The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011225.cfm
Almighty ever-living God,
who, when Christ has been baptized the the River Jordan
and as the Holy Spirit descended upon him,
solemnly declared him your beloved Son,
grant that your children by adoption,
reborn of water and the Holy Spirit,
may always be well pleasing to you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
(Collect of Mass)
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord this Sunday is essentially the second of three epiphanies of Jesus. While we are most accustomed to THE Epiphany, the famed visit of the Magi to the child Jesus and his mother, if we look at the Gospels, we would see essentially three instances in which Jesus revealed to the world a window, a new light, of who he is: God become human among us. The Magi symbolize the wider world, the gentiles, and how the world came to recognize that God had become human among us to rescue us from destruction.
The third
epiphany? Next Sunday we hear of the wedding at Cana where Jesus follows the
lead of his mother and breaks upon the scene by turning water into wine. In that way, the first of his public
miracles, he reveals to his disciples that he is not just an ordinary
rabbi. God is at work through him in an
unprecedented and unique way.
But if you’ve ever pondered the question as to why
Jesus was baptized you would be exactly in sync with the early Church which
asked that same question. As the argument went: John preached a baptism of
repentance from sin. If Jesus submitted
to John’s baptism, he must have been with sin. Yet, if our claim that Jesus is
divine is true, how could he be with sin? And, if he is without sin, why would
he be baptized? So goes the issue round
and round.
One historical comparison may help. During the Second World War, London, England
became a target by the German air force.
In 1940 that famed city was bombed and destroyed most of the
infrastructure of the city. But, what
about the Royal family, the King and Queen in particular. King George and Queen Elizabeth, the parents
of the late Queen Elizabeth II, were inside Buckingham palace on the day of the
bombing on Friday 13th, 1940.
What did they do?
Flee to the countryside to be safe and preserve the monarchy? Leave the
nation to fend for itself as they flew off to a safer country? More than one
advisor strongly urged them to leave for the sake of saving their lives and the
monarchy.
Despite their privilege and position, they remained in
the city. They shared the experience of
that tragedy and literally went to the people to encourage them and build up
their lives. To give them confidence and hope.
They entered the broken experience of the people and in the end built up
the city and nation and won great admiration from the population for doing so.
That is something of the same as to why Jesus was
baptized. Though there was no need for
him to be baptized, in doing so he entered our sinful broken lives and invites
us to share in his. To remain with us in
solidarity, to face the enemy of evil and division, and to heal and bring hope
to humanity by calling us to the cleansing waters of baptism and inviting us to
now share in his mission.
The Gospel passage from Luke this Sunday brings us to
see the result of what Jesus has done. Luke writes: “After all the people
had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying . . .”
One could imagine that Jesus had simply slipped into
the crowd or patiently stood in line with the others remaining unremarkable,
was baptized by John, and followed out of the water blending into the masses
while quietly walking away in prayer.
Yet, we know there must be something far more
significant here. As we come to the end of this year’s Christmas celebrations
our attention now turns to another scene of revealing Christ to the world; this
second epiphany. Today’s Baptism of the Lord reminds us of the process through
which the curtains were drawn open for the world to receive the long-awaited
Savior. As John says in the Gospel (Lk 3: 15ff) today: “The people were
filled with anticipation . . . He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire.” Likewise, our first reading from Isaiah 40 says: “Then the glory
of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together . . .”
The curtains are open and the spotlight shifts from John to Jesus as John fades
from the scene. Jesus is the One.
It reveals the truth of who Jesus is and uncovers part
of that mystery. He is indeed God from God and light from light as we state in
our Creed, yet he is also fully human. His sinless condition did not make
baptism necessary for him but for our sake he did so. In the act of submission
to John’s baptism Jesus reveals to us not only who he is but in the same way
who we are and what we are called to become. In being baptized our Lord took
upon him our sinful nature and joined himself to us in the full experience of
human life. This great act of mercy for
humanity is profound as it brings us the true hope of eternal life. Baptism now
remains a sign of sin washed away (the guilt of original sin) instituted in the
waters of the Jordan by Jesus himself.
The other may be a more complex question - that of sin
itself. Do we sin because we are human?
Does the baptism of Jesus become necessary because we are inherently a
sin-prone people? We casually say that “no one is perfect” so is that just the
way things are for us? Do we
uncomfortably put up with greed, lust, selfishness, violence, deception, pride,
gluttony, killing and rampant evil because we are “only human?”
Jesus’ baptism shows us that to be fully human we are
called to a higher moral standard. We
don’t sin because we are “just human.”
We sin because we are weak. That
guilt of original sin we speak of, first committed when humanity turned away
from God through free choice, is washed away in baptism so the grace of the
same Spirit which descended on Jesus at the Jordan may come on us; It is named
“sanctifying grace. While baptism isn’t some sort of magic that will transform
everything instantly it opens the door to faith and solidarity with Christ as
Lord and Savior.
Jesus showed us the better side of human nature and
what direction our lives must turn to; what God’s intent is for us. That sin
and selfishness, greed and pride, violence and hatred should not rule our
world. Jesus’ own entrance into our
history makes all that possible by the Gospel he revealed to us. His entrance on our stage is a new light, the
brightest light to follow and emulate.
Compassion, mercy, love, healing are virtues of strength not weakness.
That God wishes solidarity with all of humanity and offers to send his Holy
Spirit to all who seek it and live by it. Our mission then is that of Christ
himself and the Spirit received in baptism compels us outward to be
missionaries of the Gospel. In this special Jubilee Year of 2025, we are
“pilgrims of hope.”
In the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, we are
intimately joined to Christ as our Word and our food. Likewise, we stand in solidarity with each
other in forgiveness, love, support and our spiritual life. Here we are strengthened to go out and be
truly human, holy and more authentically the presence of Jesus in the world of
today. As we are baptized into Christ, we preach his mission not by words alone
but more convincingly by good example.
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