Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
Acts 10:34-38
Luke 3:15-16, 21-22
There is one day in our life that we will always remember, one day that we will not forget, unless of course, our memory begins to fail.
Some would make this day special with a big celebration, others would just spend it quietly.
That day I am talking about is none other than our birthday.
Yes, that’s our special day and every year we would take note of it, or others will remind us of it.
More so if our birthdays fall on big festive days like Christmas Day or New Year’s Day.
Even if we don’t want to celebrate our birthday on those kind of days, others will remind us about it.
I came across this story about celebrating birthdays, but it sounds more like a joke…
A group of friends wanted to spring a birthday surprise for one of their shy friends.
But of all things, they decided to do it at Mass.
So before Mass, one of them approached the priest to ask if he would say or do something for the birthday boy.
The priest, a prim and proper traditionalist, gave this reply: See how lah.
Now, during Mass, the priest said nothing about the birthday.
After the final blessing and just before the priest left the altar, he said: Is there someone here celebrating his birthday today?
So his friends gleefully prodded the shy birthday boy to raise his hand.
And then the priest said, “Well, we don’t have a birthday cake for you, but since it is your birthday today…” and then he pointed to the altar, “then you can blow out the candles.”
Well, it is still a privilege to do something for the altar, even if it is just blowing out the candles!
So, in big or small ways, birthdays are remembered because they are as special as each of us is special.
But, there is another special day for us which we seldom take note of, or even bother to remember.
That special day is none other than the day of our baptism.
Some of us may remember the day of our baptism but by and large, we don’t usually take note of the date.
Just in case we do not know when the day of our baptism was, we can find it in our baptism certificate.
And just in case we do not know where our baptism certificate is, then better start finding. You will need it when you want to book a niche in the Church columbarium.
Our baptism day is just as important as our birthday, maybe even more important, when considered in the religious sense.
Just as we celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas, today we celebrate His baptism.
The baptism of Jesus is as important an event as our baptism, although it is different in essence.
Our baptism cleanses away the stain of original sin and immerses us into the identity of Christ and that is why it is only with baptism that we can be identified as Christians.
The baptism of Jesus identifies Him as the beloved Son of God who came to take away the sins of the world.
Hence, the baptism of Jesus marks the beginning as well as the commitment to His mission as Saviour.
Similarly, our baptism marks the beginning of our life in God, our spiritual life.
If our birthday marks the beginning of our existence, then our baptism marks the beginning of our commitment to God.
That commitment is essentially and fundamentally expressed in a life of faithfulness to God.
And there will be plenty of temptations to challenge our faithfulness to God.
Even Jesus after His baptism was tempted by the devil in the desert. But of course he overcame the temptations.
We too, are subjected to many temptations. So how have we done so far?
This feast of the Baptism of the Lord not only reminds us of the day of our baptism, but also reminds us that it is time for a spiritual check-up.
Sometimes, we may be tempted to think that if we were not baptized, then we might have it easier and have more freedom.
We can sleep in on Sundays, don’t have to come to church, do anything we like without feeling guilty and we do not have to go for confession.
In the area of morality, we don't have to worry about free sex, divorce and abortion, if we were not baptized.
As it is, we are already losing, or maybe even lost, the sense of sin.
For example, committing adultery is now called having an affair, stealing is called shop-lifting,
Yes, we are tempted to go easy on ourselves, don’t have to take life too hard, after all how bad can we be.
We are not playing with black magic or anything satanic so we can’t be that bad what…
Yet there is one aspect of the spiritual life that is called spiritual warfare, which we don’t mention often.
Just as Jesus came to fight evil and sin, we now continue the fight, and we fight with confidence in our faithfulness to God.
But there are distractions that can make us lose focus.
Here I would like to cite the battle of Troy, a classic example in the art of war.
In the story, the Greeks laid siege on the city of Troy.
But they could not break the defenders of the city because the Trojans were united in their commitment to their city, so the Greeks decided to use deception.
They pretended to retreat and sail off, but they left behind a big horse-like structure, which we now call the Trojan Horse.
The people of Troy unsuspectingly pulled the Trojan Horse into they city as their war trophy and began rejoicing and celebrating too soon.
When everyone was drunk on celebration and with their guard totally down, the Greek soldiers hiding inside the Trojan Horse came out and opened the city gates for the Greek army that sailed back and were waiting outside the city
That was how the city of Troy fell, all because they lost focus on their safety and security, and were deceived by novelty and they gave in to their curiosity.
It was a classical example of deception and temptation in the art of war.
The Bible gives us this warning in 1 Cor 10:12:”The man who thinks he is safe must be careful not to fall.”
In God is our safety and security, He is our God and we are His beloved people.
This is the covenant that is sealed by our baptism.
God has already given us everything to help us feel safe and secure. He even gave us His Son. What more do we want?
We might like to have some excitement in life, but we are risking our safety and security.
Because there are Trojan Horses waiting at our gates.
But they can’t come in, unless we want to pull them in, and then the Horse will be our loss.
So as we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, and as we recall our own baptism, let us recommit ourselves in faithfulness to the Lord.
Let us fight the good fight, let us keep focused on the Lord, and keep faithful to the Lord always.