Introduction To baptize is to sprinkle somebody with or immerse somebody in water as a sign that the person has been accepted into the Christian faith. It is also customary to give a personal name to somebody during the ceremony of baptism. Baptism in whatever form does one thing in common, and that is to give the recipient a newness; a new experience of life, a new name, a new faith, a new vision of reality, a new understanding of what matters, etc... It has been described as an experience of being Born again. At the feast of the baptism of our Lord which we celebrate today the entrance antiphon describes the event in the following words.
Entrance Antiphon When the Lord had been baptized, the heavens opened, and the Spirit came down like a dove to rest on Him. Then the voice of the Father thundered: This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Though the Lord’s baptism took place in the river Jordan, during the time that He spent with His beloved Mother, she would have seen to it that He received a baptism in the experience of the chosen people of God, as written down in the Holy Scriptures and the traditions practiced by them.
The First Proclamation Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations. Not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench. Until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching. I, the Lord, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations. To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
Prayerful Awareness What would Jesus living in Nazareth have wanted from His life? Would He not have wanted to be like Joseph, the father He knew? But the stories related to Him by His blessed mother about the circumstances of His birth, the prophecies of Simon and Anna would have surely challenged Him to view His life in another light. The description in the first proclamation of today is of the servant and chosen one to whom the mission of the salvation of humankind is to be entrusted. Reading this did Jesus ask Himself whether He was the One? There is one thing that would have tipped the balance in favor of claiming the identity of the chosen one of the Lord God, and that would have been the words of Isaiah: “Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit”. This statement would have resonated in harmony with the thirst experienced at His depths to being upheld by the Lord God, being pleasing to Him and experiencing the anointing by His Spirit. The outcome of Jesus’ thirty year journey under the tutelage of His beloved mother is illustrated in the Gospel proclamation of today.
The Gospel Proclamation Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Gaze at Jesus The thirst to belong to the Lord God takes Jesus to the banks of the river Jordan where John, His relative is preaching repentance, a turning back to the Lord God. Like any human being Jesus seems to be searching for confirmation of what He is feeling in His heart. Jesus takes the plunge and publicly joins the crowds who have decided to accept the call of John. Jesus gets more than what He has been yearning for within His heart. He went asking for the conferment and anointment of being the servant and the chosen one and received the anointment of being the BELOVED SON. Let us gaze at Jesus “the One Who emptied himself”, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. Let us pray that the inner experience of Jesus the “true man” may be revealed to us as He receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit. How did He feel when He became conscious of the experience of being The Son of God? What does the baptismal experience of Jesus mean to us? Let us read the second proclamation prayerfully.
The Second Proclamation For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world, awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit, which he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.
Our Sonship Jesus IS the grace of God, the gift of God OF HIMSELF for ALL men. We do not deserve the gift, nor can we ever hope to deserve. The grace of God by its very nature is free. The Good News is too good to be true. We need a special power to appropriate the truth of grace “ FAITH”. The words “You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased” are also addressed to you and me because of Jesus. We will hear it if we can only silence the critic in our mind always giving the opposite message.
Prayer Starter “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me.... I once was lost but now am found, Was blind, but now, I see.
