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Connections. . .
January 9, 2000
Baptism of the Lord
Jesus was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him.
- Mark 1:7-11
Embodying great art
At a beach in southern France, a family spotted the great Pablo Picasso sitting nearby. They dispatched their little boy with a sheet of paper and begged the artist for a small, autographed drawing. Picasso thought for a moment, then tore up the paper. Taking some color crayons he drew a design on the boy's chest and back and then signed his "work." Picasso then sent the youngster on his way.
"I wonder," the artist said with a mischievous smile, "if they'll ever wash the boy again."
[Janik Press Service.]
CONNECTION: Baptism is more than a ritual, a milestone, a "naming" ceremony. Like the youngster who finds himself "marked" by Picasso's art, we are "marked" in baptism as a child of God. In baptism, we are "grasped by the hand" of God (Reading I) and "called" to become servants of God; we are formed into God's holy people, a people who rise from the waters of baptism and, with the Spirit upon us, travel his road of justice and mercy to the fulfillment of the Resurrection. In baptism, we embody the name of Christ and embrace all that holy name means: to live for others rather than ourselves, to be ministers of God's justice and peace, to bring forth in our world the light of Christ, the "beloved Son" and "favor" of God.n
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