Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 / Acts 10:34-38 / Mark 1:7-11
It is said that there are two most important days in your life – the day you were born and the day you find out why (Mark Twain).
The day that we were born is certainly an important day in our life. Who can ever forget his or her birthday? (Maybe another day that we won’t forget is our payday!)
So besides our birthday, is there any other day that we won’t forget? Is there another day that we will always remember?
Well, just out of curiosity, how many of us remember the day of our baptism?
If we are wondering as to how we can find out the day of our baptism, we just have to look for our baptism certificates and it is stated there.
Oh yes, the day of our baptism is an important day for us because that’s when we officially become a Christian and it should be a life changing event.
There is this story of a priest who was teaching catechism to a group of adults.
When it came to the teaching of abstinence of meat on Fridays, one of them had his questions and he was puzzled especially when he was told that instead of meat, he could eat fish.
Finally came the day of baptism and so the priest baptized him and he said to him, “Frankie, you were a pagan and now you are a Christian!”
One Friday evening, the priest decided to take a walk around the neighbourhood and he smelt the smell of barbecued meat coming from Frankie’s house.
So he went over to see what was happening and there he saw Frankie barbecuing some beef, and as he did so, he was saying this to the beef: You were meat, and now you are fish!
Well, baptism is not just a name-changing event but it is a life-changing event.
It is not just about formerly being called a pagan to being called a Christian.
It is not a superficial change in title but an essential change in identity.
Today as we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, we have also come to the close of the Christmas season.
Last Sunday, as we celebrate Epiphany, we hear of the wise men adoring the infant Jesus and paying Him homage.
Today, we fast-forward thirty years and we hear of the adult Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist.
It was a life-changing event for Jesus, as well as an earth-shaking event as the heavens were torn open and the Spirit descended upon Jesus and the voice from heaven that declared: You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you.
What happened during those thirty years were unknown to us other than that when Jesus was twelve years old, He went with His parents to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover.
But it took thirty years after His birth and then with His baptism, Jesus began His mission of salvation.
So the day of His baptism was an important day as Jesus was affirmed of His identity and His mission.
Thirty years is indeed a long time, almost like half a life time.
Is it worth waiting for thirty years to discover the meaning and the purpose of life?
For St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine, she would tell us that it is worth it.
St. Monica was born in 331 AD, was brought up as a Christian and she married a pagan Roman official, Patricius, a man of violent temper and also adulterous, and critical of Christians.
St. Monica endured with patience and prayer and finally after 30 years, her husband was converted and baptized a Christian.
Her son, St. Augustine was much more difficult, as she had to pray for him for 17 years, begging the prayers of priests who, for a while, tried to avoid her because of her persistence at this seemingly hopeless mission.
One priest did console her by saying, "it is not possible that the son of so many tears should perish." This thought, coupled with her faith strengthened her. St. Augustine was eventually baptized by St. Ambrose in 387. St. Monica died shortly after that.
St. Monica is considered the patron saint of wives and mothers whose husbands or sons have gone astray.
So St. Monica spent most of her life in prayer, praying for the conversion of her husband, and then for her son St. Augustine.
But she would tell us that the most important days of her life were the day of her baptism when she was immersed into the faith, and the day when she witnessed the baptism of her husband and later on of her son St. Augustine.
It is indeed a great joy to see someone turning back to God and knowing that you had an important part in that person’s conversion story and the journey back to God.
The Baptism of the Lord is indeed an important day for Jesus as He begins His journey of fulfilling His mission on earth.
Following this there will be many important days in His life which we will celebrate as the liturgical year unfolds.
As for us, there will also be many important days to come as our lives unfold in the days to come.
But as for today, may we celebrate our own baptism into Christ, and may today also be a day that we find out why we were born into this world.
Like Jesus, we are born for a reason and we are born for a mission.
We only walk this way once. Let us walk with Jesus and we will make each day an important day for others as well as for ourselves.