SATURDAY JANUARY 6, 2024
SATURDAY OF THE CHRISTMAS SEASON BEFORE EPIPHANY
1 John 5:5-13
Mark 1:7-11
BAPTISM: OUR UNION AND GREATEST ASSOCIATION WITH JESUS
The baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan by John the Baptist as described today in the gospel draws our attention to the great importance and significance of baptism in the life of a Christian. We are called to reflect on our connection to Christ or our union and bonding with Christ based on the sacrament of baptism.
Recall that baptism of Jesus is celebrated not just to describe his life activities but more importantly to usher in his public ministry, to reveal him as the Saviour of the world, and the Son of God. While we are not celebrating the baptism of Jesus properly today, which will be done sometime before the end of the Christmas season, the gospel readings of today reminds us of the rites of baptism and its effect in our life.
For us, baptism is a sacrament of cleansing for our soul. It washes away our sins, both original sin and actual sin and makes us the children of God and members of Christ’s church. It is properly one of the sacraments of initiation. But in the case of our Lord Jesus Christ, his baptism was to purify the baptismal waters, to share in our humanity, to be identified with us, to be the atonement that washes our sins away. So Jesus identifies himself as our redeemer and his mission as Saviour of the world in the rites of baptism.
So the baptism of Jesus turned the waters of baptism into a source of regeneration, reconciliation and source of our forgiveness. The event of the baptism of Jesus talks more of this when John the Baptist baptized Jesus and there were these signs: first the opening of the heavens, the descent of the Holy Spirit like a dove and the voice of the Father speaking to the hearing of all and declaring, “You are my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
We are therefore intimately bonded and connected to Christ in the rites of baptism. And we receive that power of regeneration through the cleansing of our souls from original and actual sins. Also as the forgiveness of our sins is attained so we are drawn closers to the source truth and path of eternal life as we become bonded into the unity of the Holy Trinity who invites and admits us into their union.
So we become beneficiaries of the graces of Jesus and are raised from grass to grace, from sinfulness to Purity of Sonship, empowered to the status of Sonship in Christ and granted the privileges of children of the Almighty God.
The implication is that we are delivered from the world and placed into a new life, a new way and a new world in which we must make efforts and strive to maintain and grow a greater holiness and purity of life as we struggle through life. Our salvation had been bought, our lives have been paid for and by baptism we are expected to key into this life and never turn back again.
We ask for grace today to understand the great importance and significance of our baptism and to make it effective and make us faithful disciples to the end in order to attain the salvation Christ has worked for us.
Heavenly Father, in baptism our salvation had been assured us and we were redeemed. Grant us the will to remain redeemed and never to slide into error or sins. May our baptism be effective in connecting us to Christ, bringing us to salvation, regeneration and forgiveness of sins and helping us to attain purity and holiness of live until we reach our eternal home in the unity of the Holy Trinity through Christ our Lord.
Fr Norbert Uchuno
