The Baptism of the Lord, 2013

Luke 3:15-16,21-22

I am not sure if you ever asked yourself this question, why would Jesus go to John to be baptized? The baptism of John was a baptism of repentance. The church teaches us that our own baptism erases original sin and turns us back towards God. But Jesus was without sin. Is there any difference between Jesus' baptism and our own baptism?

          The Jesus' baptism was an issue even for the authors of the gospels. Each one of them treats it differently:

·        Mark is the only one talking about it without any apparent embarrassment saying simply that Jesus was baptized by John. This is it.

·        Matthew describes John the Baptist's initial objection as John is saying: "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" (3:14).

·        John does not actually narrates the event at all.

·        Luke, from we have heard today, does not report actual event, but only the event that followed Jesus' baptism. Luke does not explain why Jesus was baptized or how he understands the significance of Jesus' baptism.

          Since we have heard today from Luke's gospel let's look very, very briefly how we can interpret the events which occurred after Jesus' baptism:

·        Jesus was praying: Luke, on numerous occasions,  is his gospel emphasizes Jesus' practice of prayer.

·        Heaven was opened: signaling that the gifts of God's power and mercy to be unleashed. The opening of heaven in an apocalyptic motif found in the OT and in apocalyptic writings (Ezekiel 1:1; Isa 64:1; John 1:51; Acts 7:56; 10:11; Rev 19:11). The opening of heaven at the baptism of Jesus signals that he is the Messiah and that the fulfillment of Israel's eschatological expectations is at hand.

·        The Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove: signaling that Jesus is commissioned and empowered for his ministry. He is ready to begin it. We clearly get the message from other  passages of Luke's gospel proceeding the baptism of Jesus that Jesus' baptism marks the succession. John the Baptist work has been completed, and Jesus' is just beginning.

·        A voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." The first phrase is also spoken in Psalm 2:7, and it was accepted by many Jewish people as a description of the Messianic King; the second phrase by many scholars is considered as a description of the suffering servant of the Lord from the book of Isaiah 42:1. The heavenly voice declares Jesus to be both Son of God and obedient Suffering Servant.

          It seems as for the Evangelists Jesus baptism is not about sin, conversion, or repentance. For them it simply marks the beginning of his ministry,  clarifies Jesus' relationship to God, and the ways in which he will fulfill his role as the Messiah.

          What about our own baptisms?

What the church teaches us is that our baptism:

·        First of all, it expresses repentance, trust and faith.

·        It erases effects of original sin and is the sacrament of forgiveness of any other sins we might have committed regardless of our age.

·        It is foundation of Christian life. In a sense it is a birth into our Christian community. As we can be born only once so we are baptize only once.

·        It offers us a gift of faith which needs to be nurtured and developed fully in the community of the church, the community of believers. This is why baptism is not a private affair, or a social one, and why there are certain requirements for parents and Godparents.

·        It gives us grace to struggle against future sins we might commit by uniting us with Christ, by offering us the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the gifts of the moral and theological virtues.

·        It makes as adopted children of God and it enhances our relationship with God.

·        It offers us the promise of salvation and eternal life with God if we live our lives in union with God by following Christ and his teachings.