The Lord will bless his people with peace.
Among those who came to John for baptism was also Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus had no need for baptism as John himself says, “It is I who needs baptism from you.” Why did Jesus then approach John for baptism? The answer is found in the larger picture of the Incarnation itself. There was no strict necessity for Jesus to become a human being to save us. God could have saved us through many other ways, but he chose the path of being one with humanity, being in solidarity with us in everything except sin, taking upon himself our weaknesses, pains, sorrows and struggles.
Baptism is thus one of the ways he expresses his solidarity with us. In the same way he will undergo sufferings and death later to complete the redemptive work. Our own baptism reminds us of our oneness with God and our fellowship with the people of God. Like Jesus we too are specially favoured by God and are infused by the Spirit from above. This equips and challenges us to be the messengers of God’s love and compassion.
“The day when a person is baptized is more important than the day when a person is ordained priest or bishop.” – Raymond E. Brown
No comments:
Post a Comment