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Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17
Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan
to be baptized by him.
John tried to prevent him, saying,
“I need to be baptized by you,
and yet you are coming to me?”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us
to fulfill all righteousness.”
Then he allowed him.
After Jesus was baptized,
he came up from the water and behold,
the heavens were opened for him,
and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and coming upon him.
And a voice came from the heavens, saying,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Someone asked me recently, “Father, why do you baptize children?”
I said jokingly, “To give them rules to break as teenagers.”
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Today we celebrate the baptism of our Lord. This feast not only marks the beginning of Christ’s public ministry; it also concludes our celebration of Christmas.
Perhaps because of the many holiday meals I’ve shared from Thanksgiving through Christmas into the New Year, I’m already looking forward to the penitential fasting of Lent.
Yes, I dropped the “L” word, Lent. Can you believe it’s only a month away?
We begin each Lent on Ash Wednesday. As a black cross of ash is traced onto our foreheads, we hear the words, “Repent and believe in the Gospel.”
There’s nothing miraculous about those ashes. But that dark smudge is a simple, yet profound, reminder of our need to amend our lives. Of my need to amend my life. There’s always something I can do – or drop – in order to draw closer to God.
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The same was true of the baptism offered by John in the Jordan River. John was not bestowing the Holy Spirit or the promise of eternal life upon anyone, but his baptism was an opportunity for people to publicly repent, rededicating their lives to God.
Imagine people standing in the back of that long and growing line braving the desert heat, acknowledging by their mere presence that something had gone awry in their lives.
Far off in the distance, the impassioned voice of John could be heard as he rebuked the religious authorities, calling them a “brood of vipers,” while plunging penitents into the brown, muddied waters.
Jesus stood somewhere in that line as an anonymous soul shuffling his feet in the sand, waiting his turn. I imagine he admired John’s zeal and smiled at the crack of his voice.
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When the Lord’s turn came, John dunked Jesus into the Jordan like the rest of those gathered that day.
As Jesus emerged soaking wet with water dripping down his face, the Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove. Suddenly, his heavenly Father proclaimed: “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
What had Jesus done that was so pleasing to his Father? He had not yet preached a single sermon or performed a single miracle. He wasn’t even in need of repentance!
So, what was so pleasing to his Father?
Jesus became like us and took the plunge.
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At his baptism, he followed the example of his mother, Mary, who thirty years prior said to the angel Gabriel, “Let it be done unto me according to your word.”
The moment Mary surrendered to God, she let go of everything that she called her own – her will, her body, her future, her marriage, her life – placing it all into the providential hands of God.
At his baptism, Jesus does the same.
He leaves behind everything that he’s called his own for the last thirty years – his privacy, his life at home with Mary, and his role as a humble carpenter from Nazareth.
Symbolically, the Jordan River swallowed it all up, serving as his watery tomb. When the Lord emerged from those blessed waters, he was no longer a mere carpenter; he was revealed as the Messiah.
Thus, today marks the beginning of Christ’s public ministry. Now he is ready to preach and heal, to be loved and rejected, to be nailed to a cross and placed in a tomb.
But three years from now, when Christ is placed inside that dark and dusty tomb, he will leave one final thing behind: death itself.
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This is the primary reason why we are baptized, even as infants, to receive the promise of eternal life. But baptism is not just about the beginning or the end. It’s also about the in between, how we live out our faith here and now.
Thus, a crucial step in the Christian life involves rediscovering the power of our baptism. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive the power of God – to live, love, and forgive as he did.
Perhaps this is something for us to ponder: Have we fully surrendered to our heavenly Father the way Jesus and his mother, Mary, once did? Do we live empowered by the Spirit?
Or, as we look towards Lent, do we need those baptismal waters stirred up within us?
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“Father, why do you baptize children?”
“To give them rules to break as teenagers.”
But, really, to give people a foundation to stand upon, a framework for spiritual growth, and an open door to eternal life.
May God renew and stir up those baptismal waters within us so that we may be holy and blameless in his sight.
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Image credits: (1) Vatican News (2) Baptism of Christ, Dave Zalenka, 2005 (3) Mercy Home