Baptized into the Promises of Christ
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am so delighted that, as he does each year, The Word Among Us founder, Joe Difato, has written our opening articles for this issue. Joe, as you know, loves to break open the word of God so that the Lord can pierce our hearts and change us! And that’s exactly what happened to me as I read Joe’s articles. I could feel the Lord speaking directly to me. I felt a little like those two disciples on the road to Emmaus with Jesus: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he . . . opened the scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32). As you read these articles, I encourage you to ask the Spirit to make the Scriptures come alive in you so that your heart burns with the fire of God’s love as well!
Secure and Anointed in Christ. This Lenten season, we are going to ponder what the Lord did in our lives when we were baptized. Baptism, especially infant baptism, can seem like a joyful family event or maybe a standard ritual that is part and parcel of a child’s birth. But as you can see in Joe’s first essay (page 4), Baptism establishes a secure foundation for a person’s relationship with Christ throughout their whole life. All of Jesus’ promises come to that person through this amazing sacrament! God gives his Spirit to everyone who is baptized, and he won’t ever abandon them or let them go. They are secure in Jesus Christ. You are secure in Jesus Christ!
Just as David, a young shepherd, was anointed king of Israel, you were anointed by the Lord when you were baptized (page 10). When you were marked with the sacred chrism on your forehead, you received the Holy Spirit who now dwells in you. And God doesn’t give anyone just a little bit of his Spirit. As St. John tells us, “He does not ration his gift of the Spirit” (3:34). You now have the Holy Spirit, who wants to empower you to know God, to discern his will, and to serve others with the strength and the love of Jesus himself. May we all cherish this anointing we have received!
Come, Holy Spirit! In his final article, Joe talks about how we were “sealed” by the Spirit when we were baptized (page 16). Similar to the way a king stamps his seal on an official document, we have been marked forever as belonging to God, who is King of all creation! That seal is also like a down payment, a divine promise that we belong to heaven.
Jesus has done so much for us—and it all began when we were baptized. So let’s begin this Lent by taking Joe’s words to heart: “Brothers and sisters, Jesus has anointed us. His Spirit lives in us, and he is longing for us to say yes to him this Lent. Every day let’s pray, ‘Come, Holy Spirit, and unbind these wonderful sacraments in my life so that I can know you better. Come, Spirit, and fill my heart. Come fill the hearts of all the faithful!’ ”
Jeff Smith, President
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