Through His Baptism, We Too Are God’s Beloved!

 (Homily for the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord-Year B)

          We have celebrated the event of the birth of Jesus with enthusiasm and euphoria. The event of today: the solemnity of the Baptism of Jesus marks the end of the celebration of the anniversary of the historical birth of Jesus: the Christmas tide. The event of the baptism inaugurates the active life of Jesus and by implication the adoption of every Christian as sons and daughters of God. The solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord marks the first Sunday of the Church’s year. The child Jesus we celebrated in the manger in swaddling clothes, has grown and matured, he is now thirty years and this event marks a choice of a radical decision in his life. With the event of the Baptism, Jesus faces his destiny and mission, he begins the work in realization of the purpose of his incarnation. It was a moment of decision for Jesus, and Jesus courageously accepted Baptism for our sake. The Baptism of Jesus is a decisional stage in the manifestation of Jesus Christ to the world as God, it could be considered as the second epiphany. The events and happenings of his birth might have been long forgotten or buried in the hearts of a very few. After thirty years of silence and a hidden life, Jesus has become a man among others. He had to pass through a rite for sinners, of those who need purification, yet he was Pure and needed no purification. The action of the Holy Spirit is central in today’s liturgy, an action that was centered on Jesus of Nazareth.

         In the first reading (Is. 55:1-11) Prophet Isaiah makes a special and universal invitation to all, to come to the Living Water. The living Water, Christ, who through his own baptism has sanctified our own water of baptism. The living water that Isaiah prophesied about is Christ in whose name we were baptized. In this passage we have a universal invitation, and no one is left out, for there is no barrier in this prophetic invitation. The invitation is open for all nations.

          In the second reading (1Jn. 5:1-9) St. John draws our attention to the importance of believing in Jesus Christ. In fact, in his parlance, the believe in Jesus as the Christ is the prerogative for been born of God, and from here springs love and observance of the commandments of God and thus, victory over the world. Most importantly, he highlighted three entities that bear witness to the sonship of Christ: the Spirit, the water and the blood. Indeed, just as St. John opined, the testimony of God is greater than that of men. In light of this, the water of baptism which Christ brings continues to be efficacious in our lives.

          In the Gospel passage (Mk. 1:7-11) St. Mark highlights the core of our celebration today, the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. Christ had to be baptized in order to make a way for us, in order to purify henceforth, the water of baptism for his brothers and sisters. This is because, as the first among his brothers (Rom 8:29), he always takes the lead in order to show us the was. In fact, in one of his famous songs, Rick Founds sang: “You came from heaven to earth, to show the way; from the earth to the cross, my debt to pay; from the cross to the grave, and from the grave to the sky; Lord, I lift your name on high!”  More than that, it is worthy of note that by accepting to be baptized, Christ purified the water in which we are baptized. Others enter to be purified by the water, He enters to purify the water for us. This event so briefly recounted by St. Mark is in some way the synthesis of the Markan Gospel concerning the identity and the mission of the Son. As we can see, in the episode, Christ descends from Galilee on a path that leads him straight to the Jordan, which is geographically the lowest place on earth. And he entered the dirty water, that is a symbol of the image of humanity made of earth. On entering the muddy water, Jesus gave it the colour of his divinity. However, a proper and deeper perusal of the passage reveals that St. Mark only recorded Jesus’ exit from the water, because going down into the water symbolizes the image of dying, and coming from the water symbolizes the image of the resurrection.

          The Son of God comes from the muddy waters, true God and true man, in line and identification with penitents. This indeed is an unfathomable solidarity. No doubt, at the heart of the divinization of man is the principle of solidarity, for it is God who shows solidarity to us. At the event of his Baptism, the skies were torn apart, and therein St. Mark used term “skizein” which is suggestive of something irreversible. We notice that it is the same term that St. Mark used at the moment of Jesus' death, when the veil was torn (Mk. 15:38). They are two moments of the revelation of God, as the one who offers his life for all. The veil has been torn and now Jesus is the open door (cf Heb 10:20). In the event of Baptism the Spirit manifested himself in form of a dove that descended on Jesus, bringing blessings and the irruption of power for the fulfillment of his mission. The dove that hovers above him testifies that he can make this sacrifice of himself precisely because he has the Spirit. A voice came from heaven, this entails that now heaven is here, because God is here.  And we see it in man, in a new way of living, as children: "You are my Son" (Mk 1:11; cf Ps 2:7). He is the Face of the Father. Here sonship and fatherhood meet in a single reality.

          Indeed, at the heart of the Baptism event is Jesus’ experience of God’s fatherhood and the approval of his sonship. A voice was heard from heaven: “This is my Beloved Son...” Again, the Holy Spirit came upon him (cf. Mk. 1:10; Mt. 3:16; Lk. 3:22). The coming of the Spirit of God serves as a sort of equipment and empowerment for a crucial task. For instance, we remember Othniel (cf. Jdg. 3:10), Gideon (cf. Jdg. 6:34), Jephthah (cf. Jdg. 11:29), Samson (cf. Jdg. 13:25), Saul (cf. 1Sam. 10:10) and the servant of God (cf. Is. 42:1). Interestingly, in the case of the men we mentioned above, the coming of the Spirit was temporarily for a particular task, but for Jesus it was an empowerment and a mandate for life. It is a permanent indwelling. The Father’s voice stands as an approval. The words uttered by the voice of the Father is a quotation from Psalm (2:7) “I will proclaim the decree of Yahweh: He said to me, ‘You are my son, today have i fathered you’”. This particular psalm describes a trying time in the life of the king of the holy people. As such, on hearing the voice Jesus was assured that he is the Messiah, the King sent by God. As a matter of fact, the event of Jesus’ Baptism accomplished two things in Him: His self-identification and manifestation, and the reception of his mandate, he was thus, commissioned.     

          The Baptism also inaugurated a new phase in the life of Jesus. He was presented officially to the world by the Father, as the Messiah who speaks and acts authoritatively in His name. This marks the beginning of the public life of Jesus. From this moment Jesus will begin the pronouncement of his so called “You have heard how it was said..., but I say this to you” (Mt. 5) and the manifestation of his authority when he speaks, which surprised the scribes and the Pharisees. In fact, in ancient times this marked the beginning of the narration of the life of Jesus. As a matter of fact, St. Mark the first evangelist, in his gospel started with the Baptism of Jesus. Indeed, the Baptism of Jesus is very important because it is linked to the manifestation of the Spirit and the inauguration of a new era. John the Baptist spoke about the two era in this way: i baptize you with water, he will baptize with the Holy Spirit. The descent of the Holy Spirit launches the beginning of redemption. It indicates that new creation has began, because the Spirit has reappeared on the water like at the beginning (cf. Gen 1:2). In the words of St. John: “but the hour is coming -- indeed is already here -- when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” (Jn. 4:24). The Holy Spirit was already in Jesus of Nazareth before his birth. For the Holy Spirit descended on Mary, before the one at Jordan. But there it happened in silence and it was less-known. Here instead there is manifestation to the world of the reality of the Spirit. The prophetic and messianic unction of Jesus was made known to the world. At his Baptism Jesus appears as the long-awaited on whom the Spirit of the Lord descended, as it was written by prophet Isaiah.

          Again, the importance of Baptism, more than the manifestation of the Spirit, is also linked to the solemn proclamation of the Father: “This is my beloved Son, listen to him”. The one who made himself a servant has been proclaimed now as a Son (cf. Is. 42:1). Indeed, once again we go back to St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians: “And for this God raised him high, and gave him the name which is above all other names” (Phil. 2:9). This indeed is the apex of the Epiphany, it is no longer a star, but the very voice of the Father, who revealed to the world who Jesus of Nazareth is: the Beloved of the Father. Jesus confirmed by calling God constantly with the name Abba Father. Through his words and actions he manifested the conscience and awareness of being the Son of God and he made us adopted sons and daughters of God. And the consequence of this revelation is in the words of the Father: “listen to him” (Mk. 9:7). We have to listen to Jesus who continues to speak to us even till today. He speaks to us through the Gospel, and he speaks to us in the name of the Father. However, this imperative does not just mean paying a momentary attention to him, but it means believing in Him, giving him our adhesion of faith and welcoming Him. As such, Baptism re-proposes to us the double movement we have seen expressed in the episode of the Magi, which is probably the central idea of Epiphany: God comes towards man with the revelation, but man have to go to God with faith.

          Then, we may well ask: why did Jesus accept baptism? Jesus accepted Baptism for our sake, not because of any sin he has committed, but instead our own Baptism is because of sins. Jesus as the Son of God was sinless and so needed no Baptism. According to the CCC 1213, Baptism is a sacrament which cleanses us from original sin, makes us children of God, members of the Church and sharers in her mission. Going back to the question, first, Jesus accepted Baptism for the forgiveness of sins, not his own sins, but our own sins. Through his incarnation Jesus made himself similar to us, and by accepting Baptism, he wants to make us similar to Himself, and St. Paul captured it vividly well when he affirms thus: “every one of you that has been baptized has been clothed in Christ” (Gal. 3:27). Second, Christ had to be baptized in order to make a way for us, in order to purify the water of baptism in which we ourselves were to be bathed. By accepting to be baptized, Christ purified the water in which we are baptized. Others enter to be purified by the water, He enters to purify the water for us.  Third, Christ identified Himself with the people in their search for God. In other words, Jesus allows Himself to be baptized too because He wants us to feel that He is one with us in our longing and desire for God. His Baptism reveals his solidarity with the sinful humanity. The solidarity he extended even through His Eucharistic presence. The same Jesus that went to John in humility for Baptism is the same Jesus who is mysteriously hidden in the signs of Bread and Wine. And in every Eucharistic celebration we welcome Him with the same words that John the Baptist used to welcome Him: “Behold the Lamb of God, behold He who takes the sins of the world” (Jn. 1:29).

          The celebration of today has drawn my attention to an age long Catholic tradition of Infant Baptism. After many centuries, the Church still upholds the tradition of the administration of the Sacrament of Baptism to infants. Even though, there are some who criticize this praxis, but the Church retains it necessary to continue this tradition, because administering Baptism to infants constitutes a particular sign of the prevenient love of God; who saves us, “not because of any upright actions we had done ourselves; it was for no reason except his own faithful love” (Tt. 3:5). Again, because Baptism elevates a creature to the supernatural order, it effuses grace, virtues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. As such, it will not be just to deny an infant all this grace that God in his love offers us. However, let us not forget two important considerations: First, Baptism is administered to infants in the faith of their parents. Second, though it is true that Baptism administered to infants is an immense gift offered to unconscious beings, however, it behooves us to reaffirm that Baptism is a reality to be rediscovered and deepened progressively all through one’s existence. The Baptism received as infants in the faith of the parents, has to be lived and realized fully as adults. Authentic and matured Christians cannot remain at the infantile stage of faith, they have to be able to know how to develop all the supernatural potentialities that Baptism bestow. For at the heart of Baptism are the four programmatic words: Rebirth, Initiation, Consecration and Empowerment.

          Above all else, however, the occasion of Jesus’ Baptism is an avenue to reflect over our lives as Christians and possibly ask ourselves what the effects of the Holy Spirit are in our lives since after our Baptism? What are the effects that the Holy Spirit produces in our spiritual and moral life? Indeed, to say it with St. Paul “what you have received was not the spirit of slavery to bring you back into fear; you received the Spirit of adoption, enabling us to cry out, ‘Abba, Father” (Rm. 8:15), and again “The Spirit himself joins our spirit to bear witness that we are children of God” (Rm. 8:16). By means of Baptism a Christian becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit, a place in which He lives and a place from which He wants to render Himself present to man. As such, a Christian by virtue of his Baptism is like a movable Monstrance of the Spirit. Are we conscious and aware of this truth of faith? Doubtlessly, Baptism did two things in the life of Jesus, so it does in our lives too. First, through Baptism we are given a mission like Jesus, we are commissioned with a mandate. Second, we are called to make the Son of God manifest in the world and also we are sent by the power of the Holy Spirit. By virtue of our Baptism we ought to become the Beloved of the Father. Are you truly God’s beloved in words and works? Are you keeping to the promises you made or that were made on your behalf on the day of your Baptism or you are paying allegiance to the Devil? May the Baptism of Jesus we celebrate today revitalize the consciousness for our own Baptism and recharge us with vigour to carry out our mission as children of God and members of the Church. Amen!!!

 (Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)