Chapter Chaplain's Homily Reflection - BAPTIZED FOR A MISSION (2021)

The Baptism of the Lord:

BAPTISED FOR A MISSION

Today we stand on the threshold between two seasons of the Church year. We conclude our Christmas season celebration today, but we also mark the First Sunday of Ordinary Time. Perhaps this symbolism is meant to remind us that we are called to look outward; that our Baptism does not just require us to bask in the Christmas glow but must bring Christ to the rest of the world. Is it any wonder why our first reading begins with a universal invitation to all of us to come to the waters, to the Lord, the fountain of salvation? The invitation to the waters will be fulfilled in Christ who is the living water in whose name believers are baptized. This invitation to the waters opens to those who are truly thirsty of the salvation that God offers through his son Jesus Christ, the living water.

In our second reading, John calls our attention to the importance of believing in Jesus Christ. He highlighted three elements that bear witness to the sonship of Christ: water, blood and spirit. Jesus Christ, whom the Father testified as his Son in whom he is well pleased bears these witnesses as the marks of his mission to humanity. Through His water, our souls are washed and purified for eternal life in heaven. Through His blood, we are justified, reconciled, and presented to God as righteous. Through His Spirit, we are made strong for the battle of life. Christ loved the church, and gave himself for us, that he might sanctify and cleanse us with the washing of water in baptism (Eph 5:25-27)

Why did Jesus submit himself to be baptized since he did not need any rebirth is a question that bothers the mind any time this Gospel passage is read. John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke 3:3) - of which Jesus had no need. However, in this humble submission we see a foreshadowing of the "baptism" of his bloody death upon the cross. Jesus' baptism is the acceptance and the beginning of his mission as God's suffering Servant (Isaiah 53). He allowed himself to be numbered among sinners and submitted himself entirely to his Father's will. What Jesus accomplished on the Cross was inaugurated on his baptism, namely, salvation.

As a matter of fact, John’s baptism was a public commitment people made to live holy lives and to prepare for the coming of God’s kingdom. Jesus, in being baptized, was publicly committing himself to do God’s will and to preach and build the kingdom of God. On his baptism the Spirit came upon him and Jesus was identified as God’s beloved Son. Jesus will be the source of the Spirit for all who come to believe in him. At his baptism, the heavens were opened, and the waters were sanctified by the presence of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, signifying the beginning of a new creation. For Mark, this baptism scene serves to clearly designate the divine identity and mission of Jesus: he is the Son of God who is commissioned to inaugurate a new age and a new creation.

Today, Jesus is telling us that Baptism is a commitment to God to do his will in promoting his kingdom. Like Jesus we get baptized in order to do the will of God, to live for him in all things as Jesus did, and to join hands build the Body of Christ, the Church with our times, talents and treasures. In other words, we get baptized to take over what Jesus started with his baptism and perfected by his death and resurrection. Are we prepared to ask the Lord Jesus to fill us with his Holy Spirit so that we may radiate the joy of the Gospel to those around us? As we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, let us renew our baptismal commitment to bear witness to the Good News of the kingdom of God in word and in deed. See Less

Fr. Imo

Chaplain 

Arrowhead Desert Valley Chapter