Baptismal Benefits -- Matthew 3:13-17

KAALAGAD Gospel Reflection – January 12, 2020 

Baptism of our Lord

Matthew 3:13-17

13Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

 Baptismal Benefits

 The short gospel passage this Sunday relates briefly a very important event in the human life of Jesus. After several years of his undocumented private life with Joseph and Mary in Nazareth, Jesus approached John the Baptist in the river Jordan to be baptized. John is a relative of Jesus and he has been preaching all along to his followers that he is merely paving the way for the Messiah who will save the Jewish people so he must have easily recognized Jesus approaching the river. Instinctively, he hesitated to baptize Jesus as he did not think he was worthy enough to give his baptism of repentance to the Messiah! However, a simple response from Jesus convinced John to proceed with his ritual and as Jesus emerged from the water, the Holy Spirit and the Father came to confirm Jesus is one with them as our Triune God! Truly another epiphany after last Sunday’s revelation to the Magi!

 Allow me to focus my reflection of this Sunday’s gospel passage on just the response of Jesus to John’s hesitation: “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” (verse 15)

 John the Baptist has been preaching for quite a while in the desert asking people to “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Mt 3:2) His call for repentance is not merely what many of us today after confession express as our sorrow for having sinned, it is not just praying the “Our Father” five times and saying the Act of Contrition and being sorry for having done or said bad things. The real message of John is a call to conversion, a return to full faith and trust in the Lord, a change in lifestyle! And John’s baptism of the people who have repented is the ritual of immersion in the river to symbolize their radical conversion and their return to God. So, he would naturally be hesitant to baptize Jesus because he had been telling everyone that the One who was coming after him is mightier than him and will baptize, not with water as he does, but with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Mt. 3:11)

 Jesus did not contradict John’s hesitance anymore because He understood John’s dilemma. Instead, He convinced John to proceed with the ritual of baptism which will lead to proper fulfillment of all righteousness.

 Righteousness is basically doing the right thing, right? This may be generally acceptable to most people today but we are also aware of the recent trends of considering being right as no longer absolute but rather plainly relative, depending on culture, perception, or standard. It is sad that topics such as divorce and same-sex marriage are now being debated upon and even legislated! Even some government leaders in authority can find killing of people justified as long as it leads to a “greater goal”. I don’t propose to reflect on relativism at this time, however, as this topic invites much longer discussions at another time.

 Righteousness in the context of our gospel passage today is right living, good deeds, and life-giving relationships according to and following the will of God. I maintain that we only have one absolute standard – Jesus. Our righteousness is measured only in the way we try to imitate Jesus in our life. This was the mission of Jesus when He was sent by the Father to teach and guide us by example and through His words with the absolute and universal message of love for God and neighbor.

 His baptism by John the Baptist is perhaps the “proper” moment for Jesus to begin His public ministry. While Scriptures pointed out when His parents found Jesus in the temple that He, at the age of 12, actually started doing His father’s business and that He needed to be in His father’s house! But then the same gospel of Luke also said Jesus then went back to Nazareth where He remained until the time He was baptized by John.

 With His baptism, Jesus in effect stood in solidarity with all the people who were inspired and baptized by John to start changing their lives fully according to God’s will. And Jesus has also initiated His mission from the Father for the salvation of man against the burden of sin. Jesus came to teach us about righteousness, to become our standard for righteousness, and to enable our righteousness.

 Reflecting on the baptism of our Lord should lead us all to reflect as well on the meaning of our own baptism. Like most Catholics around me, I was baptized when I was still a baby and my parents took on the task of ensuring that I grew up knowing the value of righteousness as a way of life. The struggle between good and evil in my life was constant. Later in life, I experienced another baptism – one they referred to as “baptism in the spirit” – when my wife and I experienced a Life in the Spirit seminar (LSS) given by a Catholic community. I found my second baptism more meaningful and even fulfilling perhaps because, as an adult, I understood and felt more the love of Jesus as shared by the speakers then. Up to this day, I tell my family and friends that I was able to develop and nurture a personal relationship with Jesus since that LSS Seminar more than 30 years ago. In a way, I was “born again” with my second baptism.

The baptism of Jesus in today’s gospel passage sent a message to John and his followers that He was about to undertake His mission to bring salvation to the people through a life of righteousness. We continue to receive this message through our own baptism inviting us to share in Jesus’ mission to bring love and righteousness into our world. Then, perhaps we can also earn the same blessing that Jesus received from the Father: “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased!”


JOLAN LUMAWIG

KAALAGAD Member