Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
WHY WAS JESUS BAPTIZED?
Why did Jesus ask John to baptize Him? Even John could not understand Jesus’ request and was puzzled by His insistence. After all, John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. Only sinners came to the River Jordan. But Jesus? He was, after all, the sinless Son of God!
In our reflections so far, we have always tried to find answers to the question of who the newborn infant in the manger is and why God became one of us.We should not forget these two questions because, around us, the fictional Santa has replaced the Infant Jesus in the manger.
The Gospel readings in the past days have provided us with many answers and we can expect that today’s Gospel and feast will not only give us another answer but probably the answer.
That Jesus, though sinless, joined the crowd of sinners is of greatest importance. He came to save sinners and showed His solidarity with us sinners. We can always approach Him in our sinfulness.
And then we hear the most important answer to our daily question of who Jesus is. This time, it is God Himself, His powerful voice, that identifies Jesus: “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him, I am well pleased.” By humbling Himself, Jesus had shown that He was ready to fulfill the plan of His Father. After His baptism, Jesus began His public ministry.
Our baptism was also a beginning. It gave direction to our life — to grow into a disciple of Christ. At baptism, God adopted us and spoke to us the words He spoke at the River Jordan: “You are my beloved son/daughter!”
As we had to grow up physically, the graces we received at baptism also had to be developed. Baptism is just the beginning of the lifelong process of becoming a Christian. We have to take care that the general line is an uptrend — that in spite of our weaknesses, we move slowly but surely towards the goal Christ has set before us by His humble example. Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: When were you baptized? How could you make this day special today? Are you aware that you are in a lifelong process of becoming a real Christian?
Merciful Father, today I thank You once more for adopting me in baptism as Your beloved child. Help me to develop further the graces You bestowed on me when I was baptized.
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