Baptism of the Lord
(Isaiah 42:1-4.6-7; Mark 1:7-11)
Each of the four gospels has its own way of seeing Jesus. The Gospel of Mark sees him as learning of
his Lordship at his baptism, the account of which we just heard. Mark indicates that Jesus alone sees the Holy
Spirit descending from heaven. Likewise
it implies that only Jesus hears the voice of the Father calling him “my
beloved Son.”
These realities leave us with questions. How could it be that Jesus did not always know
of his relation to the Father? Why would
God not want the world to know that Jesus is His Son. Regarding the first question, we find an
answer in St. Paul’s description of Christ in his Letter to the Philippians.
Paul writes that Jesus “emptied himself” of his divinity when he became human. It is presumed that action includes awareness
of his divine nature. Secondly, the
Father does not want the world to know of Jesus’ diving Sonship to avoid a
false notion of what this means. Being
Son of God is not a reason to be well served.
Rather, it is a mandate to serve others.
Jesus will perform the ultimate service when he is crucified for the
forgiveness of sins.
Jesus’ becoming aware of his divine Sonship at Baptism
should make us aware of our own relationship to the Divine because of our
Baptism. At Baptism we become children
of God, temples of the Holy Spirit, and inheritors of eternal life. We should never allow ourselves to lose the benefits
associated with these titles. We must take
care to learn from Jesus how to live righteously through our study of the
gospel.
