Leading others to Jesus with humility and joy

Jan. 12—The Baptism of the Lord

Readings: Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7; Psalm 29, R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.; Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7; Gospel – Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

With the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the Christmas season ends, and tomorrow we move into ordinary time in our liturgical calendar.

It is a good time to pause to make a conscious transition, our first point for reflection.

We also look at a couple of characteristics of our own Christian baptism: John’s consistent pointing to the person of Jesus, leading others to the Christ, and Jesus’ identity and mission.

After four weeks of Advent and almost three weeks of the Christmas season, we transition to ordinary time.

The narrative of the Lord’s baptism transitions us from his hidden life to his public life of ministry.

After the Finding in the Temple when he was 12, we hear nothing about him for 18 years.

Then, the Lord pivoted from his hidden, quiet life into a public ministry that would lead him through an intense period of activity, of preaching, healing, exorcising, forming his community, and culminating in the Cross and Resurrection.

We, too, somehow go through this same cycle. While Christmas, especially in the Philippines, is far from a hidden life with all the reunions and celebrations, it is time away from the usual grind of the day-to-day.

Christmas is always a welcome break to rest and enjoy, reflect and enjoy relationships with family and friends. It is a hiatus.

Like the Lord, we transition now with the feast of his baptism from this hiatus back to the day-to-day grind.

With this transition, we remember two characteristics of our Christian baptism. We are followers of Jesus, disciples of Christ, and thus we share in his identity and mission.

Our baptism initiated us into the Christian community, making us followers, disciples of Jesus. We are Christians.

‘I am not worthy’

We are invited to remember our being followers, disciples of Jesus. It is a better way to adopt some sort of new year’s resolution, with the start of a year as a moment of remembering that we are disciples.

John the Baptist showed us how to be disciples. He was constant in his mission. He constantly pointed to Jesus as the Messiah with humility and joy. This made him credible as one who constantly led others to Jesus.

This is essential to who we are as disciples, leading others to Jesus with humility and joy.

“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.” (from Luke 3:15-16, 21-22)

See Also

Ben’s love affair with Mt. Kanlaon

“You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease.” (John 3: 28-30)

That last line is the deepest desire and most fervent prayer of a disciple, of a Christian.

Our discipleship finds its culmination in our identity and mission, which is always a sharing in the identity and mission of Jesus.

“You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” The culmination of our discipleship is sharing in Jesus’ identity as the Beloved Son who loved us and saved us through his loving obedience.

His loving obedience led him to fulfill his mission, thus becoming pleasing to the Father by dying on the cross and being raised on the third day.

We are given identity and mission as our special grace as disciples and followers of Jesus. This is the extraordinary grace we are blessed with to live in ordinary time.

Each year, this is a fitting poem to mark the end the Christmas season and to transition into ordinary time.