Reflection on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Good morning, everyone! Before I get into the heart of today’s Gospel, I want to share something lighthearted I heard many years ago. It goes like this: In recent years we’ve heard people talk about being born again or having found Jesus. Well, there was a minister baptizing in a river. A man stumbled into the gathering and the minister invited him into the water. The minister asked if he found Jesus. “NO” was the answer, so the minister submerged him into the river. When the response was the same for the second time, the minister submerged him again and asked if he had found Jesus. “NO” was the answer, and the third time he was submerged a little longer. For the third time the minister asked him once again if he found Jesus. The man looked at him and said, “Are you sure this is where he went in?” 

Where are we looking for Jesus? Two weeks ago, we were rejoicing at the birth of Jesus who came to earth as a human baby. Now as the Christmas decorations are once again being put into storage and the Christmas season comes to an end, we are asked to reflect on Jesus as a man, 30 years later, we presume. 

The baptism of Jesus is a wonderful feast. At first glance, the scene makes little sense. A wide diversity of people flocked to John in the waters of the River Jordan. People come to confess, to pledge to repent and turn away from their lives of sin. John the Baptist dunks them in the river so that they might be forgiven, washing off all the mud and muck of human brokenness. Suddenly, out of the crowd steps John’s cousin, Jesus. Wait a minute! What’s Jesus, the sinless one, doing in a crowd of repenting sinners? What’s he doing coming forward to be baptized by John? Jesus does not enter the water to be sanctified, but instead to sanctify. He empowers the water to become no longer just an outward sign but a vehicle of the Holy Spirit bringing inner cleansing, rebirth and transformation. 

Origen (c. 185-254) one of the early Church’s theologians, philosophers and scholars, wrote about Jesus’ baptism that “by this act.Jesus showed himself to be meek and lowly in heart, and doing all that followed in order to humble himself and become obedient until death.” Jesus’ baptism is a great act of humility. He wasn’t baptized for his own sake, but to bring God’s saving love and presence to us. 

I was just 6 days old, a mere infant when I was baptized, as I’m sure most of us were and have no recollection of the event; therefore, it did not make an impression. That is why at baptism we needed godparents. It used to be a great honor and responsibility to be called to stand as a proxy for the infant being baptized and make the promises that were asked in order to be accepted into the Catholic Church. It was their responsibility, along with our parents, to show us how to grow up being good Christians by being kind, considerate of others, empathetic, understanding and charitable. In adulthood, baptism takes on a different meaning. We, too, can come to realize that we are also God’s beloved, and that God is well pleased with us, that God comes to us. God is with us in the water, and God is for us in the world, meaning that we’re not alone, and we don’t have to rely only on our strength alone. At baptism, we put on Christ, and we carry the mission of Christ all our lives. We are called, in the example of Jesus to bring into the world justice, healing, liberation and peace, however and whenever possible. As Loretto members we pledge to “work for justice and act for peace because the Gospel urges us.” It is through our baptism that we answer this call to serve.