January 9, 2005

The Baptism of the Lord

January 9, 2005

Pastor’s Perspective

*The Baptism of the Lord

  We end the Christmas season with the gospel story of the adult Jesus embracing his mission and identity—his baptism.  With that baptism Jesus experiences his profound identity as the beloved of YHWH, the special Son to God the Father, a relationship that sustains him all the way to the cross.  He comes to understand his mission is to proclaim and make visible that God’s kingdom is breaking into history anew through him.  God-with-us, the central meaning of the Christmas season, becomes visible yet again as God-in and through-Jesus. 

  Thus we end the Christmas season.  The wonder of God’s plan for salvation: proclaimed to the shepherds, revealed to the magi, embraced by Mary and Joseph, identified with the person of Jesus, announced to the world.  We who share in the baptism of the Lord are brought into that intimate circle as well.  We come to know that our deepest identity is to live out of our baptismal calling.  Each time we act on that identity as sons and daughters of God, willing to let the reign of God break in through us and our actions, God-with-us breaks anew into the history of the world. 

  But perhaps our baptismal shaping isn’t our choice of deepest identity?  Perhaps we would rather live out of a different path of life?  That is certainly possible. But the heart of the Christian message and community is the free embrace by baptized Christians of the way of Jesus.  His life, death, resurrection, and sending of the Spirit are the pattern that gives meaning to everything we do.  We might run from it; we might distort it.  But in the end it is the only way for us, because it is the way of God-with-us, Jesus, and thus the way that leads to the fullest embrace of our humanity as well as the fullest openness to God. 

  Maybe we need to get better at making a big deal of our baptismal anniversaries.  Celebrate our birthdays with great enthusiasm and joy, but let’s not forget our baptismal marking. 

That points the gift of life not in any direction whatsoever, but along the way of Jesus, sharing in his life, death and resurrection.  I encourage families to mark those anniversaries of baptism on the family calendar and celebrate them in some special way: the person gets to choose the dinner (or even better gets to choose and help prepare it?!), the baptism candle is brought out, lit and a prayer said, asking for God’s blessing on the one whose baptism is being remembered. 

*Parish Pot-Luck and Game Night January 21st

  I know that it is advertised elsewhere in the bulletin, but it is coming up quickly and is such a fun night.  I especially like it when we get a wide variety of adults of all ages and a wide variety of games.  It’s a great chance to meet some new parish members and/or to have fun with some of the familiar ones.  The various dishes to pass are listed on the bulletin board.  The parish supplies the main course and refreshments. 

*25th Anniversary

  The 25th anniversary Eucharist for the  parish will take place at the 11:30 Mass on February 27th.  This will kick-off the year-long remembrance, which will include a memento cookbook, anniversary ornament (many of you bought one already this past Christmas), a parish history and photo album (I hope), a special summer picnic, and much more, ending in a dinner celebration in February of 2006 to culminate the year. 

  If you know of a former parish member who might like to attend some of these things, please let the office know and we will issue a special invitation to them. 

*Bulletin Advertisers

  I am very grateful to all who advertise with the parish bulletin. It allows us to have the many pages of parish news and information published weekly for free.  But we are still in need of more advertisers.  If you are in a business that you want advertised or work for one in the area, please consider taking out a small ad.  The company that works with us on the bulletin will be contacting current and potential businesses over the next couple of weeks.  The ads bring some exposure to the business and are a direct benefit to the parish in our efforts to keep in communication with all parish members. 

*Theology of God (and Everything Else, continued)

  I mentioned last week that we find ourselves at a new juncture.  People of faith have to come to terms with the vastness of the universe, its evolution, and its seeming randomness.  People who ignore faith have to come to terms with this same universe as well, with its directional evolution toward life and consciousness (spirit) and with its interconnectedness.  It is clear that God is not some sort of Being, only bigger and better, somehow “up there,” benevolently looking over the earth, deciding to occasionally initiate something or interact with us.  We inevitably use language that suggests that, because we tend to think of God as another Person and Self, only absolute.  Our Christian understanding of God comes from our Jewish roots and the experience of Jesus Christ.  God is personal—is in a personal relationship to us—but is not a Person.  No, I didn’t just say something heretical. Read on.     

For nearly three centuries the early Church felt no critical need to lay out much doctrinal teaching with respect to God. God was YHWH, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator of all, transcendent to all, beyond our comprehension, yet intimately involved in life, and fully involved in and through Jesus his Son.  As long as the oneness of God was accepted, God’s transcendence honored, Jesus’ full humanity acknowledged, Jesus as the divine instrument for human salvation preached, and the Spirit was understood to be the Spirit of God, there was a general unity of faith experienced and no need to be adamant about how it all fit together.

But then Arius, a priest from Alexandria in the early 3rd century, came onto the scene.  He was worried that the absolute monarchy of God was being jeopardized by the way Christians of his day talked of Jesus as God.  For Arius there was one and only one God, God the Father of all (so far so good).  But for him that meant that anything or anyone else was at best secondarily divine (not so good). His famous phrase, which was put into hymns and became very popular in his day, was “there was [a time] when he [the divine Word] was not.”  Thus the Word who became flesh in Jesus of Nazareth, who we call Son of God, was begotten by God the Father and created as subordinate to God and secondarily divine.  God as such does not come to us in and through Jesus, only a secondary type of divinity does. 

  But two problems then follow.  If God as such does not come to us in Jesus, then how is humanity truly saved in and through Jesus?  Secondly, if Jesus, the Word made flesh, is created as a secondary type of God, how is his humanity meaningful?  Arius’ charismatic nature and successful preaching create a huge following among Christians not only in Alexandria but throughout the Eastern Church.  A crisis ensues that threatens to tear the Church apart. The emperor, Constantine, wanting peace in the empire, calls a council of the bishops of the East to settle this dispute.  The bishops settle on a term, homoousios—which means “of the same nature” or “one in being”—to define the Church’s tradition about the Word of God.  Moreover, they make use of a subtle distinction in the Greek language between “begotten” and “created”.  In Greek these differ by one letter, similar to our ‘n’.  One has two ‘n’ and the other just one ‘n’.  Arius used them interchangeably, as was fairly common in that day.  But now, in order to preserve a proper understanding of God, the bishops of the Church insisted that we keep a distinction.  The Word of God (and by extension the Spirit) are ‘begotten’ but not “created or made.” 

  Thus we get our first official Creed—the Nicene Creed—which we still recite to this day at every Sunday Eucharist (with a few additions that come in at the next major council of bishops sixty years later):  “We believe in one God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father….”  Due to the work of three key theologians from Cappadocia in the Eastern Church , the Church will come to summarize its normative understanding of the God revealed by and in Jesus Christ as “one God, three subsisting relations” (the East) or, as it gets translated into Latin in the West, our more familiar “one God, three persons.” God is not “a” Person as mentioned above.  God is one and only one and always only one God. Yet God relates to us in a three-personed way.  For us to know God is to know God as Father, Word (Son) and Spirit and yet only one God. 

  But what did those early theologians mean by this formula and understanding?  How does it open up insights for our contemporary world?  Can it help us come to grips with the seeming non-involvement of God with the suffering in the world?  What does it say about our own humanity and relationship with God?  These will be the questions for the final columns over the next two weeks. 

   Instead of the term ‘salvation’ the Eastern Church prefers the terms ‘divinization.’  We know through the Word made flesh that humanity is precisely able to be divinized without being anything other than human.  Salvation means becoming one, more and more completely, with God.  As we end the Christmas season, let us remember that awesome mystery revealed in the Christ child and in the adult Jesus: God becomes human so that humanity might become divinized.  

   Fr. Buersmeyer

  Earthquake relief effort 

  Cardinal Maida calls on the priests and people of the Detroit Archdiocese to pray for the victims, the hurt and the homeless resulting from the powerful earthquake and walls of water that devastated the shorelines of the Indian Ocean. 

  Ten of thousands are dead. Millions more are injured or missing. Entire communities have been washed away or severely damaged. Disease and contamination threaten the hardest hit areas. Donations for “Earthquake Relief” are being facilitated by Catholic Relief Services and can be sent in care of: 

Archdiocese of Detroit

Department of Parish Life & Services

305 Michigan Avenue

Detroit, MI 48226 

*Please indicate “Earthquake Relief” on the memo line of the check. 

Samaritan House

January needs 

  The Samaritan House has submitted their list of needs for the month of January.  They are in need of pancake mix, paper towels, diapers (size 3, 4, 5, 6), Ensure (liquid), pancake syrup, baby wipes, tampons, laundry detergent, cooking oil, jelly, shampoo, canned fruit and dish soap.  Any non-perishable food items and toiletries that you can donate are always appreciated.  Pantry donations received by Samaritan House filled 103 food orders in the month of November and that amount fed 330 individuals for more than one week! 

  Donations can be delivered directly to Samaritan House at 58944 Van Dyke in the Alward’s Plaza on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM and Fridays from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM.  If these days/times are not convenient, items can be dropped off at church, clearly marked “Samaritan House”. 

Vatican II continues… 

    This week’s insert is titled, “Catholicism Welcomes the World”.  It focuses on 2 of the shorter Vatican II documents, Decree on Ecumenism and the Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions.  

  Ecumenism, which simply refers to  unity among all Christians, was a theme of the papacy of John XXIII.  He wanted to better the relations between the Catholic Church and other denominations.  When the pope declared his intention to convene the ecumenical council, it was clear that ecumenism would be a pivotal theme

Birthright thanks

The following letter is in response to our “Baby Shower” during the month of October. 

Dear SS. John & Paul Parish, 

  God bless you for your concern for mothers and babies in the community. Birthright received an abundance of clothing from you and now a monetary gift of $190.59 has also arrived. We will be able to purchase whatever is needed for our pregnant and new mothers and their infants. 

  According to Right to Life of Michigan, the work and prayer of our citizens have made our state a leader in the nation in rescuing the unborn and protecting women in a crisis pregnancy. 

  You can be sure that the infant Jesus accepts your gifts to the least of His brethren as given to Him for His birthday. 

  Gratefully,

  Rosalie Imrick, Birthright of Macomb 

Volunteers needed for tax preparation 

  The Macomb County Asset Building Coalition, a coalition of Macomb County service organizations, governmental agencies and banks is looking for volunteers to spend a little time learning about taxes and helping to prepare tax returns. 

  The Volunteer Accounting Service Team of Michigan (VAST MI) will train volunteers to prepare basic federal and state tax returns for taxpayers with low and limited income.  From February through April 15th, volunteers spend about four to six hours a week helping the community.  Volunteers can assist during the day, evenings and weekends. 

  No tax accounting experience is necessary, only a desire to help others in need.  Volunteers will receive training in tax law and use of a computer.  Once certified, volunteers will be assigned to Macomb County Asset Building Coalition sites located throughout Macomb County.  Most VAST MI locations use computers to prepare and transmit tax returns.  This is an added benefit of participating in VAST MI – training in computer tax preparation. 

  For more information or to volunteer, please contact Mary Beels, VAST MI volunteer coordinator (313) 647-9620, ext. 202, mbeels@vastmi.org) or visit VAST MI’s website, www.vastmi.org. Volunteers can also sign up on line. 

CHRISTIAN FAITH FORMATION

2004-2005

Religious Formation

Program 

Early Childhood — Sunday

(ages 3-4-5 years)

During 9:30 a.m. Mass

Sessions:  Jan. 16, 23

No Session:  Jan. 30  

Grades 1-6 — Tuesday

4:45-6:00 p.m. & 6:30-7:45 p.m.

Sessions:  Jan. 11, 18

No Session:  Jan. 25

Sessions: Feb. 1, 8  

Grades 7-8 — Sunday

6:30-8:30 p.m.

Sessions: Jan. 9, 23, 30

No Session:  Jan. 16 

Preparation for the Sacrament of

First Eucharist 

Parent/Child Session #1

Wednesday,  January 12

at 6:30 p.m. 

OR Sunday,  January 16

at 12:45 p.m. 

All families with children from Grade 2 and up and are eligible for this sacrament are invited to attend this first preparation session.  Please mark your calendars now and watch for more information to come. Call the Religious Formation Office if you have any questions.  586.781.9488. 

Baptism of the Lord

Mt. 3:13-17 

      Times of change in our lives can be times of risk and uncertainty.   During this time we become very vulnerable with a great need for someone to give us support and encouragement.  

      The American writer, Maya Angelou, saw very little of her mother as she was growing up.  She was brought up mostly by her loving grandmother.  When she was about 20 years old, Maya was in the midst of struggling  towards becoming a writer.  During this time she made a visit to her mother.  It was a good visit and when it was time to leave, her mother walked her to the bus.  As they parted her mother told Maya that she was the greatest woman she had ever met.  Later as Maya thought about that moment she said ‘it had seemed like one of those moments when the sky rolled back and the earth held its breath’. 

      Before Jesus was baptized he lived an uneventful life of thirty years in Nazareth, but during those years he had begun to hear a call. It was a call to service away from Nazareth to the wider community.  

      When he appeared before John to be baptized, he had reached a crossroads in his life.  He was leaving a quiet life behind and starting his public mission.  Arriving at this moment after a lot of prayer and reflection, he must have experienced some uncertainty and anxiety with the need for some affirmation. 

       During his baptism Jesus received that affirmation.  He heard the words: ‘You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.’  These words set the seal of divine approval on the mission he was about to begin and power from on high, symbolized by the descent of the Holy Spirit.  

      The baptism of Jesus reminds us of our own baptism and renews its grace within us.  What happened at the baptism of Jesus happens at our baptism too.  God calls us by name.  He says to each of us, ‘You are my beloved son / daughter. ’ And the Spirit descends on us, because we too are given a mission to participate in the work of Jesus.    Each of us has our own unique call.  Faithfulness to small, everyday tasks is our way of responding to the problems of our time and of participating in the work of Jesus. 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

      Baptism was not over and done with the day we were taken to the font.  We are baptized by all that happens to us in life.  We are baptized by hardship; in its turbulent water we are purified of all that is false and useless.  We are baptized by suffering; in its murky waters we grow in humility and compassion.  We are baptized by joy: in its gurgling waters we experience the goodness of life.  We are baptized by love: in its singing waters we blossom like flowers in the sun.  Baptism is like the planting of a seed.  It will take a lifetime for this seed to grow and ripen. 

Lesson planning

Tuesday, January 25 at 6:30 p.m.

for ALL catechists and assistants 

  POTLUCK 

When:   January 21, 2005

Where:  Parish Activities Center

Who:  All who love to eat and have fun

Tickets:   $5 / couple, $3 / single

Plus:   Dish to pass for 8 people

Sign-up:  Begins next week! 

Weekend for widowed, divorced or separated

  A Beginning Experience Weekend is designed to help one let go of the grief and create a more peace-filled future. It is facilitated by people who “have been there”. Join us for a Beginning Experience Weekend on February 4-6. For more information, call Marie at (734) 464-7043 or Bruce at (586) 263-8068 by January 24. 

For young widowed —

55 and under

  Young widowed, 55 years of age and under, are meeting on Sunday, February 13, for dinner, support, and conversation at 4:30 p.m. at “Cheli’s” located on Michigan Avenue in Dearborn. After dinner, you’re invited to the IMAX Theatre in Dearborn. RSVP to Todd at (586) 978-7507 or Betsy at (313) 475-0079 before January 13. Early registration is required. 

Weekend seminar for men

  You are invited to attend a weekend seminar for men to reflect on God’s guidance in our lives. Join us for a weekend at the Capuchin Retreat on 95 acres adjacent to the Stony Creek Nature Center to: relax from a hectic schedule, enjoy nature, make new friends, reflect on our situation in life and above all to reopen and strengthen our lines of communication with God.

 When: January 14-16, 2005

Where: The newly renovated Capuchin Retreat, 26460 Mt. Vernon Road (North of 28 Mile Rd.) in Washington, MI.

Registration: 6:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, concluding at 1:00 p.m. Sunday with dinner.

Cost: $35 non-refundable deposit to confirm your reservation. Suggested tax-deductible offering for the weekend is $135 (this includes your deposit). Weekend includes lodging, conferences, a Friday evening snack and five excellent meals. 

  Capacity is limited so please call Paul Okoniewski at 586-752-7834 ASAP to confirm your reservation. 

Marriage Encounter

weekend

  Start the New Year off with a gift to each other of a National Marriage Encounter Weekend. Rediscover the love in your marriage. Join us on our next weekend, January 14-16, at the Manresa Retreat House in Bloomfield Hills. For information, call 888-799-LOVE or visit our website at www.national-marriage-encounter.org. 

Divorce recovery workshop

  The Bethany Rochester Chapter will be conducting a Divorce Recovery Workshop beginning Thursday, Jan. 13, at St. Irenaeus Catholic Church in Rochester. The workshop runs from 7:30-9:30 p.m. for eleven weeks and is open to all faiths. There is no fee for attending, but please call Mike for information and registration at (248) 652-3860.

TEEN NEWS

Teen meeting January 9...

Bring a friend and join us for our teen meeting on January 9 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. 

January prayer theme —

The Holy Eucharist: The Sacrament of Assembly

  As we begin a new civic year, we gather for many different events locally, nationally, and internationally. These events include the inauguration of our President and gatherings in prayer for the reversal of Roe vs. Wade, commemorations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as gatherings in prayer for greater unity among Christians. By the grace of God’s loving Spirit, we have been called to membership in Christ’s Body, the Church, and we express and renew our identity as we gather to celebrate the Holy Eucharist. Let us reflect on the movement of the Spirit that brings us together and then sends us forth. 

  Heavenly Father, as we gather together in the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,

we pray that we will always be conscious of the presence and power of His Spirit

that draws us out of the isolation of sin into the solidarity of grace.

Free us from selfishness and fear, that we might truly grow in love for our brothers and sisters,

even as we deepen our communion with the Body of Christ in this great Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

 We ask all this through the same Christ your Son, our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.   

Amen. 

Together in Ministry

Ministry to the Homebound  

  There are several groups of people who extend our parish outreach into the homes of parishioners who are unable to stay connected to us physically because of ill health or other personal reasons.  The care and concern shown by these ministers to the homebound speaks loudly of their desire to follow in the footsteps of Jesus as he, too, cared so deeply for the sick and suffering in his midst. 

  The different groups that play a role in this extensive outreach to the homebound include:

·          Communion Ministers to the Sick

·          Parish Health Ministry Team

·          Christian Service Senior Assistance team

·          Card Ministry Team

·          Pastoral staff

·          Parish community at large 

  Each of the above groups plays an vital role in ministering to the homebound and maintaining their identity and connectedness to our parish family.  Next week we will begin to describe these roles so that we all have a better understanding of our own responsibility in this ministry.  

  Again...remember to keep these special ministers in your prayers.  

Saturday and Sunday

January 8-9, 2005

.Katherine Miracola by C. LaRose

Rudy Keller by Family

Gertrude Wells by E. Willard

Alfred Baston by Stavenow Family

Dominick & Katherine Blues

by Stavenow Family 

Monday, January 10, 2004

Gerald Hatcher by wife 

Tuesday, January 11, 2004

Robert Wirt by T. Klakulak Family 

Wednesday, January 12, 2004

For the parishioners 

Saturday and Sunday

January 15-16, 2005

Helen Guastini by Family & Friends

Giuseppe Pittiglio by Family

Audrey Roth by Blonde Family