Gospel: Baptism of the Lord

Today marks the celebration of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, and the Gospel passage will be lifted from the writings of St Luke (3:15-16, 21-22).

The people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether St John might be the Christ. John answered them all, saying, "I am baptizing you with water but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."

After the people have been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."

In today's Gospel, as in the other Gospel accounts of Jesus' baptism, we hear St John the Baptist address the confusion of the people who thought that he might be the Messiah. In response, St John the Baptist contrasts the baptism he performs with the Baptism Jesus will inaugurate. St John the Baptist says that he has baptized with water, but that someone will come and baptize with the Holy Spirit. The type of baptism that St John performed was not yet a Christian Baptism; it was a preparation for Christian Baptism through which sins are forgiven and the gift of the Holy Dpirit is received.

The baptism of Jesus is reported in each of the three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). Clearly, it was an event of great significance for Jesus and for the early Christian community. The Evangelists St Mark and St Luke report the story from Jesus' perspective; the voice from heaven is addressed to Jesus. Compare to this to St Matthew's Gospel in which the voice from heaven speaks to everyone. In St Luke, however, the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus during his time of prayer after his baptism. Through his Gospel, St Luke will show Jesus to be a person of prayer who withdraws regularly from the crowds and his disciples pray to his Father.

The baptism of Jesus is considered a manifestation of God in Jesus, another "epiphany." On this, the last day of the Christmas season, our Gospel reveals to us Jesus relation to God: the son of Holy Mary and St Joseph is also God's own Son. In St Luke's Gospel, all three members of the Trinity are manifested here: God the Father in the voice, the Holy Spirit descending, and Jesus the Son. At the beginning of the Gospel, St Luke is communicating to us important information about the identity of Jesus. In the verses that follow, St Luke lists the genealogy of Jesus, tracing Jesus' ancestry back to the first person, Adam, who is also identified as the son of God. We, the children of Adam and Eve, are again made children of God through Baptism.

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