First reading: Isaiah 40:1-5,9-11
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 104
Second reading: Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7
Gospel reading: Luke 3:15-16,21-22
"He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire."
For the feast of the Lord's Baptism, we have the story presented
from the gospel of Luke. The gospel passage is composed only in
a few verses, but the description of the baptismal account of
Jesus, projects a bright picture of John the Baptist, the people,
and the presence of the Holy Trinity. When John started his
ministry to baptize the people of Israel, the people thought he
was the Christ. John however told them the truth: he is not even
fit to loosen the sandal strap of the Messiah. So when Jesus
Himself went to John to be baptized by him, even though He was
filled with God's glory and divinity, He still underwent John's
baptism as an act of humility. When He was baptized, "the skies
opened", the Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove,
and the Father spoke from heaven: "You are My Beloved Son. On You
My favor rests."
In his sermon for the feast of the Lord's Baptism, St. Gregory
Nazianzen explains how we share in that baptism of our Lord. He
says that as Jesus rose from the waters of the Jordan river, where
He was baptized by His cousin John, "we and the whole world rise
with Christ". Christ, our Redeemer, entered our human history
so that by His baptism from John, and our baptism "in the Holy
Spirit and in fire", we may be cleansed entirely of all stain of
original sin. St. Gregory Nazianzen continues to add that God
wants us to "become a living force for all" - "radiant lights
shining as we stand beside Christ, the great Light".
For many of us who were baptized as infants, we tend to forget
the importance of our baptism, and how Christ becomes the center
of our life through the sacrament. But this feast of the Lord's
Baptism can now remind us to see Christ not only as central to
our Christian life, but also how He and ourselves are related
to the Trinity. By our sharing in the baptism of our Lord, we
now share in the life of the Trinity. And by our baptism with
Christ, we are called to a continuous cleansing and purification
of our heart from sin throughout our whole Christian life. We can
be reminded of this responsibility every time we celebrate the
Eucharist. The gift of the Eucharist reminds us that God became
man to redeem us from our sinfulness. Christ was faithful until
the end. As a Christian, we can evaluate how we are faithful also
to our baptism, and how we have failed in our responsibility for
the gift of life Christ gives us in baptism. If ever we have been
unfaithful to the Lord, what can I do to regain that faithfulness
God expects of me?
