Baptism of Our Lord- Gospel Reflection

Today the Church celebrates the Baptism of our Lord in the Jordan River by his cousin John the Baptist. Up until this point, Jesus has not yet begun his public ministry, choosing to begin his public ministry not with words but actions as well as with his baptism is very symbolic.

When we began our walk with the Lord, our public ministry to bear witness to Christ, it also began with our baptisms, for most of us that meant a decision made on our behalf by our parents. 

Throughout his public ministry, Christ also strove to teach by example, he established that Christians should be servant leaders, for if we want people to follow us, we must show them what it means to be us [a follower of Christ].

Christ didn’t have to be baptized, he was the unblemished lamb born without sin. Christ was baptized in order to set the perfect example for us, that repentance and baptism are not an option but two Sacraments WE MUST undergo.

We just celebrated the Nativity and Epiphany of the Lord where God came into the earth and humbled himself with the lowest of the low. Thirty years later, Christ is still humbling himself but with sinners this time, by being baptized he humbles himself and stands in solidarity with these sinners.

God manifested humility through the baptism of Jesus. He claimed Christ as his son and personally publicly recognized him for the first time.

May we all recall our baptism today, the promises we made, and the sharing we have in the priesthood of Christ. May we all humble ourselves to be with sinners and those who don’t believe in order to set the example that we are not above them, but rather we are one of them and we are here to help all recognize the salvation message.

God Bless,
Jonathan

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