Scripture Reflection, January 13: The Baptism of the Lord

Scripture Readings:
Isaiah  42: 1-4, 6-7
Psalm 29
Acts 10: 34-38
Matthew 3: 13-17

Beginnings are very important. The beginning of a friendship, a marriage, or an important project can have great impact and lasting implications. Beginnings are often filled with excitement and anticipation about the future – just think of all the effort and anticipation that go into the planning of a wedding. This past week, we have heard countless news reports and commentaries on the political caucuses in Iowa and the primary in New Hampshire. Neither of these states, by itself, has special significance in terms of the size of its population or its particular location. Yet because their process of nominating candidates for the presidency comes at the beginning of the electoral process, they receive special attention and do have strategic importance. Candidates want to make sure that their campaigns get off to a winning start. Each candidate wants to mount an impressive beginning to his or her run for the presidency.

On this Sunday, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we encounter Jesus at the Jordan River. This is a moment of new beginning for him and for everyone around him. Jesus steps onto the public stage as he submits to the baptism of John. Even though John protests that Jesus should be baptizing him, Jesus’ own baptism represents his submission to the loving plan of God for the salvation of humanity.  By plunging into the Jordan, Jesus the sinless one identifies with sinful humanity. This inaugural public act of Jesus’ adult life is another expression of the mystery of the incarnation. In Jesus, God has become one with us, has entered into solidarity with us in assuming our human nature. It is because of this profound solidarity with us that Jesus can fulfill his role as savior. At this moment, he is proclaimed as God’s beloved Son, with whom God is well pleased.

This is the beginning of Jesus’ mission, which Matthew will then describe in detail and which we will listen to in the coming weeks. It is a moment filled with anticipation and potential. Further along in the gospel, when John is in prison, he sends his disciples to ask Jesus the question, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to look for another?” (11:3). In his answer, Jesus sums up the character of the mission that was inaugurated at his baptism: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them” (11:4-5). In his ministry, Jesus is shown to be the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah about the servant of God. He is the servant, the beloved Son, who does not crush the bruised reed or quench the smoldering wick. Rather he gives of himself fully in order to bring new life to those in need of it. The all-powerful God has revealed himself to us through the one who became the servant of others.

Most of us were baptized at the beginning of our lives – or at least at some moment of new beginning in our lives. We received the Holy Spirit, who fills us with the very life of God. That was a moment replete with anticipation and possibility for each of us. It is the Spirit of God who enables us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, God’s beloved Son and servant of others. It is this Spirit who gives us a share in the mission of Jesus. How are we doing these days in our own following of the Lord? Are we envisioning our lives as a share in the mission of Jesus to proclaim the good news in word and deed?  In a culture that focuses so much on self-fulfillment and on doing what makes us comfortable, we need to be reminded that genuine fulfillment comes through active concern for others. We discover the fulfillment of our own Christian beginnings in baptism through humble service to the people to whom we are committed and to those who are in most need in our society.  Through the Spirit of God alive within us, each one of us is in some small way a bearer of the power of God. May we use this power in imitation of Christ through generous, loving service of others.

Robin Ryan, CP