As we end the Christmas season with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, some may find it difficult to link the two milestones in Jesus’ life in the same season. Christmas reflects on the infant Savior while his Baptism in Jordan happened when he was an adult. Upon further reflection, there is a logical connection between the two events.
At Christmas, Jesus was born, took on flesh, and became a man like us in all things but sin—his identity as the Word for all eternity expanded by the Incarnation. Not only was he the eternal Word of God, but he now became the Son of God and Son of Mary. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, he became a man while retaining his divine personhood. The Virgin Mary held Jesus in her lap and loved him beyond all telling. She was present when the Magi adored the newborn king, and as Jesus’ life unfolds, the Father will reveal that all nations shall worship his Son during his baptism.
Years later, when Jesus approached his cousin, St. John the Baptist, while he was baptizing people in the Jordan for the remission of sin, Jesus asked to be baptized as well. St. John the Baptist initially objected because he knew he was unworthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. But Jesus insisted because of the greater purpose his baptism would have for the rest of us.
Since Jesus was sinless, he did not need to be cleansed in any way, but that does not hold for everyone else. This is precisely why Jesus demanded to be baptized, for our sake and not his. Jesus is baptized not to be made holy by the water but to make the water holy for generations to come. By touching the waters and purifying them, all that was necessary for the waters of baptism to be truly cleansing and sacramental for future ages has been established. Christ was the first to be baptized, so Christians will follow him confidently when immersed in the waters of life.
During Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon him, and God the Father embraced him with his voice, saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” The Father’s proclamation went beyond the surface and revealed Jesus as the son of Mary and the Son of the Father, adding a new dimension to Jesus’ identity.
The Father’s words made the true meaning of the Incarnation known. Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah, has entered time and space with the power to save all who live in darkness. Jesus, through his baptism, made the waters eternally holy so that we could conform to him. Sinful people cannot be conformed to the sacred unless they become spotless through the waters of baptism.
The baptized take on a new identity once washed from the harmful effects of original sin. They follow Jesus through the regeneration waters to become new creatures. We are born of the Spirit and become God Almighty’s adopted sons and daughters. As adopted sons and daughters, our first stage of salvation is secured.
Coming full circle, the Lord’s baptism, who took on human flesh, prepared the waters for us to be born again in the Spirit. Being born of the Spirit is the most important of our births because it opens up the possibility of living eternally through the graciousness of Jesus to sanctify the waters so we can be linked to the Godhead.
The Baptism of Jesus is rightly placed in the Christmas season as it concentrates on births. The first is the birth in the flesh, and the second is the birth in the Spirit. From this perspective, we should possibly celebrate our births twice: First in the flesh and then in the Spirit.
2 thoughts on “The Baptism of the Lord”