10 January 2010: Baptism of Jesus Christ

Sunday after Epiphany (or after 6 January) -- First Sunday in Ordinary Time

“This is my Son, the Beloved ...” (Mt 3:17)

Jesus went to the Jordan where John the Baptist was preaching and baptizing sinners. Mingling with the crowd, he asked to be baptized. John, inwardly enlightened by the Holy Spirit, humbled himself before Jesus, and begged to be baptized by him instead. But in obedience to the Saviour, John baptized him.

[Jesus began his public life by receiving the Baptism of penance at the hands of his precursor, John the Baptist. (Rev Juan MH Ledesma, SJ, STD, “The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ”, notes on Lk 3:3, p26)]

John tried to refuse: “I should be baptized by you, yet you come to me!” Jesus answered, “Give in for now. We must do this if we would fulfill all of God’s demands.” (Mt 3:13-5)

Jesus meant, ‘We shall give God the glory ... justly due to him-- I by an act of profound humiliation, you by one of blind obedience; we shall thus repair the injustice done to God by the pride and rebellion of man.’

By this act Jesus taught us two great lessons-- 1) as Baptism is the first and most essential of all the Sacraments, so is humility regarding all the virtues; and 2) our humility, and the obedience it brings, is what pleases God best; thus he blesses our labors.

“He that shall humble himself shall be exalted.” (Lk 14:11) Jesus accomplished this at his baptism. Coming out of the water, suddenly he saw the Spirit of God descend like a dove and hover over him. A voice from the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son. My favor rests on him.” (Mt 3:16-7)

The same favor has been granted gratuitously to us in our baptism. Jesus Christ, as man, merited this favor for us by the deep humility of his baptism. As soon as the water was poured upon our head the heavens, closed to us by original sin, were opened. The Holy Spirit descended upon us and a voice from heaven said, ‘This is now my beloved child’.

Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp340-42

The institution of Christian Baptism

“The Lord desired to be baptised, so that he might freely proclaim through his humility what for us was to be a necessity.” (St Augustine, “Sermon 51”, 33) By his baptism, Jesus left for us the Sacrament of Christian Baptism which he directly instituted, and imposed as a universal law from the day of his Ascension.

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”, the Lord said. “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (Mt 28:13)

In Baptism we receive faith and grace. The day of our baptism was the most important day of our lives. Just as the parched land yields no harvest if it does not get water, so also we who were like dried sticks can produce fruits of life only if we receive freely the gentle and abundant rainfall of grace from on high. (St Irenaeus, “Treatise against heretics”, 3, 17) Before our baptism we were locked out of Paradise, unable to bring forth the slightest supernatural fruit.

We must rejoice in the cleansing of our souls from the stain of original sin, and of any other personal sin(s) before our baptism.

“Thanks to the Sacrament of Baptism you have been turned into a temple of the Holy Spirit. Don’t ever let it happen that you drive away so noble a guest by your evil deeds, or ever again submit to the power of the demon: for the price you were bought with is the blood of Christ.” (St Leo the Great, “Christmas Homily”, 3)

‘Almighty, eternal God, when the Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan, you revealed him as your own beloved Son. Keep us, your children born of water and the Holy Spirit, faithful to our calling.’ (“Collect of the Mass”)

“Baptism initiates us into the Christian life. It is a true birth into supernatural life. It is the new life preached by the Apostles and spoken of by Jesus to Nicodemus: ‘Truly I say to you ... he who is not born again from on high cannot enter ... Heaven: what is born of the flesh is flesh; but what is born of the Spirit is spirit.’” (Jn 3:3-6)

Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 1:376

Our Lady of the Guides, at Constantinople, where one of the distaffs of the Blessed Virgin was shown, with some of the clothes of the Infant Jesus, which St. Pulcheria bestowed on this church.

Ref: “Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com