Stewardship Reflection – January 10, 2021

January 10, 2021 — The Baptism of the Lord

IS 42:1-4, 6-7 or IS 55:1-11; PS 1-2, 3-4, 9-10 or IS 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6; ACTS 10:34-38 or 1 JN 5:1-9; MK 1:7-11

Our Christmas season concludes with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Jesus was not baptized because he needed to repent — rather, He was revealing who He is and what He came to do.

It is from His mission that we can receive the sacrament of baptism — when we become adopted sons and daughters of God. From that moment, we belong to Christ — we become His stewards. Our lives should be a reflection of this relationship. The way we live should reveal Whose we are.

In our First Reading, the prophet Isaiah shares a message of hope, “Why spend your money for what is not bread, your wages for what fails to satisfy?” We should ask ourselves, "Who is the king of our hearts?" As Christian stewards, it should be God. We often fill our lives with things that satisfy us only for a moment. If we truly do belong to Christ, then we will make Him our top priority. What we fill our lives with should reveal that He is King.

In our Gospel, Mark reveals the intimate relationship between God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus and God the Father proclaimed, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” We, too, have access to an intimate relationship with God. But like all good relationships, it flourishes with effort. How we spend our time and share our gifts says a great deal about Whose we are.

— Stewardship Reflections by Catholic Stewardship Consultants