Today, we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus as the first Sunday following the Feast of Epiphany. We do so in the context of re-examining our own baptism and reflecting on its meaning for ourselves.
First of all, the story begins with John the Baptist as the fore-runner for the coming of the Messiah. He is the common beginning for all four canonical Gospels. In a way, Jesus’ baptism is of greater importance than his birth, according to biblical tradition. The baptism of JB is one of repentance and forgiveness of sins. The obvious question people often ask then is why would Jesus need to be baptized? Does he need to repent? Was he sinful like the rest of us? Why would he need to be cleansed? What does it really signify?
The answer to these questions comes from what happened at Jesus’ baptism. The description from Mark mentions that a voice from heaven said: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” The voice addresses Jesus, not the people there. Here, Mark is different from the Gospel of Matthew, where the voice addresses those who were there by saying, “This is my Son…” Regardless to whom it is addressing, the voice speaks to affirm Jesus’ true identity and nature, validating his blessedness.
Every day of our life, we too hear many different kinds of voices. Some are voices of affirmation and love, building us up instead of tearing us down. Some are voices of shame, violence and abuse, diminishing our self worth. People around us sometimes want to beat us down and demean us, so that they can feel better about themselves. The more insecure they are, the more likely they want to strike out and trample us, so that they feel more powerful.
The same voice from heaven that affirms Jesus’ true identity and his blessedness also affirms ours. We who have been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ can also share this same blessed nature and inherit our identity as beloved sons and daughters of God.
In a very powerful scene near the end of the 2006 movie Blood Diamonds, one of the main characters, African fisherman Solomon Vandy, was finally re-united with his son, who was kidnapped by the RUF rebels in
Those are the most powerful words I have heard in a movie for a long, long time. The voice of this father, pleads with his son, appealing to his true nature and identity, de-programming him from the brutal and violent brainwashing that he has received. He is appealing to his son’s true self, his higher self, pleading with him to reclaim his son-ship and his true identity! The invitation to come home and be his son again is a magnificent reminder of the story of the Prodigal Son.
How many times in our lives have we longed to hear such an invitation to return home and be the beloved sons and daughters of God, where we truly belong? Instead, we hear critical voices of condemnation and judgment from the world. Those are voices of bad news. We are told that we are worthless sinners, unworthy to be God’s children. We are called “stupid, useless, and hopeless”! Those voices devalue us. They put us down. We have come to believe that we are of no value. We hear words like Linda Ronstadt’s song: “You’re no good, you’re no good, baby, you’re no good”! The doctrine of original sin condemns all of us to a fallen and corrupted state, a curse we cannot lift ourselves. No wonder we feel like giving up in despair!
There is another voice of conditional good news. This voice basically says, “I will love you, if you behave in certain ways, do things the way I tell you, and you have to prove that you are worthy of my love. If you achieve certain things in life and acquire certain status, then you will be worthy of my love.” Some parents, not in so many words, teach their children that way. They place an impossible dream, and set an impossible ideal for their children to fulfill. They are, in many ways, being set up for failure, with undue pressure. Some parents like to compare their children to other people’s children and make their own feel so inferior. They think by telling them other people’s children are smarter and better, it would motivate them to do better. Unfortunately, it does not work that way. It often does more damage to self image and self esteem than providing the motivation to improve oneself. Comparisons become put downs. Such an approach is a form of manipulation. Ultimately, it is really a voice of rejection of who we are. Children are manipulated to do what the parents want, same with some spouses. They feel that unless they become better and prove themselves worthy, they won’t be loved and accepted. How sad it is!
I believe in the other voice, the same voice that speaks from heaven to Jesus that proclaims unconditional and unqualified good news of love and acceptance. This is the voice of God telling us, his children, no matter how rebellious and defiant we are, “I love you, regardless of what you have done. Even if you break my heart, I still love you!” It is similar to Solomon Vandy who tells his son Dia, “They may have programmed you and turned you into a killer, but you are not a terrible person at heart. This is not the real “you” – I know you are better than that. You are not a monster. You are my son, that’s who you really are! I am your father… who loves you. And you will come home with me and be my son again!” Have you ever heard God’s voice pleading with you this way before?
This voice is not one of manipulation. True love sets us free to be who we really are. True love makes it possible for us to know to whom we truly belong. It encourages us and empowers us to do better, not out of fear and shame, but out of love and security. It affirms our deepest longing to be loved. We strive to become better, because God believes in us. We are redeemed, that is, we have been given value; not only to the critical world, but we are most of all of value to God! That is what truly matters. We may have been sinful and corrupted by the world, but ultimately we are blessed by God. In the beginning, the voice of God created the universe and created us good! We have the original blessing from God. We can now reclaim this blessedness as God’s beloved sons and daughters. In our baptism, we claim this birth right! The voice that addresses Jesus directly also addresses us directly, too! “You are my son, you are my daughter, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” The Spirit who anoints Jesus at his baptism also anoints us in ours.
My friends, this is unqualified good news! When we look into the heart of God, we find no condemnation, only love and forgiveness, affirmation and acceptance. I have been ordained to preach the Good News, and I strongly believe this is at the heart of the Good News as I understand it. There is no other message I believe to be stronger than this.
There are many voices bombarding us every day. Which voice do you listen to? Which voice influences you most? Which one guides you, your actions and decisions?
To bless really means: to speak well of, or to say good things about a person. When we hear the voice of blessing, we are affirmed and validated. We no longer feel the need to earn God’s approval by what we do. It is in our very being, our true identity - who we are and to whom we belong - that we know we are already blessed! God is pleased with us already.
Having heard this voice of blessing and claimed it for himself, Jesus then embarked on his public ministry. He was first tempted in the wilderness for forty days before calling his first disciples; then began his ministry of teaching, preaching and healing. Perhaps the temptation has to do with his acceptance of his identity and blessedness. It was challenged and tested, right after he accepted and affirmed it.
As we identify our baptism with Jesus’, we too are commissioned by our Baptism to be involved as partners in Jesus’ ministry. We may have come to church today with many distracting voices. We may have felt challenged and tested by dissenting voices. However, hopefully through the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist, and the proclamation of the Word, we have listened to this one voice of love and acceptance. We will leave this place uplifted, empowered, strengthened and encouraged to serve God and share his blessings with others in our everyday life! That would be good news, indeed! Thanks be to God. Amen.
Fr Victor+
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