The Baptism of the Lord
2020 was a year like no other. Although my family experienced some losses, last year helped us recognize and celebrate the blessings in our lives. Our biggest blessing of 2020 came in June when my son William was born.
Having a baby during a worldwide pandemic had its challenges. My husband couldn’t be at my appointments, we asked our parents to wait a couple weeks to meet their grandson and when they did, it was outside and in masks and we asked them to not touch or hold him for a couple weeks after that. It was definitely different. One thing on my mind since before William was born, especially when all Churches were closed during the lockdown, was HOW are you going to Baptize this kid during the pandemic?!
The restrictions kept changing and were hard to understand. Was it 10 people allowed indoors now? Maybe it’s 25 because it’s a religious event? Should we wait until this is all over to Baptize our son so our family can all attend? At the end of July and with no end in sight to all the restrictions, I called up my parish and said that I wanted to Baptize my son as soon as possible, even if it was just me, my husband and one of the godparents present. We ended up having the Baptism three weeks later with most of my immediate family and close friends there. It wasn’t what I pictured for my son, but he was now Catholic and that was perfect.
During the ceremony, the priest started with “We gather on this Sunday of ‘Ordinary’ time to celebrate something that is truly ‘extraordinary’. We are celebrating this child joining the community of faith and becoming an adopted son of God.”
At Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan, God literally called down from heaven saying, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” If you think about it, the same happens to us on our Baptismal day; not only are we cleansed of original sin and given the light of Christ, we also gain our identity as adopted sons and daughters of God and are given our Baptismal Call to bring Christ to others through how we live.
This Sunday is a reminder of not only the importance of Christ’s Baptism, but also our own. Whether it’s surrounded by a full congregation during Sunday Mass or by a couple family members and close friends during a pandemic, when each one of us is Baptized, God declares that we are his beloved son or daughter – and that is truly extraordinary.