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On this Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we have a theophany, the manifestation of all three persons of the Blessed Trinity. The voice from the heavens declaring, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” illustrating God the Father. We have the dove descending from the heavens illustrating the Holy Spirit, and the Son, Jesus Christ, coming out of the baptismal waters of the Jordan River.
In the Christmas gospel, we are told that Mary gave birth to her first-born son. This would imply that there were more children to come, and there are! We are those children, born of water and the Holy Spirit! On this Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we are called to renew our own baptismal promises. We celebrate our sonship and daughtership as children of the Lord.
In many ways, our lives parallel the life of the Lord. After His baptism, filled with the Spirit, he battles with evil in the desert. We also must contend with evil, in the world, and in ourselves. Unlike Jesus who always remained loyal to His Father, we succumb to self-centered sin. We are duped by the evil one to believe we could possibly find happiness without God. Left to our own designs, we will never truly be happy. It is only when we do the will of God, no matter what suffering it may entail, that we ever find happiness. In the example of Jesus, we find him willing to endure even suffering and death to fulfill his father’s will. And what is his Father’s will? Our salvation!
Being the children of God, we should be encouraged and motivated to seek first God’s will in our life. Because God ultimately desires our supreme happiness! The trials and tribulations of our own cross which we must bear, if borne willingly, lead to eternal happiness. If rejected, it may lead to our own eternal suffering. Suffering not because God wishes to punish us, but because we punish ourselves for having not chosen God’s path for us.
As we renew our baptismal promises, let us also renew our own prayerful commitment to do God’s will first and foremost. Please join me in my daily prayer, “Lord Jesus, may I desire what you desire, and please give me the grace to do it. Amen.
God love you,
