The Baptism of Our Lord Jesus

Dear friends in Christ,

A little Anthony was asked in Sunday ­school to explain the meaning of Baptism. He said, "It's when the priest or the deacon holds you under water and you think about Jesus!" The same Anthony was crying and crying on the way back after the baptism of his little brother, Mark. His father asked him three times, “Anthony, what is going on with you?” Wiping his tears, he said, “The priest said that my brother must be brought up in a Christian home, but I want him to live with you guys!” Jesus and a Christian home are two gifts that you and I once received or our parents and Godparents received on our behalf when we were baptized.

Let us “think about Jesus” for a moment. An unavoidable question we must ask: Why was Jesus baptized by John the Baptist? It makes no sense whatsoever, if the baptism of John the Baptist requires repentance and confession of sins and a change in way of living, then Jesus as the Son of God who was sinless, needed not Baptism. John, in fact, in the Gospel of St. Mathew, refused to baptize Jesus because he knows Jesus did not need it. However, Jesus insisted, “For now, it is to fulfill all righteousness.” The truth is that what goes beyond our human expectation of God, He often does to surprise us.

Now, I would like to invite us to think with Jesus, not think about Jesus, but with Him. He was baptized so that to fulfill all righteousness. The key word is “righteousness.” In Jesus’ world, righteousness is an absolute YES to the Law of God, the Torah. It means “an unrestricted YES to God’s will” (Pope Benedict VI, Jesus of Nazareth, p. 17).

Jesus has said YES to the Will of God, the Father in becoming man, born of a woman. Now, He said YES to God by asking to be baptized. If baptism is for sinners, Jesus entry into the water of baptism means He steps into the place, reserved for sinners. In other words, He chooses to be in solidarity with sinners like us whose sins have plagued and placed tremendous burden of guilt on our consciences. He who was sinless has made Himself sin for our sake as St. Paul says. He steps in the place of sinners in order to take on Himself the sins of us all, the guilt in our conscience, and the punishment due to sins committed. I mean all of it. This is the reason why, later in His life, Jesus used the word baptism to refer to his death on the cross.

In our Lord’s mind, baptism equals death. Baptism, therefore, is an act of accepting death in our place. The water is like an ocean of death and He carried that death to Calvary, on the cross. His baptism and death prove His solidarity with us is absolute. He is not a spectator, but a co-sufferer with us so that through His Baptism the gate of hell may be destroyed and the gate of paradise, the heaven, will be torn open for us all once again.

What happened after the baptism of Jesus? "Heaven opened,” and the Father said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”  And, the Holy Spirit of Life once again hovered like a dove over Him. At Jesus’ baptism we encounter all three persons of the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the triune God in Himself. This has become Christ’s final commission to His disciples: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptize them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (Mt 28:19). Jesus is in fact asking the disciples: to make the world become a Family of God, a Christian home for nations; to make our country a Christian home for all peoples; to make our parish a Christian home for all families; to make our family a Christian home for each of us. In that Christian home God and His will is at the center of gravity. 

A Christian home is what we belong to when we were baptized. When we were baptized, our sins are forgiven and we were given an entrance to a family of God. We received the Spirit of adoption so that we can call God “Abba,” Father, with Christ. We became a member of Christ’s body, the Church. We are then brothers and sisters in Christ. We are invited to share the life of God Himself.

Let’s be honest, the world is not yet a perfect Christian home because there is too much killing. Our country is not yet a perfect Christian home because there is too much division. Our community is not yet a perfect Christian home because there is too much indifference. Our family is not yet a perfect Christian home since there is too much anger, too much selfishness, too much misunderstanding.

Despite our imperfections, we still have hope because we have Christ. And, we still have Christians in this imperfect home. As baptized Christians, we are invited to think with Jesus, to identify with Him in words and deeds that is to participate in Jesus’ struggle for humanity’s eternal life by carrying with Him, through Him, and in Him the burden of sin and its consequences. And, by renewing ourselves regularly through the sacrament of reconciliation. Reconciliation is like our second baptism because it is Christ who, through the hands and words of the priest, pours out His blood over us to wash away our sins, thus, making us anew repeatedly every time we come to Him. Our world, our country, our community, and our family will be more like a Christian home every time we do that.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr Anthony Le
Parochial Administrator