Brothers and Sisters . . . Have you ever bathed in dirty water?

On this Sunday honoring the Baptism of the Lord, I am reminded of my visit to the Holy Land and the possibility of staying in the vicinity of the Jordan River.  What a great surprise it was for me to see the murky quality of the water flowing by.

As Jesus plunged into the dirty Jordan waters in order to cleanse us, He thus entered our reality, that by entering into our sinful condition, through His love, we might enter into His reality.  Even more than stepping into the Jordan,  He  gains access to your and my reception of the sacraments.  He shares our reality in order to redeem it.

In turn, we are called by our communion with Him to enter into the reality of sinners, rather than to try to separate ourselves from them.  He wants us to immerse ourselves in their reality without losing our connection to Him, for by ourselves we cannot succeed.  Parents often take this action so as not to lose their children when they make mistakes.  We can follow their lead!  But tread carefully; sometimes the waters are very dirty and very deep.

Your Priest,

Fr. Paul