Brethren, today we celebrate the feast day of the Baptism of Jesus. The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord concludes the Christmas Season and transitions us into the beginning of Ordinary Time I up to Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, an invitation to move and act with Jesus in his public ministry. From a Scriptural point of view, this event in Jesus’ life is also a transitional moment from His hidden life in Nazareth to the beginning of His public ministry. As we commemorate this glorious event, it’s important to ponder some simple yet profound questions: Why was Jesus baptised? Recall that John’s baptism was one of repentance, an act by which he invited his followers to turn away from sin and to turn to God. But Jesus was sinless, so what was the reason for His Baptism? What is the significance of his baptism to me? What would we have lost if Jesus was not baptised? What is the invitation to me on this day of Jesus' Baptism?
The first reason to why Jesus was baptised according to Scripture was to fulfil righteousness (Matthew 3:15). What is this righteousness? It's God's righteousness to save humanity from all bonds of sin. God is so righteous (faithful) that he sent his only Son, Jesus, to save humanity by becoming one of them in every aspect except sin. Jesus was thus baptised to identify himself with us sinners while he was not a sinner. It was out of his humility and love to save humanity. It was a gesture that Jesus was entering fully into the condition of all humanity. Only a person who had tasted humanity in all its aspects except sin would save humanity. It was therefore for our sake that Jesus Christ was baptised. At the outset of his ministry, he must show this, for only so could he redeem the fallen human race. Jesus is not merely passive, for he himself joins with John in making the positive step: ‘We must do all that righteousness demands.'
Secondly was to make holy the waters for all future generations to be baptised in it. In his sermon, The Mystery of the Lord's Baptism, St Maximus of Turin comments, 'Someone might ask, “Why would a holy man desire baptism?” Listen to the answer: Christ is baptised, not to be made holy by the water, but to make the water holy, and by his cleansing to purify the waters which he touched. For the consecration of Christ involves a more significant consecration of the water. For when the Saviour is washed, all water for our baptism is made clean and purified at its source for the dispensing of baptismal grace to the people of future ages. Christ is the first to be baptised, then, so that Christians will follow after him with confidence.'
Thirdly, in this humble submission, we see a foreshadowing of the "baptism" of his bloody death upon the cross. Jesus' baptism is the acceptance and the beginning of his mission as God's suffering Servant talked about by Isaiah in today's first reading. When Jesus heard the Voice from heaven and he experienced the Spirit of God coming upon him, he must immediately have thought of the passage from Isaiah in the first reading. He was, then, this mysterious Servant of the Lord about whom the scripture spoke. He was to bring Israel back to the Lord. He must have known that the Servant was to suffer and to reach his fulfilment only through bitter suffering and death for others. This realisation must have been with him throughout his ministry, a dark shadow and a challenge to service. He allowed himself to be numbered among sinners. Jesus submitted himself entirely to his Father's will. Out of love, he consented to this baptism of death for the remission of our sins.
Therefore, the word “beloved” comes with suffering. Jesus himself later says that there is another baptism he had to undergo (Luke 12:50), and that was a baptism of blood (one of the witnesses that St John talks about in 1 John 5:7-8). But since that voice was also a confirmation of the love of the Father, who was ‘well pleased’ in him, he could not be afraid of anything. This is then to be the model for all Christian suffering. We all know someone—we may even have experienced it ourselves – who has to suffer lovingly and generously in caring for others. The awesome privilege of suffering after the model of the Servant, who is Jesus, must draw respect and comfort from Jesus for those who serve in this way. It is a confirmation of God’s love for them. Let not suffering stop us from serving and loving God and others; it is part of our Christian journey.
What if Jesus was not baptised? We would have lost the heavenly realities, for it was at his baptism that the heavens were opened. Hippolytus, commenting on Jesus' baptism, says, "Do you see, beloved, how many and how great blessings we would have lost if the Lord had yielded to the exhortation of John and declined baptism? For the heavens had been shut before this. The region above was inaccessible. We might descend to the lower parts but not ascend to the upper. So it happened not only that the Lord was being baptized - he also was making new the old creation. He was bringing the alienated under the sceptre of adoption (Romans 8:15). For straightway 'the heavens were opened to him.' A reconciliation took place between the visible and the invisible. The celestial orders were filled with joy, the diseases of earth were healed, secret things made known, those at enmity restored to amity. For you have heard the word of the Evangelist, saying, 'The heavens were opened to him,' on account of three wonders [appearance of the eternal Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together at the baptism]. At the baptism of Christ the Bridegroom, it was fitting that the heavenly chamber should open its glorious gates. So when the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove, and the Father's voice spread everywhere, it was fitting that 'the gates of heaven should be lifted up.'" (excerpt from THE DISCOURSE ON THE HOLY THEOPHANY 6)
Jesus' Baptism commenced his public ministry; it was an inauguration of the ministry of Jesus as he was anointed by the Holy Spirit, who was to help him throughout his ministry and even continue the mission after his ascension. The Spirit descended on him like a dove as he rose up from the water and later led him to the desert to prepare his ministry. In a way, the Spirit strengthened Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan for his later baptism of suffering on the cross at Calvary. The Spirit enabled Jesus to judge the poor with righteousness, victoriously overcome the wicked, minister to the nations, and bring divine light to all the nations. Brethren, we too, at Baptism, receive the same Spirit who enables us to participate in the mission of Jesus. On this feast day, are you ready to move with Jesus throughout his public life pondering on his teachings and miracles and applying them to your life and in serving others? We are invited today to renew our baptismal promises and become new again with Christ as we enter into the public ministry of Christ. By your baptism, Christ wants to use you to be salt and light of the world. Are you ready and prepared?
Let us Pray.
Lord, help me conform my Baptism to yours, which tells me that being baptised is to die and rise with you and to be sent to proclaim your Gospel to everyone. May this truth help me spread the gospel at any cost, even if it is to give up my life. I renew my baptismal promises and ask for your grace to live a life pleasing to you. Amen
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