With sunset today (Sunday), the Christmas Season comes to an end. On this feast of the Baptism of the Lord, a couple of questions linger. Firstly, why is the baptism of Jesus, who is somewhere between the age of 30 and 33, placed in the Christmas Season? It doesn’t seem to fit in the storyline of a baby laid in a manger attracting the attention of shepherds, wisemen and angels. The second puzzling thing is: Why is Jesus, the sinless ...
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The gospel we just heard begs the questions: “Who is this Jesus being baptized?” And if he is the sinless one, then why is he undergoing a baptism that we traditionally believe was for the forgiveness of sins?” I think if we can answer the first question—who this Jesus is—we’ll also have the answer as to why he’s in these baptismal waters at all. Who Jesus is and why he’s being baptized have implications for our lives, otherwise, it’s just ...
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Twenty one years ago, while driving back from a retreat in Arizona, I visited Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. It was November, and the tourists were pretty much gone for the season except for a few stragglers like myself. I remember getting very close to the mule deer, within a few meters, and they weren’t afraid at all. I suspected that they had gotten acclimated to the huge number of visitors to the park over the summer, and I ...
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