The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
On my recent flight to India, I saw an amazing documentary called, “The Octopus in my house!” It is the most fascinating documentary about Professor David Scheel, a marine biologist, who brought an octopus home to study the species more closely. It records how Prof. Scheel and his daughter Laurel, bond with an octopus, and in turn, how the octopus bonded with them. Because of researchers like David Scheel, we now know that an octopus has nine brains, three hearts, blue blood, and that an octopus can recognize people and relate to them. At the end of the documentary, I was in awe of Prof. Scheel. He simply is an expert in his field of study. I loved his passion. I loved his zeal. I loved that he is all in.
As I watched the documentary, it struck me that, just as Dr. Scheel is an expert on octopuses, Christians should be experts on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Just as Dr. Scheel is passionate about octopuses, we should be known for our passion for Jesus. We should know Jesus Christ and the Gospel like Prof. Scheel knows octopuses. I say this especially as we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus. Jesus’ baptism is the source of our own baptism. By our baptism, we participate in the Baptism of Jesus. Like Prof. Scheel, we must be all in. We must be experts of Jesus Christ and His Gospel.
I would like to focus on three implications of our baptism into Christ.
- Our Baptism is a Call. We are familiar with baptism as Sacrament. We also know that at baptism our original sin is washed away, that we receive the new life of Christ, and that we become the adopted sons and daughters of God. Primarily though, baptism is a call. In other words, the very fact that we reach the baptismal fount is because God has called us. We hear Isaiah say in today’s first reading, “I, the Lord, have called you; I have grasped you by the hand; I have formed you and set you as a covenant…” Our baptism is a response to the call to live as sons and daughters of God. We know this from Jesus’ baptism. Even though he was the Son of God, for our sake, his identity was confirmed at his baptism. And Jesus was good at it. His entire life was an expression of his sonship. Because our baptism is a participation in the baptism of Jesus, and we too become the children of God at our baptism, we need to be good at it. We need to be experts in living out God’s call to be sons and daughters of God.
- Our Baptism is a Mission. Isaiah’s prophecy in today’s first reading attaches a mission to the call. Isaiah's prophecy of the Messiah’s mission was concrete and clear: “He will bring forth justice to the nations,” Isaiah said. He continues, “I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.” We know from the Gospels that Jesus accomplished the mission that God entrusted to him. In fact, he was an expert at it. He became the light for the nations. He opened the eyes of the blind, set prisoners free, and he gave hope to those who lived in darkness. Jesus became the New Covenant. Our baptism is not merely a participation in the baptism of Jesus. Our baptism is also a participation in the mission of Jesus. We too must stand up for justice. We too must be a light for those in darkness. We too must set prisoners free. We too must give hope to those who live in darkness. And we need to be good at it. We need to be experts at it. We owe it to our baptism!
- Pleasing to God. Twice in today’s readings, we hear the phrase, “with whom I am well pleased.” Isaiah says, “Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am well pleased.” At his baptism, a voice from heaven, said about Jesus, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” In one sense, our call and our mission is to please God. It is the One who created us who calls us; It is the One who created who gives us our identity as sons and daughters; and it is the One who created us who gives us our mission. It would be such a great honor if at the very end of our lives, God would say of us, “This is my beloved son/daughter, with whom I am well pleased.” Let our goal be to make that happen. And the only way we can make it happen is to live out our call, our identity, and our mission. We need to be all in. We need to be experts at it.