Baptism of Jesus

Jan.10^th, 2016 Sunday Homily: Fr. Francis Chirackal CMI

Is.40:1-5, 9-11 ; Titus 2:11-14, 3:4-7 ; Lk 3:15-16, 21-22    

For Readings

http://www.usccb.org/nab/011016.shtml

Roy Loyd, a Lutheran minister, once interviewed Mother Teresa. He said that one of his questions and her answer stands out in his mind as "a bright sun burning in my mind. " He asked her, "What's the biggest problem in the world today?" And she answered, without hesitation, "The biggest problem in the world today is that we draw the circle of our family too small. We need to draw it larger every day."  With all that is evil and wrong in this world today it would be easy to answer that question with a hundred different events. That's what makes Mother Teresa's response so jilting. She is saying that the problem is not so much with the world, as it is with us. We need to see more people as our neighbor than we are currently doing. We see Jesus doing this in His baptism. In His baptism He included us in His righteousness. He identified with humanity, with our need to be cleansed, and our need to be made pure. If we have been baptized we have been drawn, by Jesus' baptism, into the circle of God's family. He submits to John's baptism of repentance even though he himself was perfect and had no need to repent.

The first reading from the book of Isaiah speaks of prophesy which points out to the incarnated Son of God, the savior of the human race through suffering. The second reading from the Acts of the Apostles also refers to the Baptism of Jesus and its nature, as it speaks of Jesus who was anointed with the Holy Spirit by the heavenly Father. The gospel presents the scene of Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist.

The Baptism of Jesus is directly connected to the beginning of his public mission with a Trinitarian revelation and testimony to Jesus’ divine nature. In the gospels we see five occasions in which Jesus’ divinity is revealed before his baptism, such as the Angels’ message at the birth of Jesus, Simeon’s prophesy while Jesus was presented in the temple, homage and gifts by Magi, the escape to Egypt with God’s special intervention and Jesus’ answer to Mary in the temple at the age of twelve. All of these episodes reveal Jesus’ divinity, while baptism reveals his divinity in a special way and fired up his divine mission, followed by forty days’ of fasting in the desert. He received baptism to become one among us in all things except sin. So He received baptism of repentance though he was free from sin and showed us an example to submit ourselves to God’s guidance and saving acts.

Two times, in the gospel we see John the Baptist gives testimony to Jesus, showing him to the people. But only two of them followed Jesus. John wanted people to follow the real Messiah, as he gave only the baptism of repentance, while Jesus was to give the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It may point out to our own lives. In our heart we may have the genuine desire to follow the real path, the path of Jesus, the path of the gospels. But in our effort to reach Jesus we may become satisfied with intermediaries, as further steps may compel us to leave many things behind, that we consider as valuable ones. But we need to go further to Jesus.

Through baptism we have become the children of God and received the Holy Spirit. Then it is our role to grow in the Spirit and fulfill our mission of leading a life based on gospel values, which is appropriate to children of God.  Every day we need to make effort to grow in the Spirit. Our holy Father Pope Francis has declared this year as the Jubilee year of Mercy. It is a special year for us to experience God’s mercy through our sincere effort with prayer, repentance, and a real life of mercy through which we become the instruments of God’s mercy in our living situations. Through the media, every day we hear of merciless hatred and vengeance around the world, while our heavenly Father calls us to forgiveness and mercy. Let us make this jubilee year of mercy a real blessing in our personal life, family life and community life. We should listen to the authentic Voice of God, not the noises of the world. Let our prayers be filled with acts of love and mercy. The Voice of the merciful Lord will lead us to a destination, while noise of merciless evil forces whether, direct or disguised, will push us down to destruction. Let us be prudent to listen to the voice of our Great Shepherd and act accordingly in our family and other living situations so that everybody will see the mercy of God through us and we become His instruments.

Let us share in the Baptism of Jesus, by remaining every day the beloved children of God, who follow Jesus, the Incarnated Word of God. God bless you.