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Our baptism is a ‘bligh’

Mankind got a “bligh” when Jesus took on the collective debt of the human family.

Preaching the homily on the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord for COR’s (Christ in Others Retreat) 40th anniversary Mass, held last Sunday at Our Lady of Fatima RC Church, Curepe, Archbishop Jason Gordon said Jesus is the righteous one who wiped out past, present and future debt. He compared it to countries that end up in debt and cannot get out.

Referring to Matthew’s gospel on the Baptism of Jesus, Archbishop Gordon said, “What we celebrate in our baptism is this: that God has wiped the debt clean. You get a bligh. You could not pay, if you hit 500 lives, 10,000 lives, you could not pay.”

Jesus’ baptism by John in the Jordan happened after a period of silence, “For 400 years there was no voice, no word from God, the Heavens were shut and no voice was heard”.

When Jesus came out of the water, the Heavens opened, and the voice of God said: “My favour rests on Him,” said Archbishop Gordon. “So not only was paradise opened but Heaven when Jesus went down into the waters of the Jordan. Heaven is open, paradise is open, and salvation is again available for the whole human race.”

Another “significant point”, was that Jesus’ baptism made holy all waters of baptism. Archbishop Gordon explained, “Every font that will be blessed by every priest becomes holy because Jesus sanctifies the waters of baptism and through that sanctification and through His going down into the water, He makes it available for you and me”.

Baptism means the faithful members of the Body of Christ and the baptised are joined to Him as beloved sons and daughters precious in the eyes of God.

“It is something that COR holds as a charism, not so? The heart, core, the centre of this experience is to know you are a beloved son and beloved daughter of God,” he said.

The Archbishop questioned why after the debt was wiped away by Jesus the faithful live as if “sin is more than grace” and “spiritually bereft”. He told the congregation, “We already know that in the end that every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father”. —LPG