Reflection/Homily: Feast of the Baptism of our Lord Year
C (January 13 2013)
Theme: The Significance of Christ’s Baptism
Today’s
feast, the Baptism of our Lord was originally one of the three Gospel events
marked by the feast of Epiphany. In the Western Church, it was later
overshadowed by the visit of the Magi before Pope Pius XII in 1955 instituted
it as a separate liturgical commemoration of Christ’s baptism. The Baptism of
Christ is a great point of Theophany because in it the mystery of the Blessed
Trinity which is the highest mystery of the Church is made manifest.
The
Gospel reading (Luke 3:15-16.21-22) confirms the manifestation of the Blessed
Trinity at the Baptism of Jesus. God the Father is revealed in the Voice which
confirmed the Sonship of Jesus, God the Son is revealed in Jesus who was
baptized and God the Holy Spirit is revealed in the Dove which descended on the
Son. This manifestation of the Trinity thus becomes the origin and destination
of our Christian worship because all our prayers begin and end in the name of
the Blessed Trinity.
Jesus
received John’s baptism and in the process instituted a higher form of baptism
which according to John is with “fire and the Holy Spirit”. John’s baptism is
the foundation of Christ’s baptism and in the later, Christ instituted a baptism
which is not just a mere religious practice but also a sacrament. He brought
the Trinitarian dimension to baptism and thus made baptism a communion with God
and the Church. John’s baptism is for repentance but Christ’s baptism is more
than that. It is a source of cleansing and incorporation into the family of
God.
