(2025)

ISAIAH 42: 1-4, 6-7
PSALM 28: 1-4, 9-10 R. v. 11
ACTS 10: 34-38
MATTHEW 3: 13-17

---

Last month we witnessed the darkness of the Bondi massacre. The terrorist would say that this was their calling from God.

In contrast Jesus reveals the true calling of God.

Today as we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, we are celebrating the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry. As soon as Jesus is baptized, a voice speaks from heaven, “This is my Son, the beloved, My favour rests on him.”

God’s favour rests on him because in his humanity, he does the will of the Father.
And in so doing he reveals the nature of the Son and the love of God. The Son always does the will of the Father, because the Father lives in the Son. In his baptism, Jesus is not claiming the right of his divinity but submitting to his humanity.

And in the second reading, Peter explains the consequence of this: “God had anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him. And Jesus went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil.” Peter is attributing all Jesus actions in his humanity to the Holy Spirit who lives in him.

This is also prophesied by Isaiah in the first reading where the prophet speaks of the righteous one whom we identify with Jesus.

Today as we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus, we are celebrating the depth and meaning of our own baptism. Jesus did not have to be baptised for he was without sin, but he was baptised because he lived and was affected by the sins of the world. He carried our sins for us. He wanted to identify himself with our human journey on earth.

And through his baptism we find the meaning of our own baptism. Jesus found favour with the Father because he was obedient to the will of the Father. Jesus always sought the will of God through prayer. Jesus gave his life for God and for us.

Our baptism is a gift to us from God. It remains only a gift unless it is used.

Through our baptism we are invited to become what God has meant us to become, an image of Christ, His Son through the Holy Spirit.
Through the Holy Spirit, this becomes a reality when we like Jesus are willing to live a life in obedience with the will of God.

This becomes a reality when it is a life of love for God and neighbour.
This becomes a reality when we are ready to give witness to God through our faith in Him.
This becomes a reality when we are ready to bring healing and hope to others.
This becomes a reality when we are willing to forgive from our cross.

Our baptism is a call to live a life that we as humans were meant to be. Created in the image of God, we can only find meaning in living a life founded on God’s love.

ECCLESSIASTICUS / SIRACH 3: 2-6, 12-14
PSALM 127: 1-5
COLOSSIANS 3: 12-21
MATTHEW 2: 13-15, 19-23

---

What are your fondest memories you have of growing up in a family? There may be fond memories of Christmas past, or going on holidays or presents received but underlying all these is knowing that you were loved. For all these things has little value if the love was not there.

And how do children know that they are loved? It is simply when parents take time to spend with their children. It is there that children will find the happiness they long for.
They may seem to enjoy the outings and things bought for them but these things don’t last. They can even still feel very lonely in spite of them.

What their spirit longs for most is loving interaction. It is in the presence of being there with them and for them that matters most. This is what helps them grow in love and what they remember most. That is what we hold most dear in our hearts. And this is true of all relationships.

The feast of the Holy Family reminds us that there is another more important family that we belong to where God is our Father. In telling the story of Jesus’ birth, Matthew is comparing Jesus’ story with that of Moses who freed the people of God from slavery in Egypt.

When Jesus was born, Herod killed the innocent children. So too when Moses was born, were the children of Israel killed. Moses was to lead the people out of Egypt into the Promised Land. Jesus will lead us from the slavery of sin into the heavenly kingdom. In all this we see God present with us with his love. God does not promise the Israelites the greatest of kingdoms and empire nor does he promise us material wealth.

No! God promises us something greater……A relationship with Him that is life giving.

And as Moses led the people to Mount Sinai to enter into a covenant with God,
Jesus now leads us to a relationship with God which will become real through his passion and resurrection. Through Jesus, we are invited to become part of God’s family, his children as never before.

In the Holy Family, we see the intimateness of this relationship. Their story was one of openness to God, trusting in God and following the way of God. They did this simply because they knew God in their hearts.
Today is a time to reflect on our own relationship with God. Do we know the love God has for us? What has been our experience of God in our lives?

If we do not feel God’s love, keep praying to God. There can be no substitute for prayer.
Like all other relationships, spending time with God will draw us closer to Him and open our hearts to His presence.

I guess we all know the Christmas story very well. Sometimes we so familiar with it that we can easily lose sight of the meaning of the story. And the Christmas story is not just an event that happen 2000 years ago but has meaning for us today in our very lives.

In the Christmas story we hear that there was no room in the inn and so Mary gave birth to Jesus in a manger, a place where the animals were kept. On the one hand, this tells something of God. There in the manger lies God in baby Jesus. God does not impose himself on us. God only comes to offer his love to us.

The baby Jesus is not a threat to us. Yet baby Jesus is a challenge to us. In all this Jesus is asking us to open the doors of our hearts to him. His desire is to live in our hearts.
Jesus knocks at the door of each of our hearts that he may live in us. Will we let him enter?

What does it mean to let Jesus into our hearts?

The answer is found in the visits of the shepherds to the manger. What did they see?
Nothing spectacular really; just a baby wrap in swaddling clothes. What were their expectations? Their lives did not change for they were still poor and would struggle in life. Yet they were filled with joy, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.

What do we see at the manger and what does it mean for us? One way to look at it is to ask ourselves what are our expectations of God and His Church today?

Sometimes we are reluctant to let Jesus enter into our lives because we are just afraid that letting Jesus into our heart might change us. And so we give excuses: “My life is too busy Lord…..I am too tired……there are other things in my life that I like to do.”

Yes, the truth is, to let Jesus in will change us. It will change us for the better, it will transform us the more we open ourselves to him. Christ is our light, our hope our joy, our Saviour. True peace and happiness can only come through him and with him.
It is heaven that Jesus offers us.

That is why God came to live amongst us. That is why Christ desires a room in our hearts. And so when we pray, each time we come to Mass to worship God, each time we forgive others, each time we do an act of kindness in God’s Name, we are opening the doors of our hearts to Jesus, God.

May the humble birth of Jesus reveal to us the loving tenderness of God and help us to become more truly human like him.

ISAIAH 7: 10-14
PSALM 23: 1-6 R. v. 7.10
ROMANS 1: 1-7
MATTHEW 1: 18-24

---

A week ago, we witnessed the tragic horror of the massacre of so many people at Bondi Beach. And there are also so many conflicts and terrorist attacks in the Holy Land and around the world. There is a sense of helplessness in all this.

In the face of this, let us remember that the season of Advent and the coming season of Christmas are very much a time for praying for peace. How then do we find peace in the face of the many conflicts in our lives?

The starting point is found in our prayer, for we cannot achieve peace by ourselves but only through God. For Jesus came to bring us God’s peace, a peace the world cannot give. But prayer must be accompanied with trust in God.

Today’s readings give us a contrasting respond to God by two people. In the first reading, King Ahaz was asked by the prophet Isaiah to trust in God instead of making an alliance with his neighbouring countries to attack Egypt. Ahaz disobeyed and was destroyed by the evil in his heart.

Joseph in Matthew’s gospel today is an example of a person who was at peace within himself and with God and with those around him, simply because he was able to trust in God and to put others before him. He struggled with what Mary told him, yet he cared for her. He did not understand but he trusted in God’s command through the angel. Through his obedience he became a participant in God’s plan for the salvation of humankind.

It is so easy to point to the failings of world leaders in all that is wrong in the world but forget that we too have our own personal conflicts. We cannot demand for peace in the world if we ourselves are not people of peace. There is a hymn that goes: “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”

How often in our own personal conflicts do we see the other person as the obstacle to reconciliation and not ourselves. We can end up becoming impatient and frustrated and even bitter. Often it leads us to become judgmental and aggressive towards those we are in conflict with. Where we end up is not peace but further conflict.

Christmas is a time to seek God’s peace in our life. Real peace will be possible for us no matter what we face if we allow the love of God into our lives. The deeper our relationship with God grows, we become like His Son Jesus and we will find the peace within, no matter what conflict we face.

A person with the peace of Christ will know what is important in life and will never despair, even in the face of conflict. And a person with the peace of Christ
Will always seek to resolve and not confront where there is a conflict
Will be patient and not be aggressive
Will try to understand and not become judgmental.
Will bring mercy where there is sin,
Will bring hope where there is despair
And will bring love where there is hatred.

At Bondi beach we saw the evil of hatred take the lives of so many. Some unfortunately will see only hatred and revenge as the answer. They only become more victims of evil of the massacre at Bondi. They let the same evil of hatred of the two terrorists into their hearts to destroy them.

May the love of God from the cross be our answer to the evil of hatred in people.