Living Faithful to Our Baptismal Calling and Dignity, Baptism of the Lord (A), January 12, 2020

Fr. Roger J. Landry
Church of the Holy Family, Manhattan
Baptism of the Lord, Year A
January 12, 2020
Is 42:1-4.6-7, Ps 29, Acts 10:34-38, Mt 3:13-17

To listen to a recording of today’s homily, please click below: 

The following text guided today’s homily: 

Christ’s Baptism and Our Second Birth

Today’s celebration of the baptism of the Lord Jesus culminates the celebration of the Christmas season. It symbolically finishes Jesus’ three decades of hidden life as God the Father announces at the Jordan what was concealed from the beginning from almost everyone except Mary and Joseph, a few shepherds, the wise men, Simeon and Anna and a handful of others: that Jesus is God’s own beloved Son in whom he is well pleased.

The celebration of Jesus’ baptism culminates the Christmas season in another way as well, because it points to our baptism, which is the means by which we enter into the saving work Jesus was born into our world to bring about. As we sing in the great Christmas hymn Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, “Mild He lays His glory by, born that man no more may die, born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth.” Christ through his incarnation has made it possible for us through baptism to enter into the mystery and meaning of Christmas and the second birth, new life, resurrection and eternity that that baptism makes possible in this world and forever. Jesus entered the waters of the Jordan precisely in order to bless those waters so that they could bring about this second birth, so that what John’s baptism pointed to could actually be accomplished. John’s baptism indicated our and others’ need for spiritual cleansing, for the forgiveness of sin, for the triumph over the death to which sins lead us, but John’s baptism couldn’t actually take those sins away or deliver those goods.

This is the truth to which John the Baptist pointed immediately before the passage in today’s Gospel, when he contrasted what he was doing with the baptism Jesus and the Church Jesus would found would carry out: “I am baptizing you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.” That’s why the Baptist, recognizing his sinfulness, says to the one he would call the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” in the Gospel passage of today’s Mass, “I need to be baptized by you and yet you are coming to me?” When Jesus entered the waters of the Jordan, however, he foreshadowed what he would later accomplish in the bath of blood on Calvary. He made the waters of baptism capable of delivering on what they signified, not just representing the need for the forgiveness of sins, but actually forgiving those sins. This is the baptism that Jesus, in his valedictory address immediately before ascending into heaven, gave as his “great commission” to his disciples, whom he entrusted with the completion of his own salvific mission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:18-20).

When Jesus was baptized, three things happened: first, the heavens were opened; second, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove; and third, a voice came from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” And these three things all happen sacramentally Jesus sent out the Church to accomplish in his name. First, the heavens are opened; we’re not just purified of sin but made heirs of heaven and eternal life. In entering the Jordan, Jesus converted it into what he would later call, in his dialogue with the woman at the well in Samaria, “Living Water,” that would well up within us to eternal life, because we would be filled with Jesus that Living Water. Second, the Holy Spirit comes down upon us to dwell within us and make us his temple. The cleansing that happens in Baptism is precisely to make us an abode of God, so that he might dwell in us and we might abide in him, not just in this world but forever. And third, God the Father turns toward us, incorporated through baptism into his Son, and says, “This is my beloved Son, this is my much loved daughter, in whom I am well-pleased.”

Remembering our Christian Dignity

This is the incredible reality of Christian baptism. This is the reason why countless generations before us put have acted on Jesus’ great commission. This is what happened to each of us as we were brought to the living Jordan and received with us the Father’s love as he adopted us as his own son or daughter, as we received within the living water of Jesus’ life welling up within us, and we were ignited by the fire of the Holy Spirit making us God’s temple. The day of our baptism is the most important day of our life, no matter how old we are, no matter how much or how little we’ve accomplished in the eyes of the world.

To remember that baptismal dignity and to live in accord with it constitute the task of the Christian life. St. Leo the Great, in his fifth-century homily for the Christmas season that comes to a close today, reminds us that the purpose of the celebration of Christ’s birth each year, above all, is to remind us of our own rebirth “of water and the Spirit” (Jn 3:5) and to help us live as “chips off the old [divine] block.” “Christian,” he urges us, “remember your dignity! Now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return by sin to your former base condition. Bear in mind who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Do not forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of God’s kingdom. Through the sacrament of baptism you have become a temple of the Holy Spirit. Do not drive away so great a guest by evil conduct and become again a slave to the devil, for your liberty was bought by the blood of Christ.” To remember our dignity and to live according to our baptism is to seek to become a saint. Saint Pope John Paul II told us, “Since Baptism is a true entry into the holiness of God through incorporation into Christ and the indwelling of his Spirit, it would be a contradiction to settle for a life of mediocrity, marked by a minimalist ethic and a shallow religiosity. To ask catechumens: ‘Do you wish to receive Baptism?’ means at the same time to ask them: ‘Do you wish to become holy?’ It means to set before them the radical nature of the Sermon on the Mount: ‘Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect’ (Mt 5:48).

Remembering the day of our baptism

To remember our baptism dignity is, to some degree, to remember our baptism and that presents somewhat of a problem for most of us who were baptized before we were capable of having a memory at all. That is one reason why the Church places holy water fonts at the entrance of the Church, so that as we enter the Church, the first thing we do is to recall the saving waters of baptism, the waters that made us holy sons and daughters of God. We make the sign of the Cross with the holy water to proclaim that by baptism we’ve entered into the Lord’s death and resurrection, and are picking up our cross and following him along the path to sanctity.  We say “in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,” to remind us not only of the words of the baptismal formula that made us a child of God, but to recall that because of baptism we now share in the life and love of the communion of the triune God who is holy, holy, holy. To remember our baptismal dignity, the holiness we received and are called to preserve, is also the reason why the Church, at least every Easter, has us renew the baptismal promises either we, or our parents and godparents for us, made on the day of our baptism.

But if the day of our baptism is really the most important day of our life — and it is! — then we should celebrate it. Today in the Vatican, Pope Francis urged all Christians for the umpteenth time to commemorate the day of their baptism every year. He implored those who don’t know the date of their baptism to find out and to mark the day of our second birth with even greater festivity than the day of our first birth. He said, “It’s a duty of justice toward the Lord!,” who blessed us so much on the day of our baptism. It’s also important that parents and godparents remember the baptismal dates of their children and godchildren, and celebrate those days in their loved one’s lives with joy and generosity to make it easier for children growing up to recall the blessings of that day and with photos, videos, or imagination, relive and rededicate themselves to the reality of the baptismal covenant they entered into with God through baptism.

Remembering the Gifts and Promises of Baptism

It’s also very helpful for us, if we’re going to remember our baptismal dignity and live by it, to revisit prayerfully what actually happens in baptism. Sometimes Catholics can go years without attending a baptism, which is a tremendous opportunity to rekindle baptismal graces. Let’s revisit a few of the elements and bring them into the present of our day to day life:

We were given our name — Not just our first name, but, like Jesus, our most important “last” name, Christian (little Christ), and if we live as a little Christ, the name we were given will one day acquire the most prefix of all, not Doctor, not MVP, not Father , Mother, Brother or Sister, but Saint.

Our parents and godparents blessed our forehead with the Sign of the Cross — The Cross is a blessing and we were set out not only to live in accordance with the graces Jesus gave us on Calvary, but to learn how to pick up our Cross and follow him, loving God and others to the point of being willing to lay down our life.

The priest said a special prayer over our ears and our lips, that the Lord, “who made the deaf hear and the dumb speak,” might “touch [our] ears to receive his word and [our] mouths to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father.” It reminds us that the most fundamental reason why we have ears is to hear about God and the deepest reason we have the capacity to speak is to speak to and about Him.

The Litany of the Saints was then sung, in which all those present called upon the Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter & Paul, the patron of the Church where we were baptized, our personal patrons, and all the saints in heaven, to intercede for us throughout the course of our life so that one day we might be numbered among them.

We, if we were old enough, or our parents and godparents for us, then made our Baptismal promises, renouncing Satan, all his works and empty promises and professing our faith in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection of the body. We’re called to be as faithful to these promises as spouses our to their marriage vows.

The baptism itself then took place. The bishop, priest or deacon poured water on our forehead three times, pronounced our name, and baptized us in the name of the Blessed Trinity. The miracle of our spiritual rebirth — our spiritual death and resurrection in Christ — took place.

We were anointed with sacred chrism on the crown of our head as the minister prayed, “As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet and King, so may you live always as members of his body, sharing everlasting life.” This anointing was strengthens us as prophets to proclaim our faith as prophets, as priests with the common priesthood to offer our whole lives in a sacrifice of prayer to the Father and as kings, to be faithful stewards and shepherds of ourselves and those entrusted to us.

We were clothed with a white garment, symbolizing the reality that we have “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 13:14). We were instructed to “see in this white garment the outward sign of [our] Christian dignity” and to “take that dignity unstained into everlasting life.” That white garment of purity in Christ is the “wedding garment” that we’re called to wear for the eternal wedding banquet of heaven (cf. Mt 22:12-13). If it has gotten stained by any form of the filth of sin, we can get it cleansed in the Sacrament of Penance.

Our baptismal candle was illuminated from the Paschal Candle, signifying that we were now burning with Christ’s own light. We were instructed to “walk always as a child of the light,” with “the flame of faith alive in [our] hearts.” We were told to keep it “safe from the poison of sin” so that when the Lord comes, we, like the wise virgins in the Gospel (Mt 25:1-13), might “go out to meet him with all the saints in the heavenly kingdom.” The feast of the Baptism of the Lord is an opportunity to ask whether our candles are still burning brightly with an intensifying flame.

Then the minister went to the altar and invited us all those present to pray, as children of God, to God the Father. Everyone present prayed “in our name,” because we were now truly brothers and sisters of our parents, godparents, relatives and friends. Every time we pray the Our Father we recall that dignity of our common divine filiation, that God has pronounced all of us his beloved sons and daughters in whom he is well-pleased. That the bishop, priest or deacon went to the altar is significant, because it shows that the life initiated in baptism is meant to proceed to the nourishment of God’s children through the Eucharist. The communion with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is meant to grow throughout life via Holy Communion.

Prayer for fidelity to our baptism to the end

At the beginning of Mass today, we prayed, “Almighty, eternal God, when the Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan, you revealed him as your own beloved Son. Keep us, your children born of water and the Spirit, faithful to our calling!” Faithful to our calling! As we prepare now to renew our baptismal faith in the Creed and to receive that nourishment from the altar to which our baptism pointed, we ask the Lord to help us always to remember the Christian dignity we received in Baptism, so that we may remain faithful to our baptismal vocation, live always as beloved children of God the Father and come, one day, to experience that eternal life that Baptism makes possible.

The readings for today’s Mass were: