Sons in the Son

St. Joseph Church (Cottleville)
Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord - Year B
January 11, 2009 - 8:45 & 10:30 a.m.

Is 55:1-55
1 Jn 5:1-9
Mk 1:7-11

A rather puzzling question faces us on this feast day, the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord. Why was our Lord baptized? Just before the verses we heard in today’s Gospel, St. Mark told us that St. John the Baptist was preaching a baptism of repentance. But repentance is for sinners. If Jesus Christ is the perfect, sinless Son of God, why would He have needed to meet John in the Jordan to be baptized? The answer is simple, and it shows us again the great humility of God that we celebrate in the Christmas season that ends today. Christ didn’t need to be baptized. There was nothing lacking in Him that baptism at the hand of His fellow man could fill up. In fact, what was lacking was John’s baptism. John knew this. “I’m merely baptizing with water,” he said. “The one coming after me will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” And so it was that Jesus came to be baptized in the Jordan to transform the water of John’s imperfect baptism into an instrument of the Holy Spirit. He perfected what was lacking in John’s baptism. As John poured water over the head of Christ it was not Christ who was made holy by the water but the water that was made holy by Christ.

We say that each of the seven sacraments was instituted by Christ Himself. His own baptism in the Jordan instituted the sacrament of baptism which we have all received. Now, instead of simply a sign, baptism has become a true channel of grace. Now, just as our Lord was revealed as the Son of God at His baptism, the waters of baptismal fonts across the globe make each of us to be the same: sons and daughters of God. We may not have seen the heaven’s rent over our heads or a dove descend upon us, but at the moment of f our baptism the Holy Spirit did descend upon us, and God said directly to our hearts, “You are my beloved son; you are my beloved daughter. With you I am well pleased.” If we quiet our hearts, we can still hear the echo of those words: “You are my beloved son; you are my beloved daughter.” The Father spoke those words to us because in baptism we put on Christ. Christ was formed in us in such a way that now, when God the Father looks upon us, He sees His very own Son in us. We are, as the saying goes, “sons in the Son.” We call this the ontological change of baptism. It’s not just a sign; there is a permanent change that takes place in us. You and I are different in our very being from those who have not received the grace of baptism. And that ontological change cannot be taken away. It can be obscured by sin, but it can never be removed. And so, what we celebrate today is that Jesus Christ unsealed the waters of baptism for us by Himself going down into those waters. Now, to anyone who is thirsty, that water is given as the pledge of eternal life. Each of us has drawn water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

How often do we recall the great dignity that we possess because we have been baptized? It may sound to us like a cliché because we hear it so often, but in fact it is no small thing to be a son or daughter of God! That fact should make every difference in the world in our lives. We should thank and praise God every single day for the great gift He has given us in that sacrament, the gift of being made His very own sons and daughters, the gift of eternal life. So what can we do to make ourselves mindful of this great gift? I would propose two things. First, every time we walk into this church we likely sign ourselves with holy water. That’s not something we do to make ourselves different from other Christians, it’s not just one of those odd Catholic things we do. That water is there to remind us of our baptism. So when we make the sign of the cross with holy water, we can give thanks to God for the gift of baptism. We can hear again in our hearts, “You are my beloved son; you are my beloved daughter.”

The second suggestion I have is something that I learned from my own parents. When we were children, my siblings and I each had a candle with our patron saint on it. Each year, on the anniversary of our baptism, we got to light that candle and watch it burn in front of us as we ate our dinner on the “You Are Special Today” placemat. How many of us know the anniversary of our baptism? (I have to confess that I had forgotten mine. I called my mother on Friday to find it out.) But, if we celebrate our birthday with such joy, why should we not celebrate the day of our birth into eternal life with even greater joy? Perhaps we could resolve today to find out the date of our baptism and to write it on our calendars. Then, when that day comes around, we can thank God in a special way on that day for what He has given us in that sacrament. On that day, we could renew the vows we made or that our parents made for us, when we promised to follow Christ unreservedly.

The patron saint of our beloved Archdiocese is St. Louis of France. He was a very powerful man, king of a vast kingdom. He had immense riches at his disposal, countless servants at his beck and call. He had been crowned king in what was surely a magnificent ceremony in Rheims Cathedral. And yet, he wrote these words:

“I think more of the place where I was baptized than of Rheims Cathedral where I was crowned. It is a greater thing to be a child of God than to be the ruler of a kingdom: the first I shall lose at death, but the other will be my passport to an everlasting glory.”

St. Louis knew what was important. He was a wise and holy king because he knew the dignity he possessed as a baptized follower of Christ. Today, may we be grateful for the gift of that sacrament. May we allow the grace of that sacrament to be nourished at this altar, that we may each continue to progress towards everlasting glory, that glory to which we were invited at the moment of our baptism.