January 9, 2005: Humbled by the Mystery of God

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord



This past week, I’ve really been haunted by an article I read about the big tsunami in The (Champaign, IL) News-Gazette last Sunday. [To read the article, go to: http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/columnists/seth_borenstein/10544866.htm]. The thrust of the story was that a cataclysmic event like this underwater earthquake and tidal wave shows us that it’s laughable for man to think he’s really in control of much of anything.

We think we’re so clever! We can build skyscrapers that reach 1700 feet in the air… we can fly through the air in a loaded 747 that weighs 850,000 pounds… we can build dams across mighty rivers and harness vast quantities of hydroelectric power… but it only takes a split second to remind us who’s really boss.

They say that the tsunami pushed up a wall of water 30 feet high moving at 500 miles per hour. Those Christmas trees in the front of church are 10 feet high. Triple that would take you about to the top of the dome of the apse. And 500 miles per hour… well, you can just imagine. That’s pretty overwhelming.

But despite the devastation and so much loss of life and property in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Malaysia and the whole region, the reporter said that this was just a pygmy disaster compared to many events measured by geologic time.

Yes, we think we’re standing on solid ground—well anchored—firmly in charge. Ha! We are nothing but the tiniest specs of matter on a puny planet spinning at 1000 miles an hour and orbiting around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour. Aren’t we high and mighty! No wonder Our Lord reminds us with some regularity that humility is what draws us to God.

The newspaper article quoted Kathryn Sullivan, an astronaut and the first woman to walk in space. In view of all this, she asked, “How can we not believe in God?”

In our reading from Acts today, St. Peter says, “I see that God shows no partiality.” (Acts 10, 34). Isn’t that the truth! Christians… Buddhists… Moslems… Hindus… everyone around the Indian Ocean felt the might of Nature.

And how about the chilling and eerie words of Isaiah? “The coastlands will wait for his teaching.” (Isa. 42, 4). And how.

OK. There’s no question that God is mighty… all-mighty! That is indeed humbling… and indeed scary, because who knows when God might decide to become Godzilla?

But wait!

“The heavens were opened and the voice of the Father thundered: This is my beloved Son; listen to Him.” (Matt. 17, 5).

It’s not about power. It’s really about love.

The power that can trigger a tsunami is there—in that little crib fashioned out of a manger—weighing what? Seven… eight pounds? And through our baptism, God says that you and I are Jesus’ brothers and sisters.

But wait again! When we gather together like this to celebrate the Holy Mass, Jesus comes to us in a host that weighs in at a mere fraction of an ounce—just a gram or two. There is the full, whopping force of the universe that God gives us as food to feed our soul. Talk about your power meal!

Christ came to the River Jordan to be baptized by John not because He needed to be, of course… but to show us what to do—“to fulfill all righteousness,” as the Scripture puts it. He’s saying, “Folks: do this so God can open the doors to incredible blessedness. Do this so we can be family. Do this so you can have peace and joy beyond your wildest dreams.”

What’s the big deal about getting dipped in the river—or having a priest pour water from a cute little shell over your head? Obviously nothing… or is it merely an exercise of humility? With our free will, we can say, “Nah… I can take care of myself, thank-you-very-much.”

Or, we can suspend our disbelief, and we can suspend our ignorant pride, and simply say, “OK, Lord. I’ll do it for no other reason than because you ask me to.” And when we make this amazingly simple act of faith—either for ourselves or on behalf of our young children—the full power of the Creator floods and fills our soul… but is lighter than a single barb of a feather.

I think it’s so appropriate that we draw the great feast of Christmas to a close today by celebrating Jesus’ baptism—and remembering our own. This is like our last remaining Christmas present! Let the amazing mystery of God—His power and His splendor and His love—truly fill you with awe. And may it humble you, too—because if you don’t bend down, you can’t duck through the wonderful passageways that lead straight to God.

Amen.




Today’s Readings:
Isaiah 42, 1–7
Psalm 29
Acts of the Apostles 10, 34–38
Matthew 3, 13–17