You never knew a person like John before. He was different, energized and driven by a force unlike anything on this earth. Things that preoccupied most people didn’t preoccupy him. He didn’t want to talk with you about money or status or local gossip. He only wanted to talk about things that seemed foreign yet strangely familiar and inviting; and when he talked, you listened.

He was on a mission. He even left town and tore off into the woods, driven by the Spirit into the foreboding wilderness just like our Lord. He went deep, deep into the woods where life wasn’t comfortable or predictable. He dressed like a wildman and ate only locusts and honey. What was he thinking? He called your neighbors to follow him on this same mysterious journey. And he called you. He called you to a baptism of repentance, a powerful experience that would bring you to your knees before the feet of our Lord—finally honest, finally open, finally ready to throw away your burdens, finally with a change of heart.

It’s hard to imagine what it must have been like to be in the presence of the Baptist—to envision the scene upon the banks of the River Jordan. Even more so when Jesus approached, the one John had called “The Lamb of God.” Who was this man, who seemed even stranger than John? What was it about Him that drew you to Him—wherever He was, there was an energy. You had to be near Him; you waited to see what was going to happen next; you felt empty when He was out of your sight. Who was this man, and why was John saying he was unworthy to baptize Him?

Imagine, now, the baptism of our Lord. Close your eyes and be there with Him as the Spirit descended—feel that energy and feel that blanket of grace upon you. Taste the heavenly fire of that moment. Be there with Him.

This is what we remember—what we are experience—on January 6th, the Holy Epiphany of Our Lord. This momentous day should also lead us to remember our own baptisms. We also have been submerged into the waters; we have been symbolically en- tombed with our Lord, and resurrected with Him. We’ve dived to the deepest darkness with Him and risen to the brightest light. We have “put on Christ,” been taken into the loving bosom of His Church, and sealed with the gift and protection of the Holy Spirit. Through Baptism, we have been taken into Him and become members of His Body. This was our own personal Easter. We should never forget what was done for us on this day.

I pray that the grace and power of our Lord’s Epiphany is in your heart and mind this month; I urge you to meditate and pray upon the meaning of your own baptism … I hope, with my whole heart, that you are driven by the Spirit—like St. John and our Lord—to live an uncommon life of courage and faith. Begin 2007 with a new and encouraged faith. Tear into the wilderness with St. John; listen to God; let the Spirit guide you to the banks of the Jordan. Be inspired.

I look forward to blessing your homes this month, and may God bless you with much love, peace, forgiveness and joy in 2007.