In the Jordan

The Baptism of the Lord

Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. (Mark 1:9)

Reflection

These two adults actually stepped into a river, and one dunked the other under the water so that He would emerge, as any human would, gasping for air and life.  This ritual is a basic human event that is packed with meaning.

1) If Jesus did not sin, then why was he baptized?  Because he wanted to make a public, adult statement about his commitment to us as human beings.  Our response: “He’s one of us.”

Sometimes the hardest thing for Christians to believe is not that Jesus is the Son of God, but that Jesus was fully human.  Maybe you grew up thinking Jesus had super intelligence even when he was an infant and always knew he was the Son of God.  You might have thought he was never really tempted into sin, had no sexual feelings, and knew he was going to rise from the tomb, so he wasn’t really afraid of being crucified. No:  he’s one of us. That is why he chose to be baptized in public.

2) So, what meaning does his Baptism have for us in today’s world?

Christians are to follow and continue after him in the work he did.  For many of us educated in the faith before the 1970’s, the sacrament of Baptism suggests infants, original sin, and a private ceremony held somewhere in a side chapel at church. But today’s gospel scene helps us to identify with the sacrament as adults:
    - This story is not about an infant, but an adult
    - This story is not about someone with original sin, but the sinless, active, Jesus
    - This story isn’t private, it’s out in the open and recorded for all time

Let us accept our identity as active and powerful citizens of God’s kingdom, called to go public with the work of our favorite star. How?  By …
Forgiving the faults and limitations of the people we know.
-          Faithfully giving your best to your job or your families
-          Putting into action those small gestures of charity that pop into our heads each day.
-          Encouraging others in self-improvement.
-          Making choices and actions whereby we become more human, more dignified.

Today is the first Sunday of Ordinary Time, for the rest of this year 2021, we will be watching Jesus on this mission, through the eyes of the Gospel of Mark.  It’s a very short Gospel, and you may want to read it a few times this year on your own.  May we recall our identification with him on this mission, and put his example into action each day of the coming year.