The Baptism of the Lord
This Sunday we celebrate the baptism of the Lord, when Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan by John. None of us remember when we were baptized when we were infants but that said we may know someone who was who was baptized at the Easter Vigil or at another time. It may seem strange, but this is a Christmas Feast if we have followed the Feasts of Christmas as well as the Holy Family and Epiphany, we will see the feast of the baptism of the Lord in terms of the growing manifestation or appearance of the Son of God. Now in the River Jordan, Jesus, Son of Mary, is revealed to all and everyone as the fullness of all God’s promises: as the fathers voice from heaven tells us “This is my Son, the Beloved“. Just as Jesus entered the Jordan to be baptized, so he enters our lives today especially with the COVID19 restrictions that are in force in many places.
Jesus is the one promised in the Isaiah, the one who will “set prisoners free.” 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.” Jesus comes down 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. Jesus’ baptism reminds us today that, through our own baptism, we are united to him. Most of us rarely, if ever, think about our baptism. Through our baptism we died with Christ and thus have been reborn to a new life ( Rom 6). We, the baptized, are incorporated into the body of Christ. We are called to imitate Jesus, who St. 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, the Holy Spirit who is our wisdom, and help to do good.
Our role as baptized Christians has some of the characteristics of St. John the Baptist in that we are called to prepare the way for Christ, not only in our own lives, but in the lives of those around us . We do this by the example of how we live our lives according to the gospel values In a secular world that celebrates life achievements the church rejoices at the baptism of a person young or old into the church as well as beginning their own unique relationship with Jesu as they are sealed and marked as Gods own son or daughter. Take a moment and reflect on where your baptismal journey has taken you. Then look around at those around you our sisters and brothers, and give thanks that all of us together can celebrate our life in Christ our common life of faith as we go forward into 2021 and beyond.
Fullerton T 