The Baptism of the Lord

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, and the Gospel presents us with an astonishing scene: it is the first time that Jesus appears in public after his hidden life in Nazareth. He arrives on the bank of the River Jordan to be baptized by John (cf. Mt 3:13-17). It is a rite by which the people repented and committed to converting; a liturgical hymn says that the people went to be baptized “with a bare soul and bare feet” — an open, naked soul, without covering anything — that is, with humility and with a transparent heart. But, seeing Jesus mingling with the sinners, we are surprised and we wonder: why did Jesus make that choice? He, the Saint of God, the Son of God without sin, why did he make that choice? We find the answer in Jesus’ words to John: “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness” (v. 15). Fulfil all righteousness: what does it mean?

By having himself baptized, Jesus reveals God’s justice, that justice he came to bring into the world. Very often we have a limited idea of justice, and think that it means: those who do wrong pay, and in this way compensate for the wrong they have done. But God’s justice, as the Scripture teaches, is much greater. It does not have the condemnation of the guilty as its end, but their salvation, rebirth and their being made righteous: from unjust to just. It is a justice that comes from love, from the depths of compassion and mercy that are the very heart of God, the Father who is moved when we are oppressed by evil and fall under the weight of sins and fragility. God’s justice, then, is not intended to distribute penalties and punishments but rather, as the Apostle Paul affirms, it consists of making us, his children, righteous (cf. Rm 3:22-31), freeing us from the snares of evil, healing us, raising us up again. The Lord is never ready to punish us. His hand is outstretched to help us rise up. And so, we understand that, on the banks of the Jordan, Jesus reveals to us the meaning of his mission: He came to fulfil divine justice, which is that of saving sinners; he came to take on his own shoulders the sin of the world and to descend into the waters of the abyss, of death, so as to rescue us and prevent us from drowning. He shows us today that God’s true justice is the mercy that saves. We are afraid to think that God is mercy, but God is mercy because his justice is indeed the mercy that saves. It is the love that shares our human condition, that makes itself close, in solidarity with our suffering, entering into our darkness to restore light.

We are afraid to think of such a merciful justice. Let us move forward: God is mercy. His justice is merciful. Let us allow him to take us by the hand. We too, disciples of Jesus, are required to exercise jus-tice in this way, in relationships with others, in the Church, in society: not with the harshness of those who judge and condemn, dividing people into good and bad, but with the mercy of those who welcome by sharing the wounds and frailties of their sisters and brothers, so as to lift them up again. I would like to put it like this: not dividing, but sharing. Let us do as Jesus did: let us share, let us carry each other’s burdens instead of gossiping and destroying, let us look at each other with compassion, let us help each other. Let us ask ourselves: am I a person who divides or shares? Think a little: am I a disciple of Jesus’ love or a disciple of gossip that divides. Gossip is a lethal weapon: it kills, it kills love, it kills society, it kills fraternity.

Let us pray to Our Lady, who gave life to Jesus, immersing him in our frailty so that we might receive life again. [Synthesized from Pope Francis, Angelus, 08 I 23]

Fr. Raj M.S.C.

Baptism of the Lord – 2026

My friends, the Baptism of Jesus is a gospel story which baffled Scripture Scholars for centuries. Why would Jesus come to be baptized ?

The Gospel for most of this year is the Gospel according to Matthew.  Matthew does a lot of in-depth explaining in his gospel because his primary readers were devout and knowledgeable Jews, who knew Scripture and the Law.  That’s why we hear so many times in Matthew: “This was done to fulfill what the prophet had said.”  Matthew was written about 50 years after the death of Jesus and he knew that his readers would be looking at Scripture and the Law as they read about the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus.

It’s interesting that Matthew changes some of the wording in his gospel, making it different than Mark’s gospel, which was written about 20 years earlier than Matthew’s.  In Mark’s gospel, we read that, “Jesus came to be baptized by John, who was baptizing for the forgiveness of sins…”

Matthew eliminates, “forgiveness of sins.”  How could and why would Jesus, who is a sinless Jew, come to be Baptized – if Baptism was for the forgiveness of sins ? 

Obviously, John the Baptist thought the same.  When Jesus came to John to be baptized, John was startled and unwilling to baptize him.  Jesus finally asked him to just go along with him for the time being.  So, the question, “Why would Jesus come to be Baptized?”  

During the days of Jesus:

• Baptism was for the forgiveness of sins.  It was, in a sense, a form of Confession.

• Jews were not baptized.  For the record, the Jews believed that they were the Chosen Ones and baptism was only for those who were converting to Judaism.  Although the Jews believed that Baptism was for forgiveness, they also believed that no Jew could ever sin enough to be shut out from the Grace of God.   Ergo, Jews were not baptized.

So, here we have Jesus, a sinless Jew, coming forward for Baptism.  Why ?

The preaching of John the Baptist stirred up an such an awareness in the people’s hearts that they recognized the fact that they indeed had sinned.  And because of John’s peaching, they were able to recognize their need of forgiveness.

BUT – given the belief that Jews did not need to be baptized – how could a Jew possibly endure the embarrassment and come forward to be baptized for forgiveness in the presence of their family, neighbors and community ?

My friends, Jesus used his baptism as a way to identify  himself with the people he came to save.  In the hour of the awareness of their sin and in their search for God, Jesus stepped forward to be part of this ritual as a way of giving strength to those who needed it.  Jesus also used this opportunity to identify himself with those who were not Jewish.

Another aspect of the Baptism was that it symbolized (or ritualized) a life-changing event, like converting to Judaism or turning from a life of sin to a life of holiness, which is certainly life-changing.  The Greeks had a word for it, “Metanoia” meaning to turn around or have a change of mind and heart.

At the time of his Baptism, Jesus was about to embark on a life-changing journey.  He was about to begin his public ministry.  For thirty years, he had waited in Nazareth, faithfully performing the duties of the home and of the carpenter's shop.

All this time, he grew increasingly aware of his waiting task.  He knew, however, that he had to wait until his hour had come, as we are told in the Wedding Feast of Cana.  When John the Baptist emerged and began preaching and baptizing, Jesus knew that the hour had arrived.

A life-changing event ?  Absolutely.  In this event, there was the certainty that Jesus was the Chosen One of God.  He knew that he was chosen to be King, but he also knew that his throne would be a Cross. 

At his Baptism, when the heavens opened and the Spirit of God descended upon him – and God’s voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”  These words are so significant !

"This is my beloved Son," is a quotation from Psalm 2.  Every knowledgeable Jew  knew that this Psalm is a description of the Messiah…  "This is my beloved Son."

The next words, “with whom I am well pleased”  is from Isaiah 42 and is a description of the Suffering Servant.  This description goes from Psalm 42 all the way to Psalm 53.  We hear and read these Psalms during Lent, Passion Sunday, Holy Week and Good Friday.

So, my friends, the Baptism of Jesus was a ritual but this ritual cannot be taken lightly.  It was a lot more than “going through the motions.”  Because this ritual, like our Sacraments, was a sign and a symbol of a deeper reality. It was a BIG DEAL!

And here we are 2,000 years later, celebrating the Sacrament of Baptism – a sign and a symbol of a deeper reality.  The reality is that we welcome adults as members of our Church at the Easter Vigil Mass.  That’s a life-changing event.  That’s a BIG DEAL!

And, when we Baptize infants and children we not only welcome them as members of our Church – the parents and godparents make a promise and a commitment to that child – that Church will be a significant and integral part of that child’s life.  Many times, it’s the parents and godparents who experience the life-changing event.

My friends, the Baptism of children also brings up painful memories for some people.  One of them was my mother, who had 3 miscarriages.  For centuries, the Church taught that infants who died without Baptism would not go to Heaven.  Rather, the Church had the notion of Limbo:  A place where unbaptized infants would go.  Thankfully, Pope Saint John Paul II commissioned a document which was released and published by Pope Benedict.  The document states “the concept of Limbo should be abandoned” and  more importantly, it states that “infants who die without Baptism are indeed – in Heaven.”