Sunday 8th January 2023 - The Baptism of The Lord

Isaiah 42:1-4,6-7/ Psalm 28(29)/ Acts 10:34-38/ Matthew 3:13-17

Today we hear how Jesus presented himself to John for baptism in the river Jordan. We might wonder why Jesus would need to be baptised. This must have been what John was thinking because he was reluctant to baptise Jesus saying, ‘it is I who need baptism from you’. Jesus insisted that John baptise him and we hear that John gave in to him. This led to the wonderful moment of affirmation when the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a dove and the voice came from heaven saying, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved’. In the baptism of Jesus we see the Trinity at work through God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Jesus had become fully human and to complete and confirm his human nature he submitted to John for baptism. Although Jesus was free from sin and had no need to be baptised his mission was to take on the sins of all of us and in so doing was baptised as we are. Jesus also used his baptism as a commissioning at the start of his public ministry. Our baptism is the beginning of our faith journey, it grafts us onto the Body of Christ which is the Church. By joining Jesus in baptism we share his life and death so that we can also share in his resurrection. The Church teaches that ‘Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word’ (CCC 1213).

By being baptised, Jesus sanctified baptism and later instituted it as a sacrament when, after his resurrection, before he returned to Heaven, Jesus commissioned his disciples to, ‘make disciples of all nations, baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’. This is the commission the church continues to honour by conferring baptism as a sacrament today. Baptism marks the beginning of a new life in Christ, the start of our faith journey. It is the gateway to all the other sacraments none of which can be received without baptism having been first received. Baptism gives the grace to repair the damage of original sin, makes possible forgiveness of personal sin, makes us adopted sons and daughters of God the Father, members of the Church, which is the body of Christ, making us temples of the Holy Spirit. Baptism imprints on our soul an indelible sign which consecrates us for Christian worship giving us a share in the ministry of Jesus as priest, prophet, and king.

The baptism of Jesus established him as the servant spoken about by Isaiah in the first reading. Jesus fulfilled all the predictions contained in the suffering servant passages of Isaiah. The love Jesus has for humanity is the cause of his willingness to become fully human, to live, suffer and die for love of us, sharing our suffering so that we can also share in his resurrection. In the second reading we hear how Peter came to understand that this Good News of the Gospel message was for all not just the people of Israel. The mission Jesus commanded Peter, the disciples, and the whole church to carry out is to baptise all nations not just a select few.

By his insistence on being baptised by John, Jesus demonstrated what baptism should mean to us. We have been ransomed by Jesus, who took on the role of Isaiah’s suffering servant and identified with our sinful fallen condition although he had not sinned himself. The baptism of Jesus brings the Christmas season to a close by making the Christmas story a reality in our lives today rather than simply a story from long ago. In baptism we receive the grace that is necessary to live out our Christian calling and we also receive the mission from Jesus to go and make disciples of all nations. It is by spreading the Good News of the gospel that we fulfil the mission we are given at our baptism, the mission that Jesus began at his own baptism, the mission the Church continues today.

God Bless. Brendan.