You are my beloved

Baptism of the Lord A

January 12-13, 2008

Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7

Psalm: 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10

Acts 10:34-38

Matthew 3:13-17

Jesus’ Baptism: the beginning of his mission

Beginning today, the church calendar closes Christmas season. Through the feast of the Baptism of the Lord we gently say good bye to the infant Jesus whom we waited during Advent and adored during Christmas season. We see indeed a very quick transition in the life of Jesus today. We shift our reflection today from an adorable, loving and cute baby Jesus to a thirty-year old man Jesus. Our Church calendar seemingly makes Jesus mature so fast probably to emphasise us his eagerness to fulfill his mission on earth – bring us salvation.

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Today’s feast of the Baptism of the Lord is a new beginning in Jesus’ life. For thirty years Jesus had lived at home where he daily performed his duties to Mary and Joseph and relatives at Nazareth. Now is the time for Jesus to leave home, he is now leaving the comfortable presence of his friends and loved ones. It must have caused some pain to Mary to let go her son and see him leaving. Likewise Jesus must felt the same sadness, leaving her loving mother.

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Jesus would now be facing new challenges of life and what lies ahead in his future: Jesus will have nowhere to lay his head, the shadow of Calvary will haunt him, and he will have experiences of defeat and outright hostility of his enemies.

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Letting go

So, reluctantly this Sunday, we let go gently the child Jesus, and take up the Man Jesus who’ve got an important mission in this world. It’s not always easy to say good bye but sometimes we have to because we need to grow mature and bear fruit.

I am sure we all have experienced the feeling of sadness and loneliness after saying goodbye to our loved ones. People say good bye to parents when entering married life. People say good bye to loved ones when moving to a new home, to other state or to other country. Sadly and lastly we say good bye to our loved ones at the funeral.

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Sometimes we need to let go people including the comfort of our past lifestyle in order to fulfill our mission in life. I remember the first time I left home to enter the seminary. I was only sixteen then and I still remember I hardly slept on my first night at the seminary. I felt homesick during the first few months. Every time my mother would visit me at the seminary to bring me clothes or food it was always sad to see her leaving the gate of our seminary building. My only consolation was the food at the seminary!

Jesus' mission, our mission
Jesus must have felt the same human sadness and loneliness because of the sudden changes in the pattern of his life. However, there is something that empowers our Lord today as he begins his public ministry. When Jesus allowed himself to be baptised by John, a voice was heard from the heavens as he rose up from the water, it’s the voice of the Father: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.

It’s the voice of love. It’s a voice of assurance. It’s a voice of the divine presence that glorifies our Lord. Sooner we will enter the Lenten season and we will re-enter the consequences of Christ’s coming into this world. This voice of the Father will constantly be the source of his strength and his loving obedience until his death.

The baptism of Jesus reminds us of our identity and mission. Jesus actually don’t need baptism because He himself is God and sinless. But he allowed himself to be baptised to embrace the fullness of our humanity. As St Paul says, “God's beloved Son entered the murky waters of human sinfulness and sanctified it by his divine presence (2 Cor 5:21).

Our own Baptism
Today’s feast is a beautiful reminder that each and one of us are special. We are God’s beloved sons and daughters blessed, chosen and anointed. Today is the day to remember the graces we received by baptism and to renew our baptismal vows: On the day of our baptism, the late Pope John Paul II explains, "we were anointed with the oil of catechumens, the sign of Christ's gentle strength, to fight against evil. Blessed water was poured over us, an effective sign of interior purification through the gift of the Holy Spirit. We were then anointed with chrism to show that we were thus consecrated in the image of Jesus, the Father's Anointed One. The candle lighted from the paschal candle was a symbol of the light of faith which our parents and godparents must have continually safeguarded and nourished with the life-giving grace of the Spirit."

Every time we dip our fingers into holy water font and blessed ourselves as we enter the church we remind ourselves of our baptism. When I bless myself with holy water, it’s meant to remind us how special we are, that I am a child of God, that I have been redeem by the Cross of Christ; that I have been made a member of God family; that I have been consecrated to the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

So today we rededicate ourselves to Jesus. We ask God’s grace that day by day we grow mature in our faith as baptised Christians. To grow daily in intimacy with God deepening our prayer life, by reading the Word of God, by making Sunday Mass our priority and by frequenting the sacrament of reconciliation.

Jesus is no longer a baby in our midst; he is now a full grown man saying to us loud and clear “follow me” for we are all God’s beloved sons and daughters of the Father with whom He is well pleased.
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*Nicola, Jaya and Ato shopping cheap toys with tito Joel at "Reject Shop" in Sunbury.