In many ways, the story of the baptism of Jesus can be strange one for us. In fact, even John the Baptist was puzzled by its occurrence. We know that in previous Gospel accounts, John the Baptist had already spoken about Jesus as the one who would baptize others, not with water, but with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Yet in today’s Gospel, we have Jesus presenting himself to John the Baptist for this sacred ritual. John himself, of course, acknowledges his own confusion, and even suggests that this whole matter should be turned around; that Jesus should be baptizing him, not the reverse. But Jesus’ response to John reveals that He has something else in mind. “Let it be so for now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness”.
And we read that as Jesus comes up out of the water of the Jordan, what follows speaks clearly of that sacred Trinitarian relationship that He has with the Father and the Holy Spirit. All three of the Trinity are present and visible during this event.
This revelation, as the other gospel accounts also makes clear, is not just for Jesus, but for all present to see. And I believe it acknowledges two things: First, it acknowledges that Jesus’ baptism is an inauguration of God’s unfolding plan for His people, for us. This Trinitarian relationship among the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is something that we are all invited into. And secondly, Jesus’ baptism signifies the beginning of His own public ministry as God’s Son which eventually leads to the cross.
Most of you were probably baptized as babies and therefore would have no memory of the event. But through your participation in Catechesis and growing up in the church, you would have developed an understanding of what your baptism was for you. I was baptized in 1967 at age 21. And I have to admit that, at that time, I didn’t have a very deep understanding of what it was all about. During the years before my baptism, at different times, I had been a member of various groups, so I was certainly aware about group involvement and sharing a common interest with others, including family and friends. These groups would have had certain disciplines and certainly responsibilities that had to be shared by its members.
Perhaps I thought of my baptism as something like this. But as time went on, I soon discovered that baptism was so much more than being a member of a group. If anything, at least for me as an adult, it had more similarities to getting married.
The purpose of marriage is not to share some common interests with a new spouse, although that may be part of it. We enter into marriage as a covenant relationship of love with our spouse and later family, in order to share our lives with one another.
In baptism, much of the same thing happens. In baptism we enter into a covenant relationship of love with Christ our guide, and His extended family of faith, the Church. The Church becomes a living organism, where Christ is the head and each of us a part. In both marriage and baptism, there is a death to an old way of living in order to embrace the new.
That’s why the witness of Jesus’ baptism in today’s Gospel is so important for us. Where His baptism announced the relationship of love that exists with the Father through the Holy Spirit, our baptism announces our desire and willingness to be a part of that Divine relationship. Where His baptism inaugurates His own public call to ministry, our baptism signifies our own mysteriously incorporation into that relationship with the Trinity in order to respond to our own unique call in building up the Body of Christ.
By way of an analogy, St. Paul uses our own human anatomy to explain what it means to be incorporated into the body of Christ. Our own human organism is made up of cells and organs which must work together for everything to function properly. If you look at a cell under a microscope, you will see that it can be separately identified and can operate on its own. Yet its function is incomplete unless it works with other cells to achieve its purpose, usually as an organ. Correspondingly, organs must work with other organs in the human body in order for the whole body to function properly. It is of no value for one cell to say to another; "I don’t need you. I’m happy working on my own." Every now and again we have rogue cells like that. We call it cancer. And if they are not corrected or surgically removed, they will contaminate the surrounding cells and eventually the whole body. For all to survive, these cells must work together. In the same way, the heart cannot say to the lungs; "I don’t need you. I am happy on my own." Their failure to work together will destroy the whole body.
So it is the same for us who are incorporated into the body of Christ through baptism. You cannot say to me, and I cannot say to you; "Hey, I don’t need you." We all need each other. We need to work together, depend upon each other, in order to be Church, because through our baptism, we all have been incorporated into this living organism we call the Body of Christ.
One could argue that Saul (later St. Paul) was once a rogue cell. He persecuted Christians. And then on that road to Damascus, he was struck to the ground by that great light. The words that he heard that led to his conversion were not: "Saul, why are you persecuting those Christians?" Or even: "Why are you persecuting the church?" The words he heard from Jesus were: "Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" The “me” is the Christ of which we are all a part because we have been baptized into a relationship with Him. And this relationship requires that we, as cells, be responsible for one another, to work and care for one another, just as Christ works and cares for us.
I would like to conclude with a quote from Fr. John Main which for me speaks about Baptism: “The mysterious thing about the Christian revelation is that we are no longer living as if we were exhausting a limited supply of life that we received at birth. What we know from the teaching of Jesus is that we become infinitely filled with life when we are at one with the source of our being: The One who describes himself as “I AM”. In the Christian vision we are led to this source by a guide, and our guide is Jesus, the person wholly open to God. That is why the Christian journey is always a journey of faith. But as we approach the center of our being, as we enter our heart, we find that we are greeted by our guide, greeted by the one who is leading us. We are welcomed by the person who calls each one of us into personal fullness of being. The consequences or results of our prayer are just this fullness of life; harmony, oneness, and energy, a divine energy that we find in our own heart, in our own spirit. It is this energy, often referred to as love, that is the energy of all creation. It is this energy of love that unites us and holds us together in Christ.
That’s why the witness of Jesus’ baptism in today’s Gospel is so important for us. Where His baptism announced the relationship of love that exists with the Father through the Holy Spirit, our baptism announces our desire and willingness to be a part of that Divine relationship. Where His baptism inaugurates His own public call to ministry, our baptism signifies our own mysteriously incorporation into that relationship with the Trinity in order to respond to our own unique call in building up the Body of Christ.
By way of an analogy, St. Paul uses our own human anatomy to explain what it means to be incorporated into the body of Christ. Our own human organism is made up of cells and organs which must work together for everything to function properly. If you look at a cell under a microscope, you will see that it can be separately identified and can operate on its own. Yet its function is incomplete unless it works with other cells to achieve its purpose, usually as an organ. Correspondingly, organs must work with other organs in the human body in order for the whole body to function properly. It is of no value for one cell to say to another; "I don’t need you. I’m happy working on my own." Every now and again we have rogue cells like that. We call it cancer. And if they are not corrected or surgically removed, they will contaminate the surrounding cells and eventually the whole body. For all to survive, these cells must work together. In the same way, the heart cannot say to the lungs; "I don’t need you. I am happy on my own." Their failure to work together will destroy the whole body.
So it is the same for us who are incorporated into the body of Christ through baptism. You cannot say to me, and I cannot say to you; "Hey, I don’t need you." We all need each other. We need to work together, depend upon each other, in order to be Church, because through our baptism, we all have been incorporated into this living organism we call the Body of Christ.
One could argue that Saul (later St. Paul) was once a rogue cell. He persecuted Christians. And then on that road to Damascus, he was struck to the ground by that great light. The words that he heard that led to his conversion were not: "Saul, why are you persecuting those Christians?" Or even: "Why are you persecuting the church?" The words he heard from Jesus were: "Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" The “me” is the Christ of which we are all a part because we have been baptized into a relationship with Him. And this relationship requires that we, as cells, be responsible for one another, to work and care for one another, just as Christ works and cares for us.
I would like to conclude with a quote from Fr. John Main which for me speaks about Baptism: “The mysterious thing about the Christian revelation is that we are no longer living as if we were exhausting a limited supply of life that we received at birth. What we know from the teaching of Jesus is that we become infinitely filled with life when we are at one with the source of our being: The One who describes himself as “I AM”. In the Christian vision we are led to this source by a guide, and our guide is Jesus, the person wholly open to God. That is why the Christian journey is always a journey of faith. But as we approach the center of our being, as we enter our heart, we find that we are greeted by our guide, greeted by the one who is leading us. We are welcomed by the person who calls each one of us into personal fullness of being. The consequences or results of our prayer are just this fullness of life; harmony, oneness, and energy, a divine energy that we find in our own heart, in our own spirit. It is this energy, often referred to as love, that is the energy of all creation. It is this energy of love that unites us and holds us together in Christ.
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