This weekend, we break from our readings in Matthew’s Gospel, which we will primarily hear from in this year’s cycle of readings on Sundays, to hear an account from John’s Gospel today. Last Sunday, we heard Matthew’s account of Jesus’ baptism as we celebrated the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Today, we hear John the Baptist’s testimony about Jesus. John’s Gospel does not directly describe Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist. Instead, John the Baptist announces that he knows that Jesus is the Son of God.
John the Baptist uses two titles for Jesus. He calls Jesus both the “Lamb of God” and the “Son of God.” With these titles, John the Baptist identifies Jesus’ ultimate purpose to the world: to redeem humanity. John the Baptist’s testimony about Jesus distinguishes John’s baptism from the Baptism that Jesus will inaugurate. While John baptizes the people with water, Jesus will baptize them with the Holy Spirit. John explains that the purpose of his baptism was to make Jesus known to Israel.
In preparing the way for Jesus and in making him known to the world, John the Baptist shows us what discipleship is all about. In our baptismal promises, we are called to make Jesus known to the world by our words, by our witness, and by our actions.
It is important that we Catholics see baptism as the first sacrament of initiation into the faith and a sacrament that is necessary for our salvation. The Catechism states: “Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, the person baptized is configured to Christ. Baptism seals the Christian with the indelible spiritual mark of his belonging to Christ. No sin can erase this mark, even if sin prevents Baptism from bearing the fruits of salvation. Given once for all Baptism cannot be repeated” (CCC, no. 1272).
In our Catholic view of baptism, this sacrament can only be received once, since it enacts a permanent change within us. This spiritual mark is also called a character, which St. Augustine likened to distinctive brandings impressed upon soldiers and slaves during Roman times to signify the commander or owner to whom they belonged. Baptism marks us permanently as belonging to Christ, whose image we bear.
One reminder of our baptismal promises that we can make during the day is the sign of the cross, which we should see as a prayer in itself. When signing ourselves in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we recall our identity as God’s sons and daughters first bestowed upon us at baptism. In the sign of the cross prayers, we invoke God’s aid in our journey toward God’s eternal kingdom. We are always to be mindful of the graces given us at baptism and recall the presence of the Trinity within us each time we make the sign of the cross.
I remember that after showing a movie about a saint to the inmates, one of the prison ministry volunteers was very upset about the movie we showed, saying it was inappropriate because it showed the saint struggling with his temptations and his weaknesses. We are very mistaken when we think that a saint was a perfect person who never did anything wrong and never had faults and weaknesses. By virtue of our baptism in Christ, we are all called to holiness. And because of our diverse talents, challenges, and circumstances in life, we all find different ways to grow in holiness. This call to holiness is not for the select few, nor should it be viewed as an unattainable ideal. St. Pope John Paul II writes: “. . . this ideal of perfection must not be understood as if it involved some kind of extraordinary existence, possible only for a few ‘uncommon heroes’ of holiness. The ways of holiness are many, according to the vocation of each individual…The time has come to re-propose wholeheartedly to everyone this high standard of ordinary Christian living: the whole life of the Christian community and of Christian families must lead in this direction. It is also clear however that the paths to holiness are personal and call for a genuine “training in holiness,” adapted to people’s needs…”
May our baptismal promises challenge us to live a life of holiness, to live out the values and ideals of our faith each day.
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