THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD
13 JANUARY 2019
Saint
Luke gives no details of the actual baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. However, it is clear that the Word made
flesh, whose birth we have been celebrating during this Christmas Season, had
been immersed in the same muddy and sinful waters as the rest of us. After emerging from the waters, Saint Luke
tells us that Jesus is engaged in prayer.
As he is praying, the Holy Spirit descends upon him in bodily form like
a dove. This is the same Spirit that
hovered over the watery chaos of the world at the beginning of creation. This is the same Holy Spirit who caused the
conception of Jesus in his mother’s womb.
Then Jesus
then hears a voice from heaven declaring, “You are my beloved Son; with whom I
am well pleased.” As the only begotten
Son of God, Jesus will exercise his ministry through the power of the Holy
Spirit. Through the power of the Holy
Spirit, Jesus will reveal his true nature by teaching, healing, and working
miracles. Through the power of the Holy
Spirit, Jesus will give himself as the good shepherd of Isaiah’s prophecy and
become the Lamb of God sacrificed for our salvation. After his saving death, resurrection, and
ascension into heaven, this same Holy Spirit will come upon the Apostles at
Pentecost and form the infant Church.
It is most
fitting that we end the Christmas Season by celebrating the Baptism of the
Lord. This feast reminds us of the
critical importance of our Baptism. When
we were baptized, we were grafted onto Jesus Christ. In fact, some people refer to Baptism as
being “christened.” That is what happens
to us. Our identity is intimately tied
with that of Jesus Christ. We become
God’s beloved sons and daughters. When
infants emerge from the waters of Baptism, they are anointed with Chrism, the
sacred oil that emphasizes their identity with Christ. Eventually, the baptized are confirmed with
Chrism, sealed with the Holy Spirit to live our baptismal promises to point toward
Christ, dwelling in our midst, as John the Baptist had done.
As God’s
beloved sons and daughters, we depend on the Holy Spirit to guide us in living
as people truly grafted (or immersed, to use a water imagery) onto Jesus
Christ. That is why our Baptismal Font
can accommodate the baptism by immersion of both adults and infants (not a hot
tub!). In writing to Titus, Saint Paul
quotes a confession of faith used at a baptismal liturgy. He reminds Titus that being grafted onto
Jesus Christ is a pure and simple grace.
Titus does not earn that gift. He
does not deserve that gift. But once
grafted onto Christ, Titus works with the power of the Holy Spirit to live
temperately, justly, and devoutly in an age that of lawlessness.
The same is
true for us. We became God’s beloved
sons and daughters at when we were baptized.
But that was only the beginning. The
rest of the Sacraments flow from Baptism.
We are sealed by the Holy Spirit at Confirmation to empower us to live
as Christ. We are fed by the Eucharist
to nourish us for our mission. When we
break our connection with Christ or damage it through sin, the Sacrament of
Reconciliation reconnects us with Christ.
When we experience sickness, the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick
heals us. Those of you who are married
receive strength to live your commitment, as do we who live the Sacrament of
Holy Orders.
During this
Christmas Season, we have been reminded that Jesus took on human flesh and
dwells in our midst as God’s beloved Son.
Today’s feast sends us out as God’s beloved sons and daughters to
recognize the Lord’s real presence in the Sacramental life of the Church. In recognizing that real presence, we can
more readily cooperate with the Holy Spirit in making that presence more
evident in a world filled with lawlessness and darkness.
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