The Baptism of the Lord

BAPTISM OF THE LORD (C)
10 January 2010

Acts 10: 34 - 38

[Acts 10:34] Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, "In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
[Acts 10:35] Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.
[Acts 10:36] You know the word (that) he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all,
[Acts 10:37] what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached,
[Acts 10:38] how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

Luke 3: 15 - 16; 21 - 22

[Luke 3:15] Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah.
[Luke 3:16] John answered them all, saying, "I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.
...
[Luke 3:21] After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened
[Luke 3:22] and the holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."
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Today Jesus is baptized in the Jordan by John. But how is this so? How does this baptism affect Jesus, the sinless one, God and man? John himself hesitates, saying that it is he who is to be baptized by Jesus, not the other way around. Jesus, however, insists that John baptize Him. What are we to make of this?

The baptism of John was a baptism of repentance. It was not the same as the sacrament of Baptism which is in the Church now and will remain so until the end of time. It was, however, a type (or symbolic forerunner) of the sacrament of baptism.

Each of us is born in a state of separation from God, which we call "original sin". None of us is guilty of this sin, but each of us inherits the consequences of the actual sin committed by Adam. In the sacrament of Baptism, two things happen to the person being baptized:

1. The state of original sin into which he was born is extinguished, and

2. the Holy Spirit takes up His dwelling in that person's soul, along with the Father and the Son, for the Blessed Trinity can never undergo separation.

St John the Baptist witnesses that the one who is to come after him will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. The baptized person becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit, one who participates in the inner Divine life of the Blessed Trinity.

Jesus' incarnation is the impetus for this transformation to be caused by the sacrament of Baptism in the Church He is to establish. Many theologians of the Church say that "God became man so that man might become God". In the Christian West, this is called "divinization", and in the Christian East, both Catholic and Orthodox, it is called "theosis".

So great is the love of God manifested by the incarnation, that Jesus does far more than restore the pristine innocence to mankind that was originally enjoyed by our first parents. He does not restore the so-called "gifts of integrity" which they enjoyed--mankind is still to be left with a wounded nature. He nevertheless bestows something infinitely greater--a true, authentic, genuine participation in His own Divine Life, His Life with the Father and the Holy Spirit, which He has had from all eternity.

Remaining faithful to our Baptismal grace, we look forward to the supernatural destiny that God has willed for each of us: to participate in His inner life forever with Him in heaven. Because of our wounded nature, Our Lord provided the sacrament of reconciliation to His church, so that if any of us has the misfortune of falling from grace, we can, through this sacrament, be restored to the pristine purity of our baptism.

We return to the question as to why Jesus would submit to the Baptism of John, which was only a type of the sacrament of Baptism that Jesus would establish for His Church. When each of us is baptized, the water acts as a material conduit for a profound spiritual reality--the flow of the water is accompanied by a flow of divine grace, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and with Him the Divine Life of God.

When Jesus was baptized, the water also acted as a conduit of grace--but, as Maximus of Turin and other theologians of the Church have stated, the grace is moving in the reverse direction. It is flowing from the God-man Jesus, possessor of the Holy Spirit, into the waters of the Jordan, and then mystically into all the waters of the world. Thenceforth the creature water, wherever in the world it is located, can serve as the required matter for the Sacrament of Holy Baptism.





The material creation had undergone its own mutation after the sin of Adam, as we read in Genesis 3:

[Gen 3:17] To the man he said: "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat, "Cursed be the ground because of you! In toil shall you eat its yield all the days of your life.
[Gen 3:18] Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, as you eat of the plants of the field.

In some mysterious way, the entire universe shuddered at the fall of our first parents, and underwent a profound change.

We thus witness, at the Baptism of Jesus, the regeneration of water. We also witness the beginning of the regeneration of the entire material universe, a regeneration in which each baptized Christian is called upon to participate, as we read in Romans 8:

[Rom 8:19] ...creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God;
[Rom 8:20] for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope
[Rom 8:21] that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.

To this end, we speak of the "priesthood of the laity". This priesthood is distinct from the ministerial priesthood of Bishops and Priests. The priesthood of the laity is not primarily exercised through such things as being lector or extraordinary minister of communion. Rather, it involves a mission (i.e., a sending) by God to sanctify creation.

How do we sanctify creation? The Church begins this process with the material elements that are used in the sacraments, especially the water for Baptism and the bread and wine for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. At Jesus' command "do this in memory of me", the consecrated elements of the Eucharist become the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord--and in so doing re-present His sacrifice on Calvary.

At a different level, the Church establishes sacramentals, setting aside matter to be used for holy purpose outside the sacraments. Examples include holy water, holy salt, holy oil, blessed crucifixes, and relics of Saints.

How, then, do laity participate in sanctifying creation, which is their specific mission as laity? The answer is a simple one: the lay person uses the things of this world for the honor and glory of God, and only for the honor and glory of God. Because living in the world as willed by God involves almost continual multitasking, it is important for the individual to make a good morning offering each day, referring all his actions of the forthcoming day to be done for the honor and glory of God. Material creation is only to be used as a steppingstone for him in this, the wayfaring state, on his journey to his eternal home in heaven.

The restoration of the universe begins as Jesus is baptized by John. The universe to be restored provides the context in which we are given the once-in-an-eternity opportunity to freely say "yes" to Our Heavenly Father in what we think, in what we do, and in how we love--how we love material things, how we love ourselves, how we love our neighbor, and in how we love the God Who created us, Who redeemed us, and increasingly sanctifies us by the outpouring of All-Good, Holy, and Life-Giving Spirit. To Him be honor and glory, both now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.