Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 / Acts 10:34-38 / Mark 1:7-11
Since the beginning of this year, it had been raining almost every day.
It can be anything from a continuous heavy downpour, like on the first and second day of the year, and that resulted in some serious flooding in some parts of the island.
Or it can just be a series of showers so much so that we won’t leave home without an umbrella.
Anyway, with such unpredictable weather, it might be better to stay at home and keep dry and warm. Yes, keep dry and warm, and keep safe as well.
And with water in abundance, it will make us do some thinking about water.
Water is truly a good servant, but of course, on the other hand, it can be a bad master.
Water quenches the thirst and is vital for bodily functions. It is the basic solvent and cleaning agent. Water can also be a means to produce energy as well as many other uses.
Besides these vital and practical usages, water also has a spiritual purpose.
In the Church, water is the element that is used for Baptism. It must be clean and flowing water when used for Baptism, to symbolize the cleansing of sin.
It is also a symbol of the Holy Spirit entering into the heart and making it the temple of God.
Today as the Church celebrates the Baptism of the Lord, all these symbols are recalled and reflected upon.
But of course, the meaning and purpose of the Baptism of Jesus is quite different from that of our Baptism.
Jesus was baptized so as to immerse Himself into our human situation and become one like us in all things, except sin.
The Saviour was baptized so that through Baptism, we can be saved.
At His Baptism, Jesus was revealed as the Beloved Son of God. Through our baptism, we become children of God.
As Jesus came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. With the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus began His ministry of salvation as He went about doing good and curing all who have fallen into the power of the devil.
We too are given the power of the Holy Spirit at our baptism, so that we can continue the saving mission of Jesus.
As baptized Christians, we are anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power to go about doing good and helping those who have fallen into the power of the devil so that they can come back to God.
So fundamentally, it is clear. It is either we are doing what Jesus is doing or we are not. It is either we are for Jesus or we are against him. It is either we gather all to Him or we scatter and scandalize.
This Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is so timely because we want to be washed clean of all the defilement and weaknesses and to be empowered again by the Holy Spirit.
We want to be cleansed of our complains, our arguments, our resentment, our anger, our bitterness and our disappointments.
We want to be renewed and empowered by the Holy Spirit to be thankful and grateful for the gift of faith so that we will endure and persevere through difficult and challenging times.
We will remember that when the Sacraments are not available and the churches are closed our faith began to waver, it was the Holy Spirit that came to help us in our weakness.
As we heard in the 1st reading, the crushed reed was not broken, the wavering flame was not snuffed out.
But like Jesus, we must come out of the murky waters of sin and defilement, so that the Holy Spirit can descend upon us to strengthen our faith.
Let us break free from the power of the devil, who makes us pessimistic and to criticize everything.
Let the power of the Holy Spirit rise up in our hearts so that we will go forth and do good and bring back those who have fallen away from the faith and fallen into the power of the devil.
Let us pray to the Lord for showers of blessings that will bring about peace and salvation for the world.