Is 40:1-5,9-11; Ps 104; Ti 2:11-14; 3:4-7; Lk 3:15-16,21-22

COMMENTARY

We have arrived at the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, in which we celebrate a fundamental event signing the beginning of Jesus’ public activity. Liturgically, this Sunday – which is a “prolonging of the Epiphany” – closes the Christmas Season and begins Ordinary Time: a time in which we continue to live our Christian missionary vocation by facing “ordinary” daily life, but hopefully, with the new strength of joy in and with the Lord. 

In this light, the Word of God in the readings of the Mass helps us to deepen our sense of the mystery of Baptism in the life of Christ and, in turn, of Christians, His followers. From the manyimportant aspects of this very rich and therefore much commented mystery, three points seem essential to be reminded and reflected on today.

1. Baptism Literally Means “Immersion”

First of all, we need to clarify the literal meaning of the term “baptism” in order to deeply understand its spiritual significance. The original Greek word for “baptism” is “baptisma/baptismos” and comes from the verb “bapto” (with the intensive form “baptizo”), which means primarily “to immerse” or “to submerge”. The noun in question then indicates primarily an act/bath of “immersion/submergence.” Thus, we can “see” and better understand the baptism of John the Baptist who declares in today’s Gospel, “I baptize you with water,” i.e., “I immerse you in water,” as a sign of penance and removal of sins. In like manner, we are able to concretelyunderstand the Baptist’s proclamation concerning the baptism that Christ, the one “stronger” than he, will offer to the people: “He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire.” This alludes to a very special immersion: in the Holy Spirit and in the fires of purification and divine judgment. On the other hand, keeping the meaning of the term in mind, we can understand the Gospel’s reference toyet another baptism for Jesus after the one in the Jordan. He will later declare to the crowd: “There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!”(Lk 12:50). It refers to his passion and death on the cross, because Jesus will speak about this baptism again, connecting it to the action of drinking the Father’s cup (cf. Mk 10:50; 14:36; Jn 18:11). It is a total immersion, a baptism in fact, with and in “blood and water” to take away the sins of the world (cf. Jn 19:34). This will be Christ’s supreme baptism, which encompasses all ofother baptisms, including his baptism in the River Jordan. Thus, we can also understand Saint John’s mysterious insistence in one of his letters to the faithful: “This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and blood” (1Jn 5:6a).

Returning to Jesus’ “first” baptism, as we are able to glimpse in today’s Gospel account, His ritual immersion in water actually expresses His full existential “immersion” with and in the people. Indeed, Pope Francis teaches in this regard: “this [the people] is not just background scenery but is an essential component of the event. Before immersing himself in the water, Jesus ‘immerses’himself in the crowd; he joins it, fully taking on the human condition, sharing everything, except sin. In his divine holiness, full of grace and mercy, the Son of God became flesh precisely to take upon himself and take away the sin of the world: taking on our miseries, our human condition. Thus, today’s event is also an epiphany, because by going to have himself baptized by John, in the midst of the repentant people, Jesus manifests the logic and meaning of his mission” (Angelus, Sunday, 13 January 2019).

This “full immersion” of Jesus is not only with and in the people, but also for the people. As already noted by the Fathers of the Church, Jesus certainly did not need purification from sins, unlike the people. He descends into the Jordan River, however, to purify it spiritually (and perhaps also materially – those who have visited the site of the Baptism of the Lord in the Holy Land know that the water there needs to be purified a great deal!). He immersed himself in that water to sanctify it with His holiness, and thereby, ipso facto, he mystically sanctified all the waters used for the baptism of Christians in every place and every time. Therefore, we could profess in the Creed every Sunday: “For us men and for our salvation, He came down from heaven, (…) was incarnate(…) became man,” and was baptized!

2. Baptism is Immersion in the Divine Trinitarian Life

The account of Jesus’ baptism gives us a glimpse of His other, existential immersion during the event. It is immersion in the divine life, as is manifested in Jesus as soon as He is baptized by the voice of the Father concerning His Son and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Him. This is a very beautiful icon of the manifestation/revelation of the Trinity at the moment of Jesus’ baptism. However, it is presented in the Gospel not to be simply looked at or admired, as much as to mark the beginning of a true new life in the baptized Jesus, and in every person baptized in his name: the divine life, completely immersed in God who is one and triune. In other words, on the spiritual level, Jesus went down into the river not only so as to be in solidarity with every man and woman of that time and age who desired a renewed life purified of sins, but also to reveal to them the image of a unique holy life, to which all are called. Here, too, we hear again the authoritative comment of Pope Francis: “By joining the people who ask John for the Baptism of conversion, Jesus shares with them the deep desire for inner renewal. And the Holy Spirit, who descends upon him ‘in bodily form, as a dove’ (v. 22), is a sign that with Jesus a new world is being initiated, a ‘new creation’ in which all those who welcome Jesus into their life participate. The words of the Father are also addressed to each of us, that we may be reborn with Christ in Baptism: ‘Thou art my beloved son; with thee I am well pleased’ (v. 22). This Fatherly love, which all of us received on the day of our Baptism, is a flame that was lit in our heart, and needs to be kindled by means of prayer and charity” (Angelus, Sunday, 13 January 2019).

Jesus’ immersion in the divine life is re-emphasized by the evangelist Luke (and only by him) through the image of Jesus praying during the event. Life in God is always accompanied by prayer to and with Him. Indeed, as we can see from the Gospel text, “heaven was opened” not at the moment of baptism, but afterwards, when Jesus “was praying”! It is almost as if to emphasize that for every baptized person, like Jesus and in Jesus, heaven opens every time he or she prays. Moreover, it should be noted that in Luke’s Gospel every important event and action of Jesus during his public activities, starting from his baptism, is accompanied by prayer: the call of the Twelve Apostles, the teaching of the Lord’s Prayer, the Transfiguration, the Passion. Jesus carries out his mission in this way: living everything immersed in prayer. Every one of his disciples willalso be called to this. For this point, which is so fundamental, it will not be redundant to reread the words of Pope Francis in this regard: “The second element emphasized by Luke the Evangelist is that, after his immersion in the people and in the waters of the Jordan, Jesus ‘immerses’ himself in prayer, that is, in communion with the Father. Baptism is the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, of his mission in the world as the envoy of the Father in order to manifest his goodness and his love for mankind. This mission is fulfilled in constant and perfect union with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. The Church’s mission too, and that of each of us, in order to be faithful and fruitful, is called to ‘graft’ ourselves onto that of Jesus. It means regenerating continually in prayer, evangelization and the apostolate, in order to bear a clear Christian witness not according to human designs, but according to the plan and style of God.”

3. Baptism – Gift and Commitment to Mission

Pope Francis’ teaching above helps us to reiterate the intrinsic link between the baptized person and his or her mission in and for God. As with Jesus, His followers, after baptism, will be led by the Spirit into the world to proclaim the Good News, even passing through deserts of temptation and spiritual combat. In this regard, it is worth reflecting on the twofold importance of Christian baptism, which is effected by water and the Spirit. First of all, the importance of the act itself for the life of the one who receives it must be emphasized. It is above all God’s free gift of salvation, to which Saint Paul alludes in the second reading: “not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy, He [God] saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior.” For this reason, Pope Francis replies to the question, “but is Baptism really necessary in order to live as Christians and to follow Jesus?”, by explaining:  

“On this point what the Apostle Paul writes is illuminating: ‘Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life’ (Rom 6:3-4). Therefore, it is not a formality! It is an act that touches the depths of our existence. A baptized child and an unbaptized child are not the same. A person who is baptized and a person who is not baptized are not the same. We, by Baptism, are immersed in that inexhaustible source of life which is the death of Jesus, the greatest act of love in all of history; and thanks to this love we can live a new life, no longer at the mercy of evil, of sin and of death, but in communion with God and with our brothers and sisters” (General Audience, Saint Peter’s Square, Wednesday, 8 January 2014). And so, as the Pope elsewhere makes his exhortation: “the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is a propitious opportunity to renew with gratitude and conviction the promises made at our Baptism, by committing ourselves to live in harmony with it daily” (Angelus, Sunday, 13 January 2019). It is the gift that inspires the commitment.

Therefore, secondly, it is important to discover and live the vocation of the baptized, fixing our gaze on Jesus, continuing the mission that is close to His heart. “In virtue of their baptism, all the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples (cf. Mt 28:19). All the baptized, whatever their position in the Church or their level of instruction in the faith, are agents of evangelization” (EG 120). In Jesus, the divine Evangelizer, we announce the love of God to all those who are in need of it. Following Jesus and his mandate, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them” (cf. Mt 28:19), we prepare and bring to all the gift of baptism that we ourselves have received by grace and the divine mercy: “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give” (Mt 10,8).

I would like, finally, to echo the observation-exhortation of Pope Francis in his Message for World Mission Sunday 2019, the memorable year of the Extraordinary Missionary Month of October, celebrated throughout the Church. They will be holy words, valid also for us in this coming year, to continue our ordinary mission in an ever more extraordinary way: “Today too, the Church needs men and women who, by virtue of their baptism, respond generously to the call to leave behind home, family, country, language and local Church, and to be sent forth to the nations, to a world not yet transformed by the sacraments of Jesus Christ and his holy Church. By proclaiming God’s word, bearing witness to the Gospel and celebrating the life of the Spirit, they summon to conversion, baptize and offer Christian salvation, with respect for the freedom of each person and in dialogue with the cultures and religions of the peoples to whom they are sent. The missio ad gentes, which is always necessary for the Church, thus contributes in a fundamental way to the process of ongoing conversion in all Christians. Faith in the Easter event of Jesus; the ecclesial mission received in baptism; the geographic and cultural detachment from oneself and one’s own home; the need for salvation from sin and liberation from personal and social evil: all these demand the mission that reaches to the very ends of the earth” (Message for World Mission Sunday 2019, Baptized and Sent: The Church of Christ on Mission in the World).

Useful points to consider:

“Dear brothers and sisters, I continue to dream of a completely missionary Church, and a new era of missionary activity among Christian communities. I repeat Moses’ great desire for the people of God on their journey: ‘Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets!’ (Num 11:29). Indeed, would that all of us in the Church were what we already are by virtue of baptism: prophets, witnesses, missionaries of the Lord, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to the ends of the earth! Mary, Queen of the Missions, pray for us!” (Pope Francis, Message for World Mission [Sun]Day 2022 “You shall be my witnesses” [Acts 1:8].)