This Sunday’s feast is a liturgical pivot:
it is the last Sunday of Christmas,
and tomorrow begins what is called “Ordinary Time.”
That name, “Ordinary Time,” is a little misleading.
We hear “ordinary,” and we think, “routine,” or “same old, same old.”
If ever anyone in Rome calls me for advice – haha!
I would suggest they rename this as “Counted Time.”
That’s what it really means: we count the weeks;
there are 34 weeks of “counted time”
until we come back to Advent at the end of the year.
We count the years too, right?
This is Anno Domini – the year of our Lord – 2026.
We’ve been counting the years since Jesus was born.
This act of counting time is,
when you think about it, an expression of our faith.
How so? Well, because it reflects our confidence
that we are making progress on a journey.
We’re not going in circles; and we’re not staying put.
Some world religions believe that you and I go through
many life-cycles – this is sometimes called “reincarnation.”
But everything in our Christian faith teaches us
that each person is unique and has an eternal destiny.
That destiny, that promise, is astonishing:
It is no less than to be lifted up into God’s own life.
This is what many of the prayers of Christmas call the “holy exchange.”
God became human so that human beings can become divine.
When we festoon our buildings and trees and bushes with lights,
it is not only cheerful, it serves to represent this reality:
that everything of this world is destined for transformation.
Well, as I said, this is the last Sunday of Christmas;
So I guess I’ll have to stop wishing you Merry Christmas today!
Still, if what you and I celebrate is real,
Then Christmas never ended! Jesus didn’t stop being one of us!
Our destiny still is ahead of us, and we count the weeks and years!
Now, there is a special focus in today’s Gospel,
and it is on Jesus choosing to have his cousin John baptize him.
Remember, John was calling people to be baptized as repentance.
The equivalent for us is the sacrament of confession.
When the other priests and I invite you – or we invite each other –
to come to confession, we’re doing what John the Baptist did:
Challenging people to repent and convert.
Starting in February, we’ll all do this collectively and intensely, in Lent.
So, to appreciate more fully what Jesus did – in being baptized –
imagine he came into church and got in line for confession!
Let me tell you: if I’m hearing confessions, and the Lord comes in,
I’m falling to my knees and confessing to him!
Surely that’s how John the Baptist felt, don’t you think?
When Jesus does this, he is demonstrating his solidarity with us.
Every single one of us.
There might have been some unsavory or disreputable people
waiting on the riverbank, that Jesus came and stood with that day.
So, don’t worry about whether he will stand with you.
This again emphasizes the hope drawing us forward.
It is not merely an individual journey: we go forward together.
Since Jesus chose to be in solidarity with us – even the “worst” of us –
then none of us, here, can dare to say, “but not those people.”
There is absolutely no one that Jesus does not invite to heaven!
You and I, therefore, are sent by him to relay that invitation!
Remember, this is the key point of the “Beacons of Light” project.
Reorganizing ourselves to be inviting, welcoming, evangelizing.
We had a good “problem” on Christmas, which we’ll try to address:
Some of our Masses were overly full!
No, we’d rather not have the stress involved, and yet:
Don’t we really want to face this “problem” on more and more Sundays?
If you and I are living our faith and sharing it, that’s what we hope for!
As you and I go forward in this year of our Lord,
We are looking for Jesus to meet us at journey’s end;
And at the same time, we know he keeps his promise:
He is with us, along the journey, all the way.
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