Reflections for The Baptism of the Lord A

All those of you what have been baptised have been clothed with Christ

The Baptism of the Lord A

Isaiah 42: 1-4. 6-7 Psalm 28: 1-4. 9-10, Rv.11 Acts 10: 34-38.

I have appointed you as the light of the nations.

The Lord will bless his people with peace.

Jesus Christ is the Lord of all

This is my beloved Son; my favour rests on him.

Matthew 3: 13-17

Then Jesus appeared: he came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John.

14 John tried to dissuade him, with the words, 'It is I who need baptism from you, and yet you come to me!'

15 But Jesus replied, 'Leave it like this for the time being; it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that uprightness demands.' Then John gave in to him.

16 And when Jesus had been baptised he at once came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him.

17 And suddenly there was a voice from heaven, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.'

Dare to become Christ

No one guessed that Jesus was God. They were astonished at him and thought he must be some prophet from the past. Since ‘he emptied himself, taking on the nature of a servant made in human likeness’ it is not surprising. He was like us in all things except sin (Heb 2:17). He was human just like us. He had the limitations of human beings – physical and mental. For years he lived and worked as a carpenter in Nazareth but suddenly he left that occupation and never returned to it.  What happened between his leaving Nazareth and his return to Galilee? We know that at the time of his Baptism Jesus had a religious experience. He saw the heavens open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. He heard the voice declare ‘you are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased’. Jesus had been growing in wisdom and age. Now he knew who he was. He had God on his side, who could stand against him? Filled with the Spirit and with power he set out to save the world.

            We like to think that Jesus did mighty works because he was the Son of God. It explains why we don’t do them. But this is not true. Jesus was in every way human. There was no difference between him and you. He did not have divine powers which we do not have. He wasn’t play-acting at being human. He had emptied himself of his divine dignity.  Then how could he live such a marvellous life? It was through the Holy Spirit whom he received at the River Jordan. If you and I had received the Spirit as he had done then we could do the same. This is precisely what St. Peter says in the second reading, “God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power”.

Like Jesus we have to surrender to the will of God, be open to the Spirit. Then in the power of the Spirit we can live a life of loving obedience to God, come what may. The experience Jesus had at the Jordan is the experience he wants each one of us to have when baptized. He wants each of us to live the same kind of life that he lived, full of power and truth.

This is the challenge of the ‘Baptism of Jesus’. May we be truly ‘Christened’ when baptized.  May we put on Jesus Christ. May we become “Jesus in the world’. This is your vocation. Are you ready to become this miracle by your prayer, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit?

Father anoint us each day with the Holy Spirit that we may continue the work of Jesus.