Today, we formally end the Christmas season with the
celebration of the Baptism of the Lord. Christmas ends; ordinary time begins. But
we are reminded that our encounter with the Lord does not end. On the contrary,
it is intensified in the ordinary tasks that we do each day.
The Baptism of Jesus in Jordan by John that we hear in the
Gospel today reminds us also of our own baptism. In fact, there is parallelism
between the two: Jesus’ baptism and ours. Let us reflect on the meaning of our
Lord’s Baptism and its implication in our lives.
FIRST, in His Baptism, Jesus revealed Himself as the Son of
the Father. In fact, the Lord’s Baptism reveals to us that God is a Trinity:
One God in Three Divine Persons. The Father’s voice is heard: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well
pleased” – words that remind us of the First Reading: “Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased”.
Our baptism also marks the beginning of our divine
filiation. It serves as our anointing as sons and daughters of God. In baptism,
we become children of God and brothers and sisters to one another. Baptism makes
us one big human family of God. The implication is that because we are God’s children now, we should strive only to please our
Father so that we too can hear God saying about us: “This is my beloved son,
with whom I am pleased”.
SECOND, the Lord’s Baptism also marks the beginning of His
public ministry. It serves as His anointing as the Messiah sent by God, the
Father, whom the Prophet Isaiah prophesied in the First Reading as the one who “shall bring forth justice to the nations”
and who is the “light for the nations to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out
prisoners from slavery”. The Acts of the Apostles, in the Second Reading,
summarizes Jesus’ public ministry in these words: “He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil,
for God was with Him”.
Our baptism also marks the beginning of our vocation to
holiness. Anointed by the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, we are called to live a
holy life, always keeping ourselves away from sin. With such anointing, we
share in the three ministries of Christ as Priest, Prophet and King. As priest,
we must offer to God the worship that is due to Him by participating in the Sacred
Liturgy. As prophet, we must proclaim the love of God to the world through our
actions, and – if necessary – also through our words. As king, we must render
service to God through our service to our neighbors.
The implication is that because
we are baptized as priest, prophet and king, then, we must strive to transform
our hearts into the heart of Jesus, to think, speak and behave like Jesus, to become
alter Christus (other Christ) or ipse Christus (Christ Himself) to
others.
Lastly, in Jordan,
Jesus joined the line of sinners approaching John to receive the baptism of
repentance. Jesus, who knows no sin, becomes one with the sinners by being with
them. He is near to those who are lost. He eats with them. He shows solidarity
with sinful humanity.
The implication is that our
baptism should also make us one with Jesus and with one another. Solidarity means we should live as one people
of God. It means that we should be concerned with the needs of our brothers
and sisters. If somebody is lost, we should try to find him. If one is in
error, we should correct him. We should strive to help one another in our
needs, whether they are spiritual, moral, or economic. Our attitude with one
another should be like that of Jesus: we weep at other’s misfortune, laugh at
other’s joy, and are compassionate – not judgmental – of other’s defects.
Today’s celebration of the Baptism of the Lord, therefore,
is a good reminder of the meaning of our own baptism: that in the same way that the Lord’s Baptism reveals that He is the Son
of God, who is pleasing to the Father, and the Messiah who is one with the
sinful humanity, we too must be pleasing to God and must be transformed into
the likeness of Christ.
May the Blessed Virgin Mary assist us in our struggle to
become ipse Christus, Jesus Christ
Himself. Amen.
