The Baptism of the Lord

I am a friend of a family that I met soon after I was ordained a priest, more than thirty years ago. They are a lively, faith-filled family with four children and now a whole cadre of grandchildren. A couple of years ago, I visited one of their daughters and her husband at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, where their seven-year-old son was in the intensive care unit, a few days away from death. Devin had been born with a rare neurological disorder. He managed fairly well during the first couple of years of his life, but when he was just three years old he suffered a severe stroke. The stroke left him completely incapacitated. His parents and extended family took amazing care of him in the years leading up to his death. Devin’s young mother and father (the father is a Navy nurse) were simply remarkable in their fidelity and devotion to their son. His grandparents were also closely involved in his care. During the final days of his life, his parents never left his side in the intensive care unit. It was difficult to tell how much Devin could understand after his stroke. But his parents had their own ways of communicating with him, and he seemed to be tuned in to them. As I visited them in that ICU, it was clear to me that Devin must have realized that he was a beloved son.

I thought of Devin and his parents as I read this Sunday’s Gospel for the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord. The ministry of John the Baptist prepares the way for a new beginning, as he summons the people of Israel to repentance and readiness to receive the “mightier one.” As Jesus is at prayer after submitting to John’s baptism, his true identity is revealed. He is God’s beloved Son, the one filled with the Holy Spirit. This powerful experience marks the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, his work of proclaiming and making present the Reign of God. It forms the overarching context for all that Jesus will say and do.

The identity of Jesus is all about relationship – his unique relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit. His identity as the prophetic Messiah will become manifest in the relationships he establishes with his disciples and those to whom he ministers. He will embody what the prophet Isaiah proclaimed about the Servant of God. Jesus will not proclaim his message by crying out or shouting. He will not crush the bruised reeds of this world – people who are fragile and easily overwhelmed by life. He will not snuff out the flickering lights of hope that people carry in their hearts. This Jesus, sent by the Father and driven by the Spirit, does not crush or overwhelm but offers new life to us. This is who he really is and what he is all about.

On this feast, each of us is invited to reflect on our own baptism. In that sacrament our true identity was received and affirmed. Each one of us is a beloved daughter or son of God. As we come to realize our identity more deeply, we are changed. That experience is transformative. It changes the way we envision our lives, other people, and what is really essential in life. It is easy to resist that experience of God’s transformative love because it can seem threatening to us. Sometimes we choose to keep God at arm’s length. But the more we invite God into our lives, the more we come to appreciate that we are God’s beloved sons and daughters. And we become more free, more truly human.

Jesus’ experience of living as God’s beloved Son impelled him toward his mission of proclaiming the Reign of God. As God’s beloved daughters and sons, we are commissioned to continue the mission of Jesus -- “to open the eyes of the blind, to bring forth prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.” It is by strengthening our relationships with God, with our sisters and brothers in Christ, and with the people we are sent to serve, that we realize our identity – that we become who we really are. Along the path of that journey, God speaks in the hearts of each one of us: “You are my beloved son/daughter; with you I am well pleased.”