On Thursday of this week the sun was shining bright, the
blue skies could actually be seen and at 5pm it was actually still light
outside – the first signs to me that it is indeed getting closer to
spring. Outside our windows this week
was another story. The frigid air that
hit us a few of these days however was a harsh reminder that it not only is
still winter but we do indeed live in upstate New York (or perhaps the North
pole?).
This too is the Season of Epiphany. The sign of God’s revelation to the world and
more importantly this Sunday is the baptism of the Lord Sunday. As Baptized Christians we are called to be
born anew in our baptism. Now, I’m using
this phrase knowing well what implications I’m bringing to you. You see, it is important that through
becoming Christians we realize that our lives are different and we are
changed. For by being Christian we are
called to live a higher and new life.
But it is easy for us as Christians to fall into the trap of
deception. You see just like those who
sat inside their warm homes on Thursday looking out at what looked like a
beautiful day. We are called to do more
than just proclaim our Christianity well living sheltered lives. We are called to do more than sit in comfort
and overlook the obvious – the harsh realities of the world around. We often put blinders on the realities around
us and don’t fully live into our Christian call. We might be “doing” everything we think we
need to and yet if we are not opening our eyes fully we might be missing out on
God’s true voice speaking to us.
Another slant to this illusion is that it is easy for us as
Christians to judge the world around us by what we see and think we can
observe. But we are called through Jesus
to make our Lord the judge of all and are called instead to show love to all we
meet. We must take heed to this call
from God for this is what Christianity is all about, isn’t it?
There will be several more days in which the Sun
will beat it’s warm rays down upon us and we will be reminded of what Spring
and Summer shall bring. When that
happens, let us be reminded that in our life we need to do more than accept
things for the way they look. Instead we should search beyond knowing that God,
through our baptism, has called us to live anew, to be better and to challenge
our understands finding meaning beyond what we think we know.
