Homily, The Baptism of the Lord

With today’s feast of the baptism of Jesus, our Christmas season ends, and we begin the next chapter of our Church year. Moving through the liturgical year is like reading through the chapters of a book or watching the seasons of a television series. Season one is Advent, focused on eager anticipation for the Messiah. Season two is Christmas, focused on celebrating the Incarnation: “Immanuel” God with us. Season three is Jesus’ ministry and today is episode one: his baptism. We have two other seasons- Lent, a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving in preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter. And during the Easter Season we celebrate Jesus Christ's triumph over death. 

After Jesus had been baptized, the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove and a voice was heard affirming him as the beloved Son. We seem to have a theological dilemma here! Why did Jesus, the all-holy Son of God, seek John’s baptism of repentance? Responses to this question are as varied as the gospel writers and church fathers themselves. Matthew says that it is ‘to fulfill all righteousness” (Mt 3/15). The Gospel of John simply neglects to say that Jesus was baptized by John. Instead, John the Baptist merely testifies to Jesus without baptizing him at all. Then, Luke places the baptism of Jesus in the passive voice and almost as an afterthought; We read; ‘After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized’ (Luke 2:21). Other than the Synoptics, neither Paul nor any other New Testament authors mention Jesus being baptized.

Just think about it!! If we identify the key things which occur when one of us is baptized and ask whether they also occurred in Jesus’s baptism, we discover that they didn’t and that they couldn’t have taken place. When we are baptized, we are healed from the guilt of original sin, and we are incorporated into the Church. Did any of this happen to Christ? No. Jesus did not suffer from original sin so he didn’t need to be healed from it, and Jesus had not yet founded the Church so he couldn’t be incorporated into it. So, Jesus’ baptism at the hands of John did not have the same effects as our baptism does.

It is clear Jesus had no need of baptism because he is the Son of God incarnate. He voluntarily chose to step into the Jordan, as a sign that he wills to assume the burden of sins as Isaiah’s prophesied Servant was to do. This symbolic action by Jesus inaugurated his mission, which he himself told us was to serve, not to be served. (Mk 10:45)

One lesson from today’s liturgy is that since Jesus came to be God’s Suffering Servant, a key to discipleship is suffering service for others. There are many models of suffering service in the footsteps of Jesus. Parenting is one.as many of you would ascertain. Commitment to kindness or striving for justice in one’s neighborhood is another. Simply witnessing to everyday honesty and godly conversations in a grocery store or office can also be a most effective means; it requires strength of character to sustain the ridicule of one’s peers for refusing to compromise one’s higher values. So, we are called to be Servants of God in our own spheres of living. 

Another lesson is to recall our own Baptism when heavens opened for us, the Holy Spirit descended on us, and we are commissioned to do God’s work. Unlike John’s baptism, our Baptism was in the Holy Spirit. Through the sacrament of Baptism, we were freed from original sin, we were made temples of the Holy Spirit, we were made children of God and heirs of heaven. The Holy Spirit we receive in Baptism and in all the sacraments is not simply a private and spiritual event but a public responsibility. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit to us for the work of the Church. As Pope Pius XII said many years ago, in baptism ‘we don’t merely belong to the Church., we are the Church’. The institutional presence of the Church is expressed in official statements and councils. But there is another presence of the Church that exists wherever Christian dwells and make a living. The calling and dignity given to us in baptism is not lost even if we turn away from the grace and blessings. That is why we never “re-baptize” someone who has fallen away and then returns to the Church. While baptism does not guarantee that a person will go to heaven after they die, it marks them for Christ in a way that cannot be erased, it gives them an indelible mark.

As we know, learning a new skill takes a long time. The aging of a fine wine takes a long time. Getting to know another person well as a beloved and trusted friend takes a long time. Taking ownership of and being faithful to our baptismal identity as God’s beloved also takes a lifetime, a lifelong journey. While God freely gives us this gift of identity through the Holy Spirit, we must accept it and make it our own. May God bless us in our efforts, and may the Eucharist continue to transform us for the sake of the world.