, jealousy or hatred; d) to accept both the good and the bad experiences of life as the gifts of a loving Heavenly Father for our growth in holiness; e) to grow daily in intimacy with God by personal and family prayers, by meditative reading of the Word of God, by participating in the Holy Mass, and by frequenting the sacrament of reconciliation.

It is a day to thank God for the graces we received in baptism, to renew our baptismal vows and to preach Christ’s ‘Good News’ by our transparent Christian lives of love, mercy, service and forgiveness.