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Two-Minute Homily by Fr Adrian Sharp for the Baptism of the Lord 2023.
“In the waters of baptism our old way of life of sin is put to death. And we emerge from the baptismal waters, washed, to a new life, in which we put on the life of Christ.”

• Two-Minute Homily Transcript

  Two-Minute Homily Transcript

  Author: Archdiocese of Brisbane

  
  A short time has elapsed since we celebrated the Epiphany, but thirty years in the life of the Lord have passed as we now celebrate His baptism! The Baptism of the Lord marks his entry onto the public stage, and marks the ending of His hidden years. The moment of his baptism is the signal that it is now time for Him to do what He was sent to do. To battle with Satan, and to ultimately triumph over evil, sin and death by his passion and resurrection. Immediately after his Baptism the Holy Spirit leads Jesus to do battle with Satan in the desert wilderness; a battle that Our Lord will continue in so many different ways through his public ministry. His baptism is a crucial point in the human life of the Lord. We know little of the thirty hidden years before, but we know much about the three years that follow, and we will spend the next liturgical year delving into those events and mysteries.

  The Baptism of each Christian should be a similar defining moment in his or her life. Baptism is meant to make all the difference in the world to those who receive it. The washing in the waters of baptism is like a drowning, a death. In the waters of baptism our old way of life of sin is put to death. And we emerge from the baptismal waters, washed, to a new life, in which we put on the life of Christ. It’s good to ask ourselves as we celebrate this feast. What difference does it make that I am baptised? Are the fruits of baptism evident in my life? Am I dying to sin? Am I putting on the life of Christ? And whilst we know that we have put on Christ in baptism, we also know that our conversion to Him takes our whole life.

  Until we meet Him face to face,
  there are always ways that we can be purified; ways that we can become more like Him. And when baptismal grace is tarnished or even lost through sin, we have the great sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, that sacramentally washes and cleanses us anew. Restoring the dignity and graces of our baptism to us. We ask the Lord to keep us mindful of our baptismal dignity, and to help us to live out our baptismal calling, as His sons and daughters, until we, please God, reach the fulfilment of baptism in heaven.