BIBLE STUDY #27
THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD
January 9, 2011

Gospel Matthew 3:13-17

Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan
to be baptized by him.
John tried to prevent him, saying,
“I need to be baptized by you,
and yet you are coming to me?”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us
to fulfill all righteousness.”
Then he allowed him.
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.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

The Christmas season ends today. We will be taking down our Christmas decorations after the last mass. It seems like a short season, which it is, lasting from December 24 to January 9. We begin Ordinary Time, which refers to the 34 weeks of this year that do not celebrate a specific mystery of Christ, but are devoted to the mystery of Christ in its fullness. Ordinary time begins Monday, January 10, and goes to Tuesday, March 8, the day before Ash Wednesday, at which time we will be in Lent. We switch back to green vestments for this period.

While this Sunday is called the Baptism of the Lord, Jesus’ baptism is an incidental event in the Gospel, which emphasizes the revelation of Jesus as the Son of God, and it is the occasion on which Jesus is equipped for his ministry by the Holy Spirit. Since he is described as coming from Galilee, the baptism most likely took place in Judea at the Jordan’s southern end.

We tend to think of the Jordan as a large river like the Hudson River, but it is hardly bigger than a small stream like the Beaverbrook that runs behind the rectory. In fact, it rains so little, and so much water is diverted further upstream, that the Jordan actually dries up, and is a dry river bed to the Dead Sea.


Jesus approaches John to be baptized, and John seems to be horrified at this request. He is prophetic by recognizing Jesus’ superiority (only in Matthew’s Gospel) and is humble enough to say that he needs to be baptized with the Holy Spirit by Jesus (see verse 11), not the other way around.

John tries to prevent Jesus from his baptism of repentance which is meant for sinners. This would contradict everything John had been preaching concerning the coming Messiah, that is, the fiery mage of the final judge. Jesus does not stress his superiority over John, but associates himself with John. He says, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” That is, it is fitting for them to fulfill prophecy. In the gospel, fulfill usually refers to the fulfillment of prophecy, and righteousness to moral conduct (usually applied to the disciples), but here, righteousness more than likely refers to God’s saving activity and to fulfill all righteousness means to submit to the plan of God for the salvation of all. John then accedes to Jesus request. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 536, “The baptism of Jesus is on his part the acceptance and inauguration of his mission as God’s suffering Servant. He allows himself to be numbered among sinners; he is already the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” Already he is anticipating the “baptism of his bloody death. Already he is coming to “fulfill all righteousness,” that is, he is submitting himself entirely to the Father’s will: out of love he consents to this baptism of death for the remission of our sins. The Father’s voice responds to the Son’s acceptance, proclaiming his entire delight in his Son. The Spirit whom Jesus possessed in fullness from his conception comes to “rest in him.” Jesus will be the source of the Spirit for all mankind. At is baptism “the heavens were opened” - the heaven’s that Adams sin had closed – and the waters were sanctified by the descent of Jesus and the Spirit, a prelude to the new creation.”

The opening of the heavens after Jesus baptism reminds us of Ezekiel 1:1, his vision that came from the opening of the heavens, or Isaiah 42:1 “Thus says the LORD: Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations.” Or the end of chapter 63 of Isaiah, “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down” which is exactly what is happening now: the son of God has descended from heaven.

The idea of the Spirit descending as a dove has never been explained satisfactorily. It could be that a bird represents a messenger from God.

This message is not for Jesus alone, as in Mark’s Gospel, but for all to hear. God says “This is my beloved Son”, not “You are my beloved Son.” With this statement, Matthew is moving Jesus sonship back to his virginal conception. Thus, it doesn’t make any sense for Matthew to have the Father speak only to the Son telling him about this for the first times.

It seems that Matthew is telling us in this section, together with 28:19, what baptism means for Christians. Matthew is the only one who uses a Trinitarian formula for baptism.

Since we have now learned about Jesus baptism, what does baptism mean for us?

The first thing that always comes to my mind when I hear this question is why do we baptize children? To me, it is a matter of love. Aside from all the theological reasons, parents love their children and make great sacrifices for them. They want the best for them. They provide for their physical and educational needs, and should want to share their life in God with them. What could be more important than that? At a baptism, I always tell the family that when this child gets older, we want them to feel at home in church and to never be able to remember a time when church wasn’t important to their family. We want them to come to know and love Jesus Christ as much as we do. The best way for that to come about is by the example of their parents, by mass attendance and religious education when it is time for that. While the parents have chosen to have their child baptized into a life of faith, we hope that, as teenagers, they will make their own decision to follow Christ by being confirmed.

If there is anything that drives me crazy, it is when parents decide to allow their child to make their own decision about faith when they get older. If you don’t want to be bothered with all the requirements of faith, if you don’t have faith, if you are antireligious, if you don’t think it is important, at least be honest and say so. Children aren’t mature enough to make that kind of decision. Would you let your child decide if they wanted to attend school or stay home, or what they are to eat, or who they associate with? I think not. Children need guidance and direction. If they choose a life without faith as an adult after all you have done to share your faith, that’s the way life is, sometimes. You did your best. Besides, how can a person make an enlightened decision about faith if they know nothing about it?

Baptism welcomes us into the community. Every organization has a welcoming ceremony. Whether it’s the military, the Knights of Columbus, a sorority, or the Church, there is a welcoming ceremony. For the church, this ceremony is called baptism, which is the primary sacrament, and everything stems from it. We pour water over the baby’s head three times while saying “I baptize you in the name of the father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” By this pouring of water, we are born in Christ and become a member of the his body, the church.

Baptism also frees us from original sin. What is that? According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 417 states that “Adam and Eve transmitted to their descendants human nature wounded by their own first sin and hence deprived of original holiness and justice; this deprivation is called ‘original sin.’” Paragraph 418 states that “As a result of original sin, human nature is weakened in its powers; subject to ignorance, suffering, and the domination of death, and inclined to sin (This inclination is called ‘concupiscence’).” Therefore, original sin is not a sin we commit, like stealing or lying; it is a state of being, and not an act (see paragraph 404 in the Catechism). Baptism gives us the possibility of overcoming concupiscence through the grace of Our Lord. The concupiscence is still there, but now we have the ability to fight back with God’s grace to resist sin and temptation.

We are also given a mission. We are anointed with Sacred Chrism on the crown of our head while the priest says, “God the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ has freed you from sin, given you a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and welcomed you into his holy people. He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.” We are all priests, not in the sense that I am a priest, but in the priesthood of the faithful, to be people of prayer and commitment to our faith; we are prophets in the sense that we need to witness to our faith by what we say and do everyday, and we are kings, but like Jesus was a King, by serving people and not lording it over them (that is, by being humble). Another way to say all that is that we as a church are given the mission to continue the ministry and mission of Jesus.

When parents and godparents bring a child to church for baptism, the parents are told that it is their responsibility to raise their children in our faith and are asked if they are ready and willing to do so, and are required to answer appropriately. The godparents are asked if they are willing to help the parents in this task, and are asked to answer appropriately. This is a serious, complicated, often frustrating, hopefully rewarding, lifelong task. At baptism, parents are committing themselves to practicing their faith and bringing their child up in the ways of faith. It is something not to be taken lightly. Being a godparent also has long range consequences. I always hope that when that child is confirmed, they will ask one of their baptismal godparents to be their confirmation sponsor because that person has taken an active and prominent role in that young person’s life. Someone shouldn’t be asked to be a godparent because it is their ‘turn’, but because that person is active in their faith and would be a good example to the child.

Baptism is also a time when we hope we can induce parents who may not have been practicing their faith regularly to return to the fold. If they have been raised in the faith, many times they will return at this time. This is what I tell parents when their college age child stops going to church. I say that they’ll be back when it is important to them, usually when they get a little older and have more perspective on life and a little more mature.

When I look at scripture, I tend to be practical – what does it mean for me as I live out my life everyday? While there is much more to baptism than what I have written, and certainly much more to Jesus baptism than what is above, I hope that what I have written may, in some small way, help you to live out your Christian life a little better.


Fr. Phil