The Baptism of the Lord, Year C
Isaiah 40:1-5,9-11
Ps 104
Titus 2:11-14, 3:4-7
Luke 3:15-16,21-22
“A feeling of expectancy had grown among the people.” This is how today’s Gospel reading begins. The people were waiting for the Messiah, the Christ. “A feeling of expectancy” – That sounds much more appropriate for Advent than for Christmas! In fact, the readings today, on the last day of the Christmas season, take us back to where we were during Advent. We hear the words of the prophet Isaiah: ‘Console my people, console them.’ We hear of the voice in the desert calling out: ‘Prepare a way for the Lord!’ And we hear about John the Baptist, whom many already believe to be the Messiah.
It is good that we remember the deep longing for the Saviour once again at the end of the Christmas season. After all, we are still awaiting the return of Christ at the end of time. We are not yet in heaven. We live in a world full of darkness and sin, fear and lostness. A world in need of redemption.
So, did the birth of Jesus make no difference at all? It did make a difference! The Saviour of the world has already visibly appeared on earth. He is already here. He has begun his work and he will complete it. That is what makes the difference. That is the reason for the great joy at Christmas: The Saviour has already appeared.
But he has appeared in humility and lowliness, not yet in glory. In glory he will only appear at the end of time, when he returns. Until then, Christ labours in humility and suffers for our salvation. The redemption of the world is still ‘work in progress’. Even after Jesus has completed his earthly life, after his suffering, death, resurrection and ascension, his work continues. The Church is the body of Christ. In the Church and through the Church, Christ continues his work of redemption.
In the Gospel, we heard how Jesus began his work of redemption. He began it with the greatest humility. Together with all the people, he is baptised by John. And he prayed. From a purely external point of view, he did nothing different from the people around him. He joined the crowd of sinners, even though he was without sin.
But as he prays, it becomes clear that something completely new is happening here. The heavens opened “and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily shape, like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you.’”
Heaven opens. We can already see our destination, we can see our salvation. The way is now open.
The Holy Spirit becomes physically visible in the form of a dove. This makes us think of the dove that Noah sent from the stranded ark and that came back with an olive branch to announce the end of the flood, the end of the punishment for sins.
And God the Father lets his voice resound from heaven. He himself bears witness to his beloved Son. The baptism of Jesus reveals the inner life of God. Father and Son are in constant communication with each other. They are bound together by the bond of love that is the Holy Spirit. The baptism of Jesus also reveals the real, deeper meaning of Christmas: The Son of God became man in order to welcome us, all of humanity, into the inner community of love of the Triune God.
In our own baptism, Christ began his work of redemption in us. In baptism, we were united with Christ, and therefore we hear the words that God the Father speaks to his Son very personally related to us. We ourselves hear the voice of God saying to each and every one of us: ‘You are my beloved son / you are my beloved daughter.’ Being accepted by God as a beloved son / a beloved daughter is nothing other than our salvation. It happens through baptism, i.e. “by means of the cleansing water of rebirth and by renewing us with the Holy Spirit“, as St. Paul puts it in his letter to Titus.
So, has everything that is necessary for our salvation already happened? – In a way, yes. If we have been received into the love of God, then we lack nothing. We can then trust in God the Father in exactly the same way as Jesus did during his earthly life. We can be sure that the Father loves us and wants to give us eternal life.
Nevertheless, it remains true that we continue to live in a time of expectation. Baptism does not take away all the difficulties of our earthly life. We continue to suffer from illnesses and we face our earthly death. And we are still threatened by our tendency to evil. Therefore, we are in constant need of God’s healing and saving grace.
And we are called to co-operate with Christ in the redemption of the world. To labour together with him so that one day we can also be with him in his glory. Paul summarised what this means for our lives: “we have to give up everything that does not lead to God, and all our worldly ambitions; we must be self‐restrained and live good and religious lives here in this present world, while we are waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the Appearing of the glory of our great God and saviour Christ Jesus.”
Let us now rejoice in our baptism, let us rejoice in the beginning of our salvation. Let us rejoice in being beloved children of God. Let us thank the Lord for all that he has done and continues to do for us. And let us try, as best we can, to co-operate with him in his work of redemption.
