Baptism of the Lord (A); 1-12-20

Is 42:1-7   Ps 29   Acts 10:34-38   Mt 3:3-17

Deacon Jim McFadden

 

One of the mysteries of our Lord’s baptism is WHY! Why did he have to do it? What does it mean? Since he is Immanuel, God among us, he didn’t have to be baptized for his own sake since he is without sin. And, make no mistake, the baptism of John was for the repentance of sin. That’s why John hesitated to baptize Jesus; indeed, he “tried to prevent him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” Our Lord replied, “Allow it now for thus sit is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he allowed him” (Mt 3:14-15).

What is going on here?   The early Church Fathers, such as St. Gregory of Nazianzus, recognized that Jesus got baptized for our sake: “Let us be buried with Christ by Baptism, to rise with him; let us go down with him to be raised with him; and let us rise with him to be gloried with him” (Oratio. 40,9: PG 36, 369). When we get baptized, the waters change us since we are initiated into the Church, the Body of Christ which gains us entry into the mystery of the Triune God. We are sacramentally assimilated to Jesus.

So, Jesus was baptized for our sake and he did so for two reasons.

One, to make it very clear to us who He is. Jesus allowed himself to be baptized, he allowed the Holy Spirit to descend upon him, he allowed the voice of the Father to be declared over him, who said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (v. 17) Jesus is the beloved One. As the only begotten Son, he is loved by his Father and he wants us to know that.   When God the Father hands over his love to Jesus, he is handing over himself—total self-giving because God is Love!

            Jesus is now anointed by the Holy Spirit and the next thing he does is to go into the desert to do battle with Satan. Being anointed was a very big deal because the anointed one IS the messiah, the Christ,  Who is anointed to be a priest, prophet, and king and that is exactly who Jesus is forever. He is the great high Priest who offers the ultimate sacrifice, Himself, for the salvation of the world. He is the greatest of all prophets who not only speaks the Word of the Lord, HE IS THE WORD OF THE LORD! And, he is King of all nations; he is sovereign of the entire cosmos. As St. Paul puts in his letter to the Colossians: “For in him were created all things in heaven and earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or principalities or powers; all thing are created through him and FOR HIM. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col 1:16-17).

Being anointed He then goes into the wilderness, to do what? To do battle with Satan. Jesus is moved by the power of the Holy Spirit to go into the wilderness to do battle with the Prince of Darkness. And, the Father declares over Him that “you are my beloved Son.”

            Besides revealing his identity as the beloved Son of God, Jesus’ baptism reveals his mission. That’s why Jesus’ name is singularly appropriate: ‘Jesus” or ‘Yehsua’ in Aramaic means ‘God saves.’ Jesus is the anointed, he is the Christ, the only begotten, beloved Son of God who was sent to bring about our salvation.  He is the exemplar of being priest, prophet, and king who does battle with the forces of sin, death, and the power of Satan for our salvation.

What does this have to do with you and me? Our Lord’s baptism paves the way for your baptism and my baptism. Because in our baptism we, too, get our identity: we are made into the sons and daughters of our heavenly Father through adoption in Christ Jesus. When you were being baptized, the Holy Spirit hovered you, entered into your body, which now becomes the Temple of the Spirit, and the Father declares “this is my beloved daughter, this is my beloved son.”

            You get your identity at baptism; you also get your mission, which is the same of our Savior, Lord Jesus. Just as Jesus was anointed as priest, prophet, and king, you were anointed in exactly the same way to offer sacrifice—the self-offering of your life. You are a prophet to speak God’s Word, to give witness that Jesus is the Lord, to a people that long to hear him. And, to be a king or a queen– not like one who just sits back and has other people serve them, but to use power to serve others: to put your love into action. You’re now going to be a fierce warrior to fight for those whom God loves, especially the most vulnerable, wounded, and marginalized amongst us.

At Christ’s baptism his identity was revealed and his mission was begun. At your baptism, you identity was made new and as a member of the Church, the Body of Christ, your mission was begun. As we lean into Ordinary Time, live your identity as a beloved son or daughter of God and live that Mission as a priest, prophet, and king. Amen.