BAPTISM OF THE LORD:
Scripture: “After Jesus was baptized, He came up from the water and
behold, the heavens were opened for Him, and He saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and coming upon Him. And a voice came from the
heavens, saying, “This is My beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased”.” –
Matthew 3:16-17
Catechism: “The baptism of Jesus is on His part the acceptance and inauguration of His mission as God’s Suffering Servant…At His baptism, the
heavens were opened – the heavens that Adam’s sin had closed – and the waters were sanctified by the descent of Jesus and the Spirit, a prelude to
the new creation.” – CCC #536
Brothers and sisters, people have wondered since the earliest days of Christianity, why Jesus – the Son of God – would need or want to be baptized;
it is a fair question. The answer though, is that He was baptized not to be made holy by the water, but to make the water holy, and by His
cleansing, to purify the waters which He touched.
When our Savior is washed, all water for our baptism is made clean; purified at its Source for the dispensing of baptismal grace to the people then,
and of future ages – for us, and all those that will follow after us. Christ is the first to be baptized, so that Christians will follow after Him with
confidence.
Brothers and sisters, the Lord Himself affirms that baptism is necessary for salvation, as stated in the Gospel of John: “Amen, Amen, I say to you,
no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.” And, it is important for us to remember that although God has
bound salvation to the Sacrament of Baptism, He Himself is not bound by His sacraments.
Baptism is the chief sacrament of forgiveness of sins because it unites us with Christ who died for our sins and rose for our justification. And, it is
at our baptism, that we receive the remission of original sin. Anything after that, is of our own doing. Even then, Jesus Christ provides a way for us to cancel our sins – it is through the Sacrament of
Reconciliation – through confession. We need remember, brothers and sisters, that although one be baptized, and yet reject God’s love –
blaspheming the Holy Spirit – we risk our eternal happiness.
As such, Christ our Lord has given us the sacraments of Baptism and Reconciliation to cut the chains of sin and temptation. Building upon these,
when we perform good and kind acts for others, without any regard to the benefits we hope to obtain by such actions, we are essentially healing
ourselves simultaneously.
And, the Catechism reminds us that it is, “Through baptism that we are freed from sin and reborn as sons and daughters of God.” (CCC-#1213)
Brothers and sisters, this in itself gives us much hope – our loving and merciful Father always provides a way for us to escape the clutches of evil –
all we need to do is reach out. No one, either in this world or the spirit world, can keep us from the Lord if we so choose.
Brothers and sisters, the Lord has given us the sacrament of Baptism that helps to cut the chains of sin and temptation. And, He has also given us
the sacrament of Reconciliation to overcome those times when we fail in our relationship with Him.
“Baptism is an eternal mark of belonging to God.”
-St. Augustine
