The Baptism of the Lord
Jesus set an example for us in the River Jordan
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight ... Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:1-3, 13-17)
Upon first contemplation, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which is observed today, might seem like an odd, and even unnecessary feast. After all, the Church teaches that the Sacrament of Baptist is necessary for the remission of sins, especially original sin, but since Jesus, unlike us, was born without original sin and lived His entire life without sinning, what need did He have of it?
His cousin, St. John the Baptist, recognizing these truths, and at first refused to do it. Earlier, in Matthew 3:11, John had foretold the arrival of Jesus, saying to the crowds, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.”
And then, suddenly there was Jesus, seeking baptism from John, and the Baptist found himself overwhelmed by his sense of unworthiness. “I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?” John asked.
Jesus then reassured him, saying, “Suffer (allow) it to be so now, for this it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.” John then relented, and baptized Jesus in the waters of the River Jordan.
So why did Jesus seek to be baptized when He had no need of it? For the same reason that He did most everything else during His time on earth – to set an example for the rest of us to follow. In humbly submitting to baptism, He taught us to welcome and be thankful for this sacrament which frees us from the darkness of sin and incorporates us into the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ on earth. In this light, His baptism was necessary – not for Him, but for us.
Many of the Fathers of the Church viewed Christ’s baptism as the institution of the Christian sacrament we still practice today. His Flesh blessed the water, they say, and the descent of the Holy Spirit (in the form of a dove) and the voice of God the Father announcing that this was His Son, in Whom He was well pleased, marked the beginning of Christ’s public ministry.
In addition, many of the incidents which accompanied Jesus’ baptism are symbolic of what happened at our baptism. In an excerpt from Msgr. Rudolph G. Bandas, he said, “At Christ’s baptism the Holy Spirit descended upon Him; at our Baptism the Trinity took its abode in our soul. At His baptism Christ was proclaimed the ‘Beloved Son’ of the Father; at our Baptism we become the adopted sons of God. At Christ’s baptism the heavens were opened; at our Baptism heaven was opened to us. At His baptism Jesus prayed; after our Baptism we must pray to avoid actual sin.”
As we commemorate Jesus’ baptism today, may all of us who have been blessed by this sacrament pause to reflect upon and give thanks for our own baptism and remember that like Christ, we too are God’s beloved children.
And in the words of the Collect for today, let us pray: “Almighty ever-living God, who, when Christ had been baptized in the River Jordan and as the Holy Spirit descended upon him, solemnly declared him your beloved Son, grant that your children by adoption, reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, may always be well pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”