The Jewish people had waited a very long time, for centuries, clinging to the promises God had made them. A holy remnant had persevered in their faith, despite crushing defeats, destruction of their homeland and sacred places and the disastrous Babylonian exile. In addition, they were surrounded by polytheistic religions that tempted them, especially their young, away from their faith in the God of Israel.
Today Jesus appears in the midst of his long-suffering people. They have responded to the prophetic promptings of John the Baptist. He has called them to repent and prepare for a new coming of God into their midst. The story of Jesus’ baptism echoes the ancient prophecy God made through Isaiah. Matthew’s description suggests that Jesus is to fulfill the role of the faithful Suffering Servant of God. The moment is dramatic: the skies open, the Spirit descends like a dove upon Jesus and the voice speaks of Jesus in language reminiscent of the mysterious servant in Isaiah’s prophecy.
In today’s first reading (the first of four great Isaian Servant Songs) the prophet describes God’s gentle servant, whose power would be shown in weakness and who would be “a light for the nation, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.”
Jesus is the beloved Son whose life will reflect his passion for God’s ways and who will manifest the Spirit (symbolized by the descending dove)– God’s power for the transformation of humanity. Even when Jesus’ mission fails and he begins to undergo the mockery and torture of his Passion, he will continue to be guided and strengthened by the Spirit and to trust his Father, whose voice we hear and take to heart today, “This is my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
Isaiah promises that God’s servant would “bring out prisoners from confinement and from the dungeon those who live in darkness.” We know that dungeons are not necessarily fixed places of concrete and iron bars. Some of us carry around with us, what might be described as, a “portable prison”–the darkness that has been passed on to us from the womb of our anxious mother or fighting parents, right up to the present darkness of the world around us.
Just as Jesus entered the Jordan to be baptized along with the repentant, so he enters our scene of darkness and confinement today. He is the one promised us in the prophet Isaiah, the one who will “bring out prisoners from confinement.” He comes to those hidden places that keep us locked up. He goes to the imprisoned areas of our lives and our restricted ways of behaving which we sometimes excuse by saying, “That’s just the way I am.” Rather than be a cheerleader on the sidelines, Jesus comes down into the waters and into the dark places where we are. He helps us face the shadows and hidden places and leads us out — just as God promised God would do for us through the prophet Isaiah.
Jesus’ baptism reminds us today that, through our baptism, we are united to him. I dare say that most of us rarely, if ever, think about our baptism. (Do we know the date we were baptized?) Through our baptism we died with Christ and thus have been reborn into a whole new life ( Romans 6). We, the baptized, are incorporated into the body of Christ. We are called and enabled to imitate Jesus, whom Paul says, “went about doing good.” We don’t need a detailed rule book in order to know how we should act in each situation of our lives, for in Baptism, we have the companionship of the Spirit of Jesus who is our wisdom, impulse and help to do good.
Christ was not spared the costs of being God’s Servant. Right after his baptism Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. His baptism doesn’t guarantee him a smooth path through life; nor does it guarantee us a smooth ride. In fact, our baptism will cost us, for the faithful are to live the life of service that Jesus did.
In some churches where I have preached, the baptismal font is in the center aisle, right at the entrance of the church. You can’t miss it. ( I often think, as I dip my fingers into the water and walk around one of those fonts, that the location of the font is a reminder that we keep bumping into our baptism and what it asks of us through our lives. We can’t ignore it.) The centrally-located font is a reminder how we began our faith journey. As we dip our fingers into the waters and sign ourselves with the cross, we are also reminded that baptism was just a beginning of our call to follow the One who is God’s faithful servant.
The Spirit we received at our Baptism continues to urge and encourage us on God’s path — right up to the present moment, as we sign ourselves with water and the cross. When we were baptized we not only received the name we would carry for the rest of our lives, but our identity and mission were fixed — we were named “beloved” and called to follow the path Jesus walked. Over the course of our lives our identity and mission have matured, as we have tried our best to serve God.
Some treat Baptism as a private family event only. They even insist on a baptismal ritual separate from the ones celebrated at Sunday Mass or on Sunday afternoon. They don’t appreciate that Baptism is not a private, but a public affair. Jesus didn’t insist that John baptize him further up the Jordan River with only his mother and a few family members and friends present. Jesus’ baptism was public–and so should each Christian’s be — a public ritual for people who are called to live their Christian vocation in public ways. There is little that is private about our vocation to follow Christ
We may not always feel it, but our baptismal faith assures us that we are God’s children and that God loves us and takes delight in us. We don’t have to work our way up to intimacy with God. Through our Baptism we already live in relationship with God. We are beloved children of God, graced to live a new life which God has shared with us through Jesus Christ. Graced to be faithful servants who live our lives as lights in the darkness, “to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement and from the dungeon.” We have documented proof that this is our mission; check the name on your baptismal certificate.
ARE WE EXTINGUISHING THE SPIRIT?
Although the Gospel narrative speaks about the immersion of Jesus in the Jordan, the decisive factor is not the Baptism of water by John, but the welcome by the Spirit that the Father proclaims over Jesus.
In the Biblical sense, it is such Spirit that gives Jesus the vital breath of God, full of love and creative strength that sends Him ahead to liberate, transform and bring new life. Hence, His first followers remember Jesus as a Prophet, “anointed by God with the Spirit…who went about doing good.” And this is the Spirit that must inspire all his followers.
The religious crisis of our days is becoming so widespread that what we refer to as indifference is affecting many of the believers. The results are, obviously, very serious. Many analysts are beginning to speak of the “interior atheism” that is diluting the faith of many so-called Christians.
The Church is not an “immunized space”. There are practicing
Christians that hardly ever remember God. They go about famously without Him. God does not motivate their life or inspire their actions. They live a religion that is devoid of any communication with God. In practice, God does not exist for them. Unwittingly, they have become members of a “world without God”.
Are we going to remain passive as we face this growing extinction of our true faith, even within our homes and communities? Are we not becoming ever more indifferent towards this religious indifference that seems to invade everything? Isn’t it already time to react?
Perhaps, we ought to start by accepting the fact that we may be the ones who are extinguishing the Spirit within the Church, due to our blindness and passivity. Moved by an instinct of survival, we run the risk of just saving the traditions of the past, because it is easier than facing changes while paying attention to the inspiration of the Spirit.
Certainly, we must change our ways of relating to God and avoid all empty and superficial rituals that are only external. These are merely ways of avoiding the sacred Mystery, instead of bringing us closer to Him, in Spirit and in truth.
Hence, it is more necessary than ever to promote the “full, active and conscientious participation in liturgical celebrations”, as recommended by Vatican II, “with a desire that becomes the primary and necessary fountain for Christian faithful to drink the truly Christian Spirit.” Revitalizing our worship will result in the revival of our Faith.
MY BELOVED CHILD
Rituals of purification by washing or bathing are found in all religions, both ancient and modern. But each religion puts its own interpretation on the meaning and purpose of rituals. In the Christian tradition, baptism removes the stain of original sin and initiates us into the family of faith.
Secret societies have secret handshakes. Exclusive clubs have membership cards. Secure websites have passwords. In all these ways, groups or individuals create identifying marks for the purpose of gaining entrance to private settings, or rightly discerning other members of the same organizations.
Does the Church have such a mark? We do not have secret handshakes, or passwords, or even membership cards. Ours is not an exclusive club. We are not trying to keep others out at all. Just the opposite, we are inviting everyone to join. But we do have some marks that identify us as the people of God.
Baptism is a symbolical acceptance of the Covenant, of the Ten Commandments. Baptism opens the doors to the other sacraments. All religions and organizations have ‘initiation’ rites, and public ‘oath’ taking and Hall of Fame ceremonies.
Water and the sun were the two most ancient symbols of the Creator, God, mover of the universe. The catechism teaches us about three types of baptism: water, desire and fire. Baptism of desire refers to those who wish and are well disposed to be baptized and would have been accepted into the family of God, but are unable to actually receive the official sacramental signs. Baptism of Fire is a term used to signify that, even though many people did not actually receive the sacrament of baptism of water, they are considered ‘accepted’ into the family of God because of their martyrdom, persecution or death on account of their faith.
Baptism of water, the traditional and sacramental rite, was always performed under two forms: sprinkling or pouring of water over the forehead or the actual immersion of the candidate into a pool or river of water.
Other major religions, like Hinduism and Buddhism, have similar rituals in their worship and purification practices.
This expression of “going back to death and coming back to a new life” has been used not only in the context of religion, but in the various forms of life in the universe: plants, animals and humans. A plant dies and is used as new seed that will
grow into a new flower and leaves. We know of animals who die soon after giving birth or spawning, laying the eggs in the rivers. The sun sets in the west, only to return again. This death/life process was to acquire a new meaning by the coming of Christ and offering his own life and rising to show us the way to the Father.
Baptism, truly lived and witnessed, is just that, a return to a new life. Maybe that’s why people began to use the expression “Born Again,” when they ‘walked’ back to their childhood innocence and embrace religious practice.
Politicians running for office begin their campaign with an official public announcement; financial and marketing companies take a leap from private ownership to public exchange. They “go public.”
Baptism, therefore, identifies us with God, as well as it claims our role as God’s followers. Baptism may not seem like a big step, but it forms the foundation, establishes the pattern, for all the good deeds that will follow.
Baptism, finally, puts us in a position to receive the blessing of God. We are God’s beloved children, and with us He is well pleased! Once we become aware of these words, we can never be the same. We can never doubt or deny God’s unconditional love for us. We can never take God’s love for granted.
When children are brought to receive Baptism, the very first thing that happens is that the priest or deacon asks the parents, “What name do you give your child?” In this moment the child is given an identity. This identity is bigger than just the name Sarah, Mary, Peter or Paul. The name the child is given is “Christian.” This is our identity.