HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Year C)

Jan 12, 2025

123

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First Reading

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (40:1-5, 9-11)

Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; indeed, she has received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins. A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made now; the rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Go up onto a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings; cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news! Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God! Here comes with power the Lord God, who rules by his strong arm; here is his reward with him, his recompense before him. Like a shepherd he bosom, and leading the ewes with care.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (104:1-2, 3-4, 24-25, 27-28, 29-30)

(R) O bless the Lord, my soul.

O Lord, my God, you are great indeed! You are clothed with majesty and glory, robed in light as with a cloak. You have spread out the heavens like a tent-cloth. (R)

You have constructed your palace upon the waters. You make the clouds your chariot; you travel on the wings of the wind. You make the winds your messengers, and flaming fire your ministers. (R)

How manifold are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you have wrought them all - the earth is full of your creatures; the sea also, great and wide, in which are schools without number, of living things both small and great. (R)

They look to you to give them food in due time. When you give it to them, they gather it; when you open your hand, they are filed with good things. (R)

If you take away their breath, they perish and return to the dust. When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to Titus (2:11-14, 3:4-7)

Beloved: The grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the great God and savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good.

When the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared, not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy, he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (3:15-16, 21-22)

The people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ. John answered them all, saying, "I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

The baptism of Jesus by John at the Jordan River was a major event in the life of Jesus for it marked the end of his private life and the beginning of his public ministry. It is found in all four gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John - with tiny but significant differences. So, we can say for certain that Jesus received the baptism, but the question is, why did Jesus get baptized?

In order to understand the full significance of the event, it is important to carefully consider what all the four gospels speak of his baptism. The gospels describe John as living in the Judean desert, "wearing clothes made out of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist and sustaining himself with a diet of locusts and wild honey", Mark (1:6). Moreover, the gospels depict John as the prophet and the preacher about whom ancient prophets such as Isaiah (40:3) and Malachi (3:1) had foretold. They had predicted that there would be a forerunner, a messenger or a voice crying out in the wilderness and preparing the way for the Messiah.

After almost 400 years of prophetic silence during which, so far as we know, God did not speak to the Jewish people through prophets, John appeared in the desert telling the people of Israel a stern but exciting message: "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand", Matthew (3:2). In other words, quite simply, John told the people that the establishment of God's kingdom promised by the prophets was near but they should confess their sins and repent and get right with God so that they could be among those ushered into the kingdom. He also called on them to be baptized as a sign of their repentance. So, John's Jewish listeners who were quite familiar with the idea of a new kingdom being established one day by the promised Messiah, came to him for baptism. Here, Baptism is not to be understood as Christian baptism which "cleanses us" of original sin, and makes us members of the Body of Christ, the Church.

Long before baptism became an integral part of Christianity, Jews had been practising various forms of ritual purification, similar to baptism. For instance, observant Jews immersed in a pool of water or river to cleanse themselves from ritual impurities, Leviticus (14:8-9, 15), like bodily discharges, Leviticus (15:2-24; 12:1-8), contact with lepers, Leviticus (13; 14:9), or a dead body, Numbers (5:2), which were considered detestable to God. They also washed the things, such as utensils, clothes, furniture used in the Temple worship, 2 Chronicles (4:6); Exodus (40:10). So too, all Jewish priests went through ceremonial washing of their hands and feet before beginning their ministry in the Temple, Exodus (30:17-21); Leviticus (8:6-9). So, washing or bathing symbolized cleansing oneself from sin and guilt or otherwise impure or unclean or unholy condition. Unfortunately, however, the people were focusing on the external expressions and acts rather than the internal things, the matters of heart and mind that make for true righteousness. So, when John came preaching a message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins and baptizing them to symbolize their repentance and commitment to lead holy lives in preparation for the coming Messiah, the Jewish people thronged to him for baptism.

As John was baptizing the people, suddenly Jesus too came to be baptized. One may naturally ask, if the baptism of John was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin, why did Jesus, who was sinless or had no sins to repent of, as the Bible describes, need the baptism? If we're confused about why Jesus would want to be baptized, we should know that nobody was more confused than John. Matthew's gospel tells us that when Jesus asked John to baptize him, John responded by saying that he needs to be baptized by Jesus, not the other way around, Matthew (3:14). By this, John may have meant that it was improper for him to baptize Jesus. Because, first of all, he knew that Jesus was the sinless Son of God whereas the baptism was for sinners. Secondly, he also knew that he himself was a sinner in need of God's mercy and forgiveness. Moreover, when people were saying that he might be the Christ, he put those rumours to rest by saying that he was not the Christ. Christ would be far more powerful and mightier than he. And he also said that his baptism with water was not enough. Christ would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire, (vv.15-16). Water baptism refers to "newness of life". Baptism with the Holy Spirit refers to extraordinary spiritual cleansing and bestowal of spiritual gifts to empower believers in their ministry. Baptism with fire refers to purification or refining of every believer who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord.

Now, going back to Jesus' baptism, when John tried to prevent him to receive baptism from him, Jesus replied that he must baptize him so as "to fulfil all righteousness", Matthew (3:15). In other words, Jesus was telling John that they must do it because it was the right thing to do. Doing the right thing means "obeying God's will or carrying out God's plan". As for Jesus, it can be understood in two ways:

Jesus was sinless and had no need of repentance. Yet he humbly and willingly submitted himself to a sinner's baptism to identify with the sinful human condition. By doing so, he confirmed his human nature with all its limitations. Later, on the cross, we see his human nature perfected in obedience.
According to the law of Moses, Jewish priests had to go through a mikveh, a ritual bath or baptism before they began their ministry at the age of 30, Numbers (4:34-37). Likewise, at 30 years old Jesus began his ministry after his baptism, Luke (3:23). The Bible tells us that Christ came with the purpose of fulfilling three roles that are laid out for him in the Old Testament: King, Prophet, and Priest. In the Old Testament time, one could become a king or a prophet before the age of 30, but not a priest. For instance, Joash was crowned as the king of Judah at the age of seven. Samuel was called to be a prophet at just eleven years old. So, we can say that Jesus waited until he was 30 so as to fulfil righteousness by undergoing baptism into priesthood.

Luke then says that "heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove while Jesus was praying after his baptism", (v.21). It is interesting that only Luke notes that Jesus was praying at the time of the baptism. In addition to his regular times of prayer, Jesus prayed at some important events in his life including at his baptism. One might ask if Jesus is the Son of God, the Second person of the Trinity, already in perfect communion with the Holy Spirit from eternity, then why he was in need of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was fully divine and possessed equal power to the Father and the Holy Spirit. However, when he came to earth, he willingly emptied or limited himself of his divine power to become completely human. But, when he began his public ministry, he needed the baptism in the Holy Spirit to do all God's work. Thus, at his baptism God the Father anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with divine power and acknowledged him as "His beloved Son with whom He is well pleased", (v.22).

The Holy Spirit appearing as a dove during Jesus' baptism was symbolic. Just as the dove served as a sign to Noah and His family that it was finally time - they could safely leave the ark and find a peaceful and new life after the flood, the Spirit of God descending on Jesus like a dove was the sign of a new start, a new creation, a new hope for the time of ultimate deliverance and peace which Jesus would bring to all mankind through his life, death, and resurrection, Genesis (8:8-9).

What is the message for us?

With the celebration of the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we start the season of Ordinary Time. But let us not forget that during this ordinary time, we'll read and reflect upon Jesus' earthly ministry, characterized by his extraordinary teachings on love, compassion, empathy, kindness, and forgiveness and his extraordinary power and authority over sickness, spiritual forces, nature, and even death. In the past couple of weeks of joyful celebrations if you have prayed for faith, hope, love, harmony, unity, reconciliation, peace, and other spiritual gifts and material things in your life, family, church, and community, then it's time to keep your ears open to hear truly the wise and life-giving words of Jesus and keep your eyes open to see Him at work in our lives all the time.
If Jesus, the Son of God, needed the baptism in the Holy Spirit to do God's work on earth, we need much more. We can't do anything without the power of the Holy Spirit. For instance, we cannot forgive someone without the power of the Holy Spirit. It's too hard to do it on our own. If we are truly willing, God will enable us, but we must humble ourselves and cry out to him for help. That's why Jesus himself instructs us to "ask our Heavenly Father to give the Holy Spirit" to us, Luke (11:13). When Jesus prayed, things happened. Heaven opened, the Spirit came upon him and the Father spoke. May we also experience the same.

God wants us to make every effort to do the right thing, that is, doing everything in God's way. Just as Jesus did all of the right things God required, including undergoing a ritual that symbolized repentance and cleansing, although he was sinless, we shall do all that God requires, thus "acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly before God", Micah (6:8). When faced with choices, we must prayerfully and courageously consider what God desires so that we too not only may be called as God's beloved sons and daughters, but also ultimately be rewarded for doing what is right.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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