The Baptism of the Lord, Year C
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord. In our First Reading today, Prophet Isaiah relays God’s message to us that Jesus is His servant whom He upholds, His is the one with whom He is well pleased, upon whom He has put His spirit; and He shall bring forth justice to the nations. St. Peter in our Second Reading from the Acts of the Apostles reminds us that God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power. And Jesus went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. Then in the Gospel Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, we hear the story of the Baptism of our Lord and how after His baptism, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, saying “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Hence, today’s readings all point to today’s Solemnity of the Baptism of our Lord. They all in one way or the other remind us of Jesus’s baptism, then re-emphasizes His divinity and the importance of the Sacrament of Baptism in our lives as Christians. So what is Baptism all about?
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua), and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: "Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word." (CCC #1213) The sacrament of Baptism is also called "the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit," for it signifies and actually brings about the birth of water and the Spirit without which no one "can enter the kingdom of God." (CCC #1215).
Baptism properly speaking, signifies and actually brings about death to sin and entry into the life of the Most Holy Trinity through configuration to the Paschal mystery of Christ. (CCC #1239) Baptism imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual sign, the character, which consecrates the baptized person for Christian worship. Because of the character Baptism cannot be repeated (CCC #1280).
So why is the Sacrament of Baptism that important to us? The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is important to us His children because it is necessary for salvation. That is why Jesus commanded His disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them. Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament. The Catholic Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are "reborn of water and the Spirit." (CCC #1257).
Baptism is birth into the new life in Christ. In accordance with the Lord's will, it is necessary for salvation, as is the Church herself, which we enter by Baptism. (CCC #1277)
Since Baptism is necessary and important to us, what does it do for us or what are its fruits in our lives? The fruit of Baptism, or baptismal grace, is a rich reality that includes forgiveness of original sin and all personal sins, birth into the new life by which man becomes an adoptive son of the Father, a member of Christ and a temple of the Holy Spirit. By this very fact the person baptized is incorporated into the Church, the Body of Christ, and made a sharer in the priesthood of Christ. (CCC #1279)
So my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ today, let us once again meditate on the importance and significance of the Sacrament of Baptism in our lives as Catholic Christians and strive to utilize its fruits to proclaim and live out the Gospel of Christ in our world today.
