Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
Cycle
A
January 12, 2014 9:30 and 11am
Saint Margaret Parish, Bel
Air
Consecration within the Church
We
Catholics are used to the word consecration.
In
a few minutes, I will pray the words of consecration over the bread and
wine. By repeating the words of Jesus,
as he told us to do, these gifts are consecrated and become his body and blood.
We
speak of a church building, an altar, or a chalice as being consecrated. And we speak of persons who have made vows in
religious life, like Mother Teresa, as being consecrated.
To
consecrate something means that it is set aside or taken out of normal
usage. So an ordinary table is set aside
and taken out of normal usage to be an altar.
Consecration in Everyday Life
In
a way, we can see this idea of consecration in everyday life.
There
are experiences that set us aside and take us away from what we would
ordinarily do. For example, imagine you
are going over to a friend’s house this afternoon to watch the NFL playoffs and
have some pulled pork.
So
as you pull out of your driveway, you see an accident happen down at the
intersection. Someone must have gotten
hurt.
At
that moment, your plans have to be set aside.
The accident takes you away from what you were going to do.
In
that sense, you are consecrated. You are
to do something special – to help those people who are hurt.
Consecration in Everyday Life -- Parents
Or take the example of parents.
From the moment your first child is born, I have to imagine that
your life is different. For the next 20
to 30 years, your children need a lot of things from you: your time, money, car
keys, help with homework, paying tuitions, getting them out of messes, and on
it goes.
During all these years, your personal preferences as parents will
often be set aside and you will often be taken away from other interests. In this sense, you are consecrated for a very
special and important role.
Jesus’ Baptism -- Consecration
All of this helps us to understand baptism.
Baptism is a consecration.
It sets us aside from ordinary life and pulls us away from other ways of
living.
We see this with Jesus’ baptism in today’s gospel. Jesus is set aside and pulled away from being
a carpenter or fisherman or whatever.
The Father gives Jesus 1) a clear identity as his “Beloved Son” and 2) a mission to bring
God’s presence and God’s way on this earth.
In this way, Jesus is consecrated.
Our Baptism -- Consecration
Baptism is also a consecration for us.
It sets us aside and pulls us away. And it does this in the same ways that Jesus’
baptism did for him.
First, baptism consecrates us as God’s “beloved daughter or son.” This
means that we are to live in
relationship with God.
It means that we are to make space for prayer and reflection and an
inner life with God. And it means that
we join with God’s other sons and daughters as a community in prayer and
celebrate Mass together every week.
And second, our consecration in baptism means that we live with a
sense of mission. It means that we are
sent – as Jesus is sent – to bring the presence and way of God to earth.
This means, for example, that we approach life with fidelity to
our vocation and our commitments, with a willingness to work through
misunderstandings and hardships, with a respect for human life, and with care and
a generous spirit for those who are down and out. Baptism gives us this sense of mission.
And so, the consecration of baptism sets us aside and pulls us
away from living in any way other than the way Jesus himself lived. It sets us in relationship with God and gives
us a mission for our time on this earth.
