It has been
two and a half weeks since we celebrated Christmas day, commemorating the birth
of our Savior. Today, our
Christmas season officially comes to an end with the celebration of the baptism
of Jesus by John the Baptist in the waters of the Jordan River. Our
Christmas season has included different celebrations that has made Christ
manifest in different ways in the world. We
celebrated the Holy Family the first Sunday after Christmas, as we saw Joseph
lead Mary and Baby Jesus to safety as King Herod sought to kill the Christ
child. Then, we
celebrated Mary, the Mother of God, as the Blessed Virgin pointed us to her Son
and helped us understand his identity as fully human and fully divine. And last
week, we celebrated the visit of the Magi to the Baby Jesus, as Gentiles from
the East recognized the salvation that the light of Christ was bringing to all.
Today, as
we focus on the Baptism of Jesus, as he begins his public ministry and his
proclamation of God’s kingdom. We might
wonder: Why would Jesus have to be
baptized anyway if he was the Son of God, already free from sin? What
insights can we learn from Jesus' baptism? And what
does our own baptism really mean for us in our daily lives?
The crowds
came to John the Baptist for baptism in repentance for their sins, yet Jesus
had no sins that needed repentance. John
baptized them as they turned away from sin, but this also pointed to something
much greater, to Jesus, who would take on humanity's sins and would pay for
them by making God’s forgiveness available to all who seek it. Jesus was
baptized publicly not only in recognition of his role in our redemption and in
taking away our sins, but also to reveal his identity as God's Son. After his
baptism, the Holy Spirit descends on him, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with
whom I am well pleased.”
Jesus'
baptism is at the heart of his mission to heal us, in identifying with our sinfulness,
our brokenness, and our human nature. Jesus'
baptism and his identification with our human condition help us recall our own
baptism and the hope that comes with it. Our
Catholic faith is rich in symbols as powerful aides and reminders. Water is
one of our most meaningful symbols, reminding us of the new life we receive
from Christ in the water of baptism. We have a
water font as we come into church– many of us make the sign of the cross as
they enter and exit the church. I see parents
showing their children how to make the sign of the cross with the holy water. Sometimes,
when I go to visit the sick or shut-ins, I carry a container of holy water in
order to bless them and to remind them of our baptismal promises, of how Christ
the Good Shepherd leads us to streams of living water. Water is a very earthy symbol for us as human
beings, reminding us that our human existence is tied to the water that makes
life on earth possible and that from a spiritual perspective, the baptismal
water gives us new life in Christ.
In the rite
of baptism, the parents of the child being baptized are told that they are to
be the first of teachers and the best of teachers to their child in our faith. Jesus had
his family who taught him in the ways of the faith, just as most of us had
parents, godparents, and other family members present us for baptism as infants
and who formed us to be believers. Yet, we
also had others outside of our extended family who prepared us in the faith,
who were examples and inspirations for us. A friend of
mine who is a priest in Florida recently challenged his congregation in a
homily to think about those who nurtured them and formed them in the faith. In thinking
about this, I recently wrote letters to a woman whom I worked with at the soup
kitchen and food bank while I was a missionary in Canada, to a friend in
college who encouraged me so much on my journey of faith, and to a high school
teacher who also was very encouraging to me.
I had not been in touch with any of these individuals for many
years. All three
of them were great examples of our faith for me, as believers who really try to
live out Christ’s Gospel in their lives. I wanted
them to know that I still remember and appreciate them, and in many ways they
have influenced the way I have lived out my own faith as well, even now as I serve
as a priest. As we end
our Christmas season and our celebration of Christ's birth, perhaps it would be
good for us to think of the people in our lives who have connected us to our
faith, who prepared a path to Jesus for us much like John the Baptist did for
Jesus' ministry. It would be
a wonderful way to remember our baptism and to commemorate Jesus' baptism if we
recalled those individuals and wrote them a letter this week, expressing our
gratitude for the role they had in fostering our faith.
Through the
new life in Christ that we gained in our baptism, through the baptism of Jesus
that we celebrate today, may we all try to live that new life with passion and
dedication in a way that is truly worthy of our calling as followers of Our
Lord Jesus Christ.
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