SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
BAPTISM OF JESUS
Mt 3: 13-17
By Fr. Joseph Dinh,
O.P
Dear
Sisters and Brothers,
John
the Baptist preached to the Jews that he would baptize those who wanted to
return to righteousness in order to meet to the Lord. Today, in a queue of
people at the Jordan River, there was a person who also wanted John to baptize
him but John refused to do it. The person was Jesus, Son of God. Therefore, let
us examine Jesus’ action to find out the meaning underneath that action of
Jesus Christ.
1. Jesus was a humble person
Last
Sunday, when we celebrated the Epiphany of the Lord, we learned that three Magi
from the Orient came to Bethlehem to adore the Baby Jesus. Talking about Jesus
John the Baptist always announced that: “He came after me but is more
powerful than me. I am not worthy to carry His sandals. He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Following his calling, many repentant
people gathered at the Jordan River in order to be baptized by John.
Today,
among the people queuing at the Jordan River, the Man who was to baptize others
with the Holy Spirit and fire, was also standing there to wait for his turn to
be baptized by John with water. Imagine, the Saviour of the world requested his
herald to baptize him; the Master of heaven asked his servant who was not
worthy even to carry his sandals to cleanse him with water; a human being baptized
his Creator; a sinner baptized the God of infinite holiness. However, this
happened, not because Jesus was a sinner, but because he wanted to share with
our human destiny in order to make mortal human beings into children of
immortality. That is why, though Jesus was sinless, He stood in line with
sinners and said: “to fulfil all righteousness.”
2.
Jesus was the beloved Son of God
After
receiving the baptism from John, Jesus went to the wilderness and spent 40 days
of fasting. More importantly, on this occasion Jesus Christ wanted to reveal to
us his true identity of being the Lord and Redeemer of the world. After coming
out of the water, the heavens opened and the Spirit of God like a dove appeared
and descended on Jesus. This detail manifested, for the first time, the mystery
of the Holy Trinity, and that Jesus Christ is God’s Beloved Son, who is, at the
same time, true man and true God in whom the Father took great delight.
Dear
Sisters and Brothers,
We
all were baptized with the Holy Spirit. We were not only cleansed from sins but
also children of the Lord, with Jesus Christ as our Eldest Brother. In order to
redeem us, the Second Person of God has become a humble human being like us.
Jesus not only asked John the Baptist to baptize him, but He also conformed to
the Father’s will to accept his passion and death on the cross. Therefore, the
Father has honoured Jesus with a glory that surpasses all glories. Jesus was
baptized to sanctify us. What remains is how humble we are and what attitude we
should have in order to show that we obey the words of Jesus. Amen.
