Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
This second Sunday of the New Year, we are invited to reflect on the sacrament of Baptism.
John the Baptist was preaching contrition and repentance, preparing for the great day when the Messiah arrived. John successfully ends his mission with Jesus’ Baptism, recognizing that Jesus is the "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" John 1:29.
The Baptismal Site in Jordan. (Scholars believe it’s the actual spot where Jesus was baptized.)
John is telling the crowd that he is not the Messiah and, as of this moment, he has to decrease and the Messiah to increase. The Old Testament comes to an end, and the New is to accomplish the Old.
Jesus, coming from the Galilee, was baptized by John. When He came out of the water, heaven was opened. The great Mystery that had not been revealed since the beginning of the creation was now revealed.
God, whom no body knew except the Son, is manifesting His Oneness in three Persons: The Father, who is pleased with His Incarnate Son, and the Holy Spirit, who appears in the body of a dove. Through this Sacrament of Baptism, The Holy Trinity is revealed.
It is a good time of year to think about our own baptism, through which we are "born again from water and Spirit" (John 3:5) as a new creation from above. May we reflect on this article of faith and what it means for us, for me, today!
Am I aware of the great love God offers me? How do I respond to that love?
Am I aware that, through Baptism, I received the Holy Spirit and became His temple?
Being baptized as other Church members, how do I relate to other faithful souls as members of the One body of Christ?
How do we live and relate to each other, together witnessing to His Presence and Mercy?
We share in the same Body according to St. Paul's letter to us in Galatians 3:26-27, “So in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” How do we live and relate to each other, together witnessing to His Presence and Mercy? How do we complete each other as members of the same body of Christ?
Do I live as a new creation reflecting God's Presence through faithful witness to the Spirit who lives in me?
How Faithful am I to the promises of my baptism?
Can I say with John the Baptist, “Me to decrease and Him to increase,” (John 3:30) pointing toward Christ as the Redeemer and the Savior we really need today?