By Leon Bent
The Baptism of Jesus, which we recall is celebrated on the Sunday following Epiphany, on 6th January. It gives us an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of Baptism and on the fascinating way that God uses water in His plan of salvation.
Noah’s “Ark”, the “Crossing of the Red Sea by Moses and the Chosen People and Joshua led the Jewish people through the waters of the Jordan and into the promised land (cf. CCC 1222). Scott Hahn describes spiritual slavery in terms of the psychology of sin in his book, “Lord Have Mercy”.
Typically, if we remain in a sinful state, it becomes difficult for us to think clearly and choose rightly. The concrete, transitory objects of this world seem more real and desirable to us than spiritual realities, and we begin to substitute worldly pleasure for truth. In time, we can become so addicted to the short-term worldly pleasures of our sin that we might do almost anything to satisfy our disordered desires (cf.CCC 1221).
In the life of Christ, His baptism in the Jordan is an event of the highest importance, because it represents a significant phase in the work of redemption. He was anointed by the Holy Spirit as the Christ, the Messiah, which means the Anointed One: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and He went about doing good, healing all who were under the power of the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38).
Anointing has always been the symbolic, visible representation of an intimately established union, a specific, defined alliance or covenant between God and one of His servants. God the Father speaks at the precise moment, to make clear who the Person is. The foretold Saviour is His Divine Son, begotten from all eternity: “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:13–17; Mark 1:9–11; Luke 3:21–22; John 1:32–34).
The Baptism of Jesus has been celebrated in the Church since the second century A.D. It is not only a celebration of the presence of the Holy Spirit, but also has come to be seen as the true beginning of Jesus’ ministry on earth. But to make this day more than just the celebration of a moment in history, we need to remind ourselves of the connection which each of us has – through our Baptism – to Jesus himself, and to the whole Body of Christ.
If we listen carefully to the Gospel and other New Testament messages, it becomes clear that Baptism is dynamic, not static. The message of the Gospel, and certainly of the Baptism of Jesus, is that Baptism is the beginning of the story. Baptism is the entry rite into the Christian community, by which God adopts us as his children. This renewable gift of God transcends time, place, culture, race, and all the other separations which limit us (Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor, theologian, anti-Nazi-dissident, and key founding member of the Confessing Church). His writings on Christianity’s role in the secular world have become widely influential, and his book, “The Cost of Discipleship” has been described as a modern classic).
Scott Hahn asserts: Jesus doesn’t submit to John’s baptism as a sinner in need of purification. He humbles Himself to pass through Jordan’s waters in order to lead a new “exodus” – opening up the promised land of heaven so that all peoples can hear the words pronounced over Jesus today, words once reserved only for Israel and its king: that each of us is a beloved son or daughter of God (see Genesis 22:2; Exodus 4:22; Psalm 2:7).
If Jesus was baptized to be a man for others, even if it cost him his life, then “every baptized believer who would be known by the name ‘Christian’ is to express … faith through courageous service to all who struggle and suffer in this world.”
Baptism was the first step of Jesus’ long and arduous journey. So was our baptism. It is but the first step in a lifelong process of becoming like Jesus, of becoming Christian. If only we were to take Jesus at his word and begin to live the radical challenges and demanding ethics of the Gospel. How might such an effort change us? Change our world?
In all our efforts at becoming Christian, we are not alone. Jesus asks nothing of us without giving us strength in the form of grace; through his Spirit breathed into us at baptism, he remains ever present. In Jesus’ Baptism, the voice of God will hover over the waters as fiery flame, as we sing in today’s Psalm (Ps. 29:1-4, 9-10). He has sanctified the waters, made them a passage-way to healing and freedom – a fountain of new birth and everlasting life.
Only then, with the Paschal Sacrifice, would the forgiveness of sins be rendered universal and total. With Baptism we do not simply emerge from the waters of the Jordan to proclaim our commitment to conversion, but the redeeming Blood of Christ that purifies and saves us is poured out upon us. It is the Father’s beloved Son, in whom he was pleased, who regains for us the dignity and joy of calling ourselves truly “children” of God (Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI).
Now, this gold nugget! The sacraments are God’s tools for our sanctification. They are not magical and they are not mechanical. They are powerful because Christ is the one who has instituted them because Christ is the sacrament. Christ is the oath that God has sworn for our salvation. So we must accept the challenge to allow Christ to live his life in us and join with him in pledging to God that we will live the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help us God (Scott Hahn).
And this final flourish! John’s Baptism is indisputably a Baptism of penance, very different from the sacrament that Jesus was to institute. At that moment, however, the Redeemer’s mission is already glimpsed because, when he comes out of the water, a voice comes from Heaven and the Holy Spirit descends upon him (cf. Mk 1: 10); the heavenly Father proclaims him as his beloved Son and publicly attests to his universal saving mission, which will be fully accomplished with his death on the Cross and his Resurrection.
Leon Bent is an ex-Seminarian and studied the Liberal Arts and Humanities, and Philosophy, from St. Pius X College, Mumbai. He holds Masters Degree in English Literature and Aesthetics. He has published three Books and have 20 on the anvil. He has two extensively “Researched” Volumes to his name: Hail Full of Grace and Matrimony: The Thousand Faces of Love. He won The Examiner, Silver Pen Award, 2000 for writing on Social Issues, the clincher being a Researched Article on Gypsies in India, published in an issue of the (worldwide circulation) Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, New Delhi. On April, 28, 2018, Leon received the Cardinal Ivan Dias Award for a research paper in Mariology.