Say Your Words

The Baptism Of The Lord
11 January 2009

Come, let us worship Christ, the beloved Son, in whom the Father is well pleased.

First reading Isaiah 55:1-11
Thus says the Lord:
Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty;
though you have no money, come!
Buy corn without money, and eat,
and, at no cost, wine and milk.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
your wages on what fails to satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and you will have good things to eat
and rich food to enjoy.
Pay attention, come to me;
listen, and your soul will live.

With you I will make an everlasting covenant
out of the favours promised to David.
See, I have made of you a witness to the peoples,
a leader and a master of the nations.
See, you will summon a nation you never knew,
those unknown will come hurrying to you,
for the sake of the Lord your God,
of the Holy One of Israel who will glorify you.

Seek the Lord while he is still to be found,
call to him while he is still near.
Let the wicked man abandon his way,
the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn back to the Lord who will take pity on him,
to our God who is rich in forgiving;
for my thoughts are not your thoughts,
my ways not your ways – it is the Lord who speaks.
Yes, the heavens are as high above earth
as my ways are above your ways,
my thoughts above your thoughts.

Yes, as the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 28:1-4,9-10

Second reading 1 John 5:1-9
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ
has been begotten by God;
and whoever loves the Father that begot him
loves the child whom he begets.
We can be sure that we love God’s children
if we love God himself and do what he has commanded us;
this is what loving God is –
keeping his commandments;
and his commandments are not difficult,
because anyone who has been begotten by God
has already overcome the world;
this is the victory over the world –
our faith.

Who can overcome the world?
Only the man who believes that Jesus is the Son of God:
Jesus Christ who came by water and blood,
not with water only,
but with water and blood;
with the Spirit as another witness –
since the Spirit is the truth –
so that there are three witnesses,
the Spirit, the water and the blood,
and all three of them agree.
We accept the testimony of human witnesses,
but God’s testimony is much greater,
and this is God’s testimony,
given as evidence for his Son.

Gospel Mark 1:7-11
In the course of his preaching John the Baptist said, ‘Someone is following me, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals. I have baptised you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.’

It was at this time that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised in the Jordan by John. No sooner had he come up out of the water than he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you.’

Reflection
By Anabelle Payod - Balla

“You are my Son, the Beloved, the One I have chosen.” Wow! what a perfect loving acknowledgement from our Father, recognizing Jesus as His beloved Son! What comforting, assuring and motivating words! Every time I receive words of encouragement, acknowledgements or any positive feedback from people around me, it makes me feel wonderful. It brings up my energy level, heals my bruised self confidence, makes me want to sing out loud and drives me to share the joy with others! It can even inspire me to do something fantastic, to move on with renewed confidence and joy in my life. There is a line in the First Reading that says, “…so is my word that goes forth out of my mouth, it will not return to me idle...” Words of recognitions and any affirmations or compliments, can give so much joy to anyone, even to the person who is giving it. It can change a person’s life for the better, just like God’s words. These positive words are words of love that can enhance life.

So start making it a habit to sincerely praise every person around you today. Give affirmation to one or two person each day. Together, let us start creating a world filled with happy and highly energized people!







Lord God, Your words truly give life. Help us to enhance further the lives You have entrusted to us through sincere affirmation that will help grow the good qualities we have, these qualities that actually came from You. For You are our Father and we, Your children. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Boost life, say your words of love.