Year C Baptism of Our Lord

The baptism of Jesus

535 Jesus' public life begins with his baptism by John in the Jordan. [228] John preaches “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”. [229] A crowd of sinners [230] - tax collectors and soldiers, Pharisees and Sadducees, and prostitutes - come to be baptized by him. “Then Jesus appears.” the Baptist hesitates, but Jesus insists and receives baptism. Then the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, comes upon Jesus and a voice from heaven proclaims, “This is my beloved Son.” [231] This is the manifestation (“Epiphany”) of Jesus as Messiah of Israel and Son of God.

536 The baptism of Jesus is on his part the acceptance and inauguration of his mission as God's suffering Servant. He allows himself to be numbered among sinners; he is already “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”. [232] Already he is anticipating the “baptism” of his bloody death. [233] Already he is coming to “fulfil all righteousness”, that is, he is submitting himself entirely to his Father's will: out of love he consents to this baptism of death for the remission of our sins. [234] The Father's voice responds to the Son's acceptance, proclaiming his entire delight in his Son. [235] The Spirit whom Jesus possessed in fullness from his conception comes to “rest on him”. [236] Jesus will be the source of the Spirit for all mankind. At his baptism “the heavens were opened” [237] - the heavens that Adam's sin had closed - and the waters were sanctified by the descent of Jesus and the Spirit, a prelude to the new creation.

537 Through Baptism the Christian is sacramentally assimilated to Jesus, who in his own baptism anticipates his death and resurrection. the Christian must enter into this mystery of humble self-abasement and repentance, go down into the water with Jesus in order to rise with him, be reborn of water and the Spirit so as to become the Father's beloved son in the Son and “walk in newness of life”: [238]

Let us be buried with Christ by Baptism to rise with him; let us go down with him to be raised with him; and let us rise with him to be glorified with him. [239]

Everything that happened to Christ lets us know that, after the bath of water, the Holy Spirit swoops down upon us from high heaven and that, adopted by the Father's voice, we become sons of God. [240]

          Let us meditate on Jesus’ obedience as showed by today’s Gospel through the teachings of the Catechism.  He willingly subjected Himself to the rite of baptism, to all the human rituals, being obedient as he is as man.  More wondrously He was obedient to the Will of the Father in Heaven in this and in many other instances in his past life and in the future to come after His Baptism in River Jordan especially in what would ultimately transpire on the Cross on Mount Golgotha.  He is our ultimate example and guide with regards obedience.  Obedience to man and to God, this is what the Lord is teaching us today.

          Obedience to man we learn from childhood, we cultivate through our teen-age life and we pass on as adults.  It is imperative that we instill obedience to our children and our children’s children.  They need to obey to our directives because it is for their own good, and we are extra careful and extra mindful of the things we would have them obey.  Our instructions and directives should be clear-cut and indeed for their own good.  Woe to us who live lives scandalously thereby teaching the wrong lessons to our future generations.  We happen to teach more and more forcefully by our lives than by what our mouths shout.

          It is difficult for parents nowadays to follow through with obedience with their teenage children.  One important advice the experts give us is to be firm in our guidance and not to bend rules for our teenagers.  We have to walk the fine line between being too harsh and too lax.  What is wrong is wrong and what is right is right.  We cannot say ok when something is not ok and we should also reward the good deeds.  It is also essential to be especially present to our teenage children in their times of need, anxiety and confusion.  There are times when we do not even need to say anything, but just be there.  Our presence stabilizes them and the knowledge of our constant understanding, guidance and support is more than enough for their journey towards adulthood.

          Even when we are adults already we need to obey.  The arrogance of he or she who thinks the he or she is now the standard of moral right and wrong just because he or she has studied a bit, lived a bit and experienced a bit is breathtaking.  Indeed the more we know, the more we should know that we don’t know.  The more we grow the more we realize that we need guidance and assistance.  Listen to your family, to your friends, to you relatives, to your neighbors.  They usually know something you don’t and they usually are wiser than you would grant them to be.

          Finally and more importantly today’s Baptism of Our Lord is teaching us to be obedient to God in all things.  Now that we have practiced obedience in little things, by being obedient to the laws of man, now we can be more obedient to the laws of God, involving sometimes painful decisions and constant hardships and uphill struggles.  When we are used to saying yes to our superiors and to our authorities we can be more obedient to the Supreme Authority, God the Father above.  If the arrogance of people in our daily experience can be breathtaking, the arrogance of those who would ignore God’s laws and would consider themselves the supreme authority instead, is downright sad.  Many nowadays exalt freedom to the tune of doing what I want to do, what is pleasing for me to do, what brings me pleasure to do.  Such brothers and sisters of ours delude themselves.  We have to listen to God and we have to follow what He tells us to do.  If we do not listen to Him we end up following many other voices which invariably lead us to confusion, uncertainty, doubt and error.

          Obedience to man leads us to obedience to God, and obedience leads us to life everlasting.  Jesus obeyed the rites and rituals, the rules and laws of man.  Jesus obeyed the Will of the Father.  We too as Christians, who strive to be worthy of the Christ, follow Him in these His examples.  We too obey the laws of man, and we too strive daily to obey the Laws of God.  Amen.