Today’s reading tells the story of the baptism of Jesus. Why does the king of the universe need to be baptised, He is not a sinner, and He is the fully divine second person of the trinity. It seems almost scandalous (at worst), and totally useless (at best) for God to be baptised for the forgiveness of sin. But there are actually several things happening, here that are of great importance. The church fathers mention multiple reasons for why this moment is happening, and I would like to dig into those now.
We begin by remembering what Jesus came into the world to do…, His mission was to teach us how to worship and love God, and to show us “the way” He wants us to live. Jesus was fully devine, but He was also fully man. But human flesh is fallen because of original sin, and thus must be baptised, in order to be cleansed. Jesus came to live a perfect human life, and show us the way, thus He must also be baptised in order to be that perfect example for us as well. St. Paul said: “nothing unclean can enter heaven.” and so we must be cleaned (in baptism) so that we can enter heaven. John was baptising for the forgiveness of sins, and so Jesus, by submitting this act, was in a very clear way certifying this act and telling His diciples that they too need to to the same, and to continue this practice amongst all of their followers, for all time.
Next is the location of this act. It is believed by many scholars, that this is the very spot on the banks of the Jordan where the ark sat when the irealites, after wandering in the desert for 40 years, finally cross over into the promised land. This place clearly has great significance for the jews and God. It represents the ultimate promise of salvation for the jews from the slavery to the egyptians. It also calls to mind the crossing of the red sea, when the jews (followed) by the egyptians plunged into the very depths of the sea, and only the jews made it to the other side, the egyptians were swallowed up by the sea and perished. A similar thing is happening in baptism. The word litterally means “drown” or “submerge.” It is symbolic act of pluging into the sacramental waters, dying to your sin, and then rising on the other side a new creation (child of God), freed from slavery, but this time it is freedom from sin.
The last reason that I have found the fathers speak of is that Jesus, by allowing himself to be baptised in the Jordan, is actually sanctifying the waters of the whole world with His blessing. Meaning that all of the waters of the world, and all of the people that will be baptised after Him will also be blessed by this single act. Evidence for this can be found in the words used for the Dove (Holy Spirit) descending upon the waters, This expression and imagery is only used one other place in the bible (Genesis 1) where it says that the spirit hovered over the water and created the land, and plants and animals, and eventually man. This imagery invokes the metaphor of new creation, and that is what indeed happens at baptism, we die to our old life, and are born again as beloved son’s and daughters of God.
I dont know if all of these reasons are correct, but I suspect they all are correct, in some degree. Nevertheless, this is, no doubt, one of the most important moments in the whole bible. You will notice that all 3 persons of the trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) are present at this moment. This is not to be missed…, baptism is the most important of all of the 7 sacraments. None of the other sacraments are even possible without baptism. It is the golden ticket that you need in order to enter heaven, assuming that you are in a state of grace. But you cannot enter heaven without being baptised.
Thus the significance of this moment cannot be understated. And the importance of Baptism for you and your life, is not to be taken lightly either. If you are not baptised, or your kids are not, dont wait another moment, talk to your priest today, the eternity of you and your children’s soul could very well depend on it. For those of you that are baptised, and read this, today is an opportunity for us all to recall our own baptism, and to reflect on how far we have fallen from the singular sanctifying moment. If it is far you need to get to confession, and restore that baptismal promise that was made many years ago. It is the key to our salvation, and the only way that we can come back into communion with God, after the fall, embrace it, remember you baptismal day, and stay close to the sacraments so that you can find your way to heaven, and an eternity with God forever.
