Thursday, January 9, 2020

Sunday Gospel Reflection, January 12, 2020: I need to be baptized by you...


Why does Jesus have to be baptized?

  When Jesus comes from Galilee to be baptized by John at the Jordan, John the Baptist is understandably confused:  I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?  Jesus’ response in Matthew's Gospel is revelatory:  Allow it now, for thus is it fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.  By submitting to John’s baptism by water, Jesus is also submitting to God’s plan for the salvation of humanity by embracing his own humanity, his human nature, which, though he is without sin himself, is nonetheless a part of his identity.  Jesus is the human-divine person of the Trinity, whose other two persons are also revealed at the moment Jesus is baptized:  the Spirit of God descends like a dove and God the Father’s voice is heard from the heavens, identifying Jesus as his beloved Son, with whom God is well pleased.

  Jesus’ ministry, which begins at this moment, has long been identified with the mission of the suffering servant described in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, a servant with whom God is also well pleased.  This mission involves gentle justice and compassion – a bruised reed he shall not break, the Lord says; it is to be a life of service dedicated to opening the eyes of the blind and bringing out prisoners from confinement.  In this way, the baptism of the Lord is another epiphany:  this gentle servant will be a light for the nations, and also a king who, as Psalm 29 notes, will bless his people with peace. 

  Peter will recall Jesus’ baptism in the Acts of the Apostles as the foundational moment of the Messiah’s ministry of peace:  You know the word God sent to the Israelites, as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached.  Moreover, anointed with the Holy Spirit, Jesus fulfills to the letter the mission of the suffering servant, doing good and healing all those oppressed.  By embracing his own humanity through baptism, Jesus can better heal and serve that humanity, becoming a source of righteousness, breaking down all barriers to right relationship with God, and thereby offering a means to salvation for all.  What began as a puzzling dip into the Jordan makes sense only in the context of Jesus’ ultimate mission of peace and redemption, and points to our own role in that mission as Christians who are ourselves baptized priest, prophet and king.  May we, too, then, be a light for the nations as we embrace lives of service and compassion for all.

Image source:  www.wordclouds.com

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