As preached by Sister Cecelia
Holy Wisdom Church
You shall be my people and I will be your God. A new heart I will give you and a new spirit will I put within you. From the first reading of Ezekiel this morning. It could be confusing for us to look upon our humanity(flesh) as something to be appreciated since, so often we read or hear that the flesh is something to be tamed, to be beaten down, to be brought into submission so that our spirit can fly to the heavens without being brought down by our bodies. Our flesh, our humanity, is the clay out of which we shape a better tomorrow rather than to think that the way God made us is inherently bad. The psalms affirm that “the whole earth is filled with God’s love”.Ps.33-5. God is most high, El-Elyom, but God in transcendence is not simply the one that directs billions of galaxies, but the one Who watches over each being and leads it on the path of love. “A new heart I will give you and a new spirit will I put within you.” God’s love lives in my intelligence, in my mind, in my heart, for if the whole earth is filled with God’s love, then my whole being and also my whole existence are filled with this love.
The Baptist’s call to repentance was just that. It was a call to change the way people were, the way they thought of life up until then. It was a call to prepare them for the coming of the Messiah. The ritual washing with water does not represent penance for sin but rather a sincere dedication to lead a new life.
A long time, about 4 million years, was needed for the first humans to rise from the dust of the earth. A long time was again needed for the marvelous incarnation of Jesus into our human history. How are we doing so far in this dedication to leading a new life since Jesus became human?
In this unique moment -unique because it is the only moment at my disposal; the past no longer belongs to me and the future is not here yet- what counts today is my position in relation to God. How do I regard myself in this light? Each day is given to us not so that we might progress in years but so that we might progress in our knowledge of God; that we might progress in the enjoyment and peace of being aware of God’s presence in all things. Walking with Christ, -Emmanual-God with us, we are also led into the desert to discover our own path. Each moment on this path, this journey, is unique. The success of our life is to progress in the discovery of who and what God is, to know God better, to come to recognize God better in all creatures.
We know that God is in unapproachable light and that no name can fully express this most mysterious, most divine being. But Who is God for me now and what am I before God? I’m assured that God loves me for myself, even with my faults, just as I am, for it was God who created me. Do I love God simply for what God is, a God of mercy and compassion, (among a thousand other names we can attribute to our God)?
Today we celebrate Jesus’ beginning of what we call his public ministry. From our knowledge of what happened during his next few years, we learn how He expressed his teaching and love for us. Through listening to His Spirit, we too will be guided on our journeys at each unique moment to live and love as we are meant to do and be.
For those who give you a face, Lord Jesus, by spreading your love in the world, we give you praise. For those who give you hands by defending the weak and oppressed, we give you praise. For those who reveal you simply by what they are, reflecting beauty by their lives, we give you thanks.
Be embodied in us so that we might be the revelation of your love for all, our brothers and sisters.
Christ is among us.
