ORDINARY TIME OF YEAR A
First
Sunday (Baptism of Our Lord) [Mt 3:13-17]
11.01.2026
Jesus’
Manifestation and Commission at Baptism
1. Theme in brief
Our mission to serve
2. Focus Statement
By baptism
we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to commit ourselves to a mission of service
to humanity and we become God’s beloved children by our faithfulness to this
mission.
3.
Explanation of the text
In modern terms, Jesus' baptism could be
taken as a sort of ‘inauguration ceremony’ of his public ministry. His Baptism was a turning point in his life, a moment
of final decision
to launch his public ministry of service to humanity. But before he could make
a ‘final
commitment’ to the mission entrusted to him by his Father, he wanted
an assurance whether he had taken the right step. The voice of the Father
telling him, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased” (3:17)
was an assurance
to him that he had taken the right decision. An inner voice must have urged or propelled
him very powerfully to commit himself firmly to God’s will. Jesus’ decision was endorsed by the opening of heaven, the descent of the Holy
Spirit, and the voice of approval from the Father. Jesus set out for his public
ministry of service with the anointing and empowerment
of the Holy Spirit.
In the beginning, today’s gospel answers a question: How could Jesus who
was sinless receive baptism from John which was, as per Jewish understanding, a
rite for cleansing from sins? John wanted to prevent Jesus from getting
baptized by him, because he thought that Jesus should have baptized him,
instead of him baptizing Jesus (3:14). By consenting to receive baptism from
John, Jesus showed his solidarity with the sinful humanity and indicated
that he had come to take upon himself all the sins of the world (3:14-15). By
undergoing baptism, Jesus wanted to fulfill “all righteousness” (3:15), which
meant fulfilling God’s will or plan for him to become one with sinful humanity. When
Jesus came up from the water of Jordan after baptism, a sudden opening of the
heavens indicated the breakdown of the separation between heaven and earth with God
coming to the earth to share our human condition or to be one with us.
Jesus’ baptism is
both a manifestation
of his divine self and a commission from God for a life of service. At his
baptism, Jesus manifests
himself as the Beloved Son of the Father, who is sent with a mission
to serve (3:17). Matthew’s gospel identifies this Beloved Son with whom God is
well pleased with the Servant of God in whom God delights (as mentioned in
Isaiah 42:1). So Jesus who is Beloved Son of the Father becomes a beloved servant
of humanity by taking baptism from John. In the Book of Isaiah God’s “chosen servant” is also called God’s Suffering Servant because of the
suffering he would undergo. This indicates that Jesus’ mission of service will
involve suffering and sacrifice. God is well pleased with him
precisely because of his willingness to do his will, or to be faithful to his role as servant of humanity to the extent of
suffering crucifixion.
At his baptism Jesus
is empowered
by the Holy Spirit to commit himself to a mission of service to humanity (3:16-17). The
Spirit of God descending like a dove on Jesus can mean either the creative
spirit which hovered over the waters when God created the heavens and the earth
(Gen 1:1-2), or the message of new life brought by the dove at Noah’s time with a
“f reshly plucked olive branch” when the mighty flood that drowned the whole earth
receded after fourty days and nights (Gen 8:11).
4.
Application to life
Today’s feast of the Baptism of our Lord by John the Baptist invites
us to make our baptism alive and dynamic,
and not a ritual which took place long ago, perhaps for most of us when we were
babies. It invites us not to take it for granted and become deeply conscious of its
meaning and implication. Jesus’
baptism serves as a model for our baptism. For us too, our baptism
is like a new birth through which we begin not only a new life of
grace but also a commission to continue Christ’s mission of service.
Though sinless, by
accepting baptism, Jesus shows his solidarity with sinful humanity. In baptism he takes
our place so that we could take his place and become another Christ
after our baptism. Like Jesus, we have to identify ourselves with the sinful humanity
in order to save them. Like him, by our baptism, we too are called to enter
into the life-situation of those who are weak and vulnerable. If we consider ourselves as
virtuous and look down on those who are weak in faith and character as sinners,
how can we save them? Sometimes we only condemn sinners and do nothing to save
them or help them to become better persons. Do criticism, backbiting and
condemnation save or help anybody?
Though we are
baptized only once in our life-time, we are called to live by our baptismal vocation
and mission throughout our life. First of all, our
baptismal vocation is to live a life of holiness, that is, to be holy as God is holy (cf.
Lev 11.45; 1 Pet 1:16). To be holy means to be consecrated; and to be
consecrated means to be set apart, or to be separated, for use by the Lord. It means to belong
totally to God (Ex 13:2) and not to the world. Today’s feast calls upon us to
renew our baptismal consecration and holiness by deciding daily to offer our
whole being to God and separate ourselves from anything that may contaminate
or defile our relationship with a holy God. We need to ask ourselves whether we
live a life, which is different from the ways of the world, or whether we compromise
with the values and evil ways of the world.
Jesus prayed that
his disciples may be consecrated (sanctified or dedicated) in the truth of
God (Jn 17:17), because though they are in the world, they do not belong
to the world (Jn 17:11,1416). Though we live in the world, in order to live a
life worthy of our call, we should not agree with, imitate or
copy all the fashions and fads of the world, nor blindly ape all its
values. That is why we make promises to God to renounce the “pomp” of
Satan during our baptism, such as power-mongering, corrupt practices,
consumerism, name and fame, seeking popularity without any principles in
personal conduct, etc.
Secondly, by baptism we too are consecrated for a mission of service just as Christ was. At
his baptism, Jesus becomes conscious
of
his mission of service to humanity and makes a definite decision to obey his
Father’s will
unto death. Like him we too become God’s beloved sons and daughters by our baptism
and are empowered
by the Holy Spirit to continue his mission. We have to show
forth that we are really God’s beloved children by remaining faithful to our baptismal mission. Are we attuned to the inner voice of the Spirit
that moves us to become more and more sensitive to needs of the modern world and look for newer and
newer forms of service? We have to ask ourselves, as God was well pleased with
his Beloved Son (3:17), whether he is well pleased now with the type and quality of the service that we render in our families,
communities and workplaces. Let us examine and see, as the world of technology
advances year by year and the quality of our goods, machinery and gadgets
improves a lot, whether the quality of our service and commitment to our
mission increases. What we notice is more and more people not finding time for
any community service in spite of saving a lot of time due to the use of modern
means of communication and transport (like mobile phones and vehicles).
What is
service then? It
mainly implies self–giving or giving one’s life for the
welfare of others. In other words, it implies a sharing of time, talents,
goods, knowledge, speech, and energies for the good of others. Jesus tells us that his mission is not to be served
but to serve to the point of giving (that is, sacrificing) his life as a ransom for many (Mk 10: 45). He
calls his sacrifice on the cross out of service for humankind a ‘baptism’ of
blood (Mk 10:38). For him, service was a sacrificial service which involves sometimes suffering or pain for ourselves. One of the reasons why our discipleship remains to the minimal level could
be our unwillingness to make sacrifices or take pain for common good or community
service. Even in families, one of the most important services parents,
especially fathers, should render is sacrificing their time for guiding and directing their path in the
paths of God. Further, in our families we have to examine ourselves whether we expect
others to serve us at our beck and call, or equally contribute to the total
welfare of the family. Outside our homes, we have to examine and see whether we
try to escape from occasions to render service to the society if there is no
monitory or prestige reward.
There is a difference between the services which we have to render out
of compulsion, like our daily work/job/duty and household chores, and those
which we willingly and voluntarily take up for the good of those
who are in need of our love. Do we involve in this latter type of services? If
our services do not go beyond the compulsive services we have to render for our
livelihood and self-maintenance, we can hardly be his disciples. Like Jesus,
are we willing to stoop down to heal, care, serve, reconcile, forgive and
comfort those who are in need of these things? At home also, do we expect
others to serve us at our beck and call, or equally contribute to the total
welfare of the family?
To whom should service be rendered? When we read the gospels, we come to know, though service has to be
rendered to all, it has to be preferably rendered to the needy, the rejected, the suffering, the sick, the underprivileged, the defenceless
and outcasts and sinners, the least of our brethren, etc. Though jobs are
called “service’’ in the secular world, most people consider their jobs as a
means only for earning money,
not for the service of humanity or society or for nation building.
Today’s feast challenges
those of us (including me) who have some authority in the Church and society to
see whether we use it for domination, lording it over, exploitation
and profit-making, or for guiding, serving, correcting, reconciling and for
public good. It also challenges us to see whether we waste a high portion of
free time in gossiping, loitering around, playing cards, surfing internet for
fun and watching TV for long hours, instead of using a part of it for service
of society. Let us implore the Creator Spirit who descended on Jesus at his
baptism and on us too at our Baptism and Confirmation to empower us so that we
become creative in our service and radiate the newness/ freshness of
life prefigured by Noah’s dove at the time of the Great Flood.
5.
Response to
God's Word
(1) Now,
is God well pleased with the way we use our time, talents, knowledge and
energy?
(2) Do
we eagerly share our knowledge with others?
(3) Do
we willingly accept opportunities that come on our way for community service,
or try to avoid it as much as possible?
(4) Do
we render service only where there are personal benefits such as eating and
drinking, honour, prestige, power, money and profit, or do we also occasionally
render service where there are no such benefits?
(5) Do
we use our authority to serve others or only to lord it over them? Do we desire
to be served by others at all times?
(6) Do
we consider our jobs or duties exclusively as means to earn money, or do we
think that through our work we render a valuable service to humanity and the
world?
(7) Do
we waste a lot of time in roaming around and gossiping, which could have been
used for valuable service?
(8) Do
we offer our service to the needy out of love even if they do not request
us?
6.
A
prayer
Lord Jesus, as we recall to mind your baptism
at
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