Jan. 10, 2021: Baptism of the Lord B
Do you have a photo of your baptism in your home? My baptism photo is with my parents in Texas in an old photo album which we brought to the United States when we immigrated from South Korea. I will have a chance to look up that black and white photo this weekend when I visit my parents in Texas to celebrate my dad’s 80th birthday. He and I share the same baptism date, April 8, 1979. He was only 38 years old then, and I was 6 years old. Unbeknownst to both of us, on that fateful day of our baptism, we were entering into the doorway to new life in the Holy Spirit, infused with a new identity and a new mission. In order to understand the significance of the day of our own baptism, we must go back to the day when Jesus was baptized by his cousin John the Baptist.
We can imagine that very day when Jesus was waiting in line by the banks of Jordan River to be baptized by John. As each person entered the river, they did so with contrite heart, desiring conversion, to repent of their lives, and be cleansed of their sins. When Jesus entered the river and placed himself before John to be baptized, John was startled. “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” Jesus indeed had no need of conversion and repentance since he is the sinless one. Jesus simply replied, “John, allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” John knew that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah. Just as John plunged Jesus into the river and raised him up, the heavens opened, the Spirit like a dove descended upon him, and the voice of the Father was heard, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” John witnessed the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, “Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations… I set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.”
Why did Jesus submit himself to John’s baptism when he did not have the original sin nor needed repentance of sins? Pope Benedict XVI explained, “ In light of the cross and resurrection… Jesus loaded the burden of all mankind’s guilt upon his shoulders; he bore it down into the depths of the Jordan.” The early church fathers wrote that Adam and Eve had a “vestment of light,” which was lost at the fall. This robe was made available again when Jesus, born in our human nature, was bathed in the glory of the Father. St. Gregory of Nyssa wrote, “You have driven us out of paradise and called us back; you have taken away the fig leaves, that garment of our misery, and clothed us once more with the robe of glory.” With his baptism at the Jordan, Jesus’ public ministry began. He is the beloved of the Father, and he will carry out HIs Father’s will to its completion.
As we live and work in this world, we forget who we are and to whom we belong. I heard this week from a visiting priest a beautiful meditation about our identity. We look in the mirror to see what we look like. However, the mirror only shows us what we think about ourselves and compare ourselves to the critical presuppositions from the world that we believe to be true. We’ve read articles and seen news stories about mental health professionals, teachers, and clinicians express their worry that our young people and adults are trying to see the reflection of themselves through social media. Young people have no idea of what’s beautiful in them and how loveable they are. Because they don’t see their inherent dignity, they try very hard to reinvent themselves as someone they think they should be. Sadly, adults are engaged in this frantic pursuit as well, as they compare their lives to those they see on social media and reality programs. Often they spend so much of their time, energy, and resources on something that is temporary. The tendency to compare ourselves to someone else is creating stress and anxiety, and affecting self-confidence, family life, and marriage. Not knowing who we truly are and should be is the darkness of our modern world. This darkness is preventing us from knowing and doing our true mission in this world.
What we have forgotten is that our baptism has inaugurated a new relationship with God the Father; no longer are we fallen descendents of Adam and Eve; like beloved Jesus, we are the beloved sons and daughters of God the Father. We discover the truth about ourselves and our mission in life only in relationship with God. His loving gaze is capable of penetrating to our core and restoring the dignity that was planted in us. We are commissioned at our baptism to praise, to pray, to proclaim, and to serve God whom we love.
As we celebrate the baptism of the Lord our celebration of the Christmas season comes to a close. Yet it also marks the end of Jesus’ thirty years of hidden life and the beginning of his ministry to proclaim the Kingdom of God, to free the captives, and to lay down his life for us. Today let us recommit ourselves to our baptismal vows to reflect God’s love as the beloved of the Father.
