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Did you ever wonder: “Why did Jesus ask to be baptized?” After all, the Church teaches that Christ shared in our humanity in all ways but sin. So, if Jesus was without sin, why would he ask for something that he really did not need?
Well, in his first book written as pontiff, entitled “Jesus of Nazareth,” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI answers this question succinctly. Jesus’ baptism anticipates his death on the cross. As our Lord asked for baptism, he willingly took on the sins of the world and, later, he would vicariously atone for those sins on Mt. Calvary. At the same time, argues the Holy Father, the heavenly voice that is heard after Jesus’ baptism, anticipates his resurrection. Just as the Eucharist is also the sacrifice of Calvary in the sign order, and is offered in a non-bloody manner, so the Baptism of the Lord is, in the sign order, an enacted prophecy of what is to come in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus asks to be baptized in order to identify himself with us fully. The Baptism of the Lord both recapitulates and recreates all of history; it encapsulates the past and anticipates the future.
Pope Emeritus Benedict has given great insight into the feast which we celebrate this Sunday. There’s only one problem to a purely theological approach — it can be a little too cerebral, and therefore, it must contain a pastoral component, that is, a practical application to which people can relate. So, here’s the part you’ve all been waiting for!
If the Baptism of the Lord is ultimately about redemption, then it follows that this feast calls us to embrace anew our mission as co-redeemers, and sometimes to fulfill this role requires fortitude, perseverance, prudence and courage.
We have as a model, Benedict’s successor, Pope Francis. Just look what he has done in the almost eight years since he was elevated to the papacy. He chooses to dress simply — to wear a simple silver pectoral cross. He does not travel on land by limousine but by a modest car. He flies on commercial airlines, not in his own jet. The Holy Father does not inhabit the papal palace but chooses to dwell in a two-room suite at the Albergo Santa Marta. He eats with others and not by himself, as had popes before him did. Like other Popes of our times, Francis reminds us all, clergy and laity, that baptism, which frees us from sin and gives us new life in the Spirit, is the beginning of our faith journey, not its end.
Pope Francis has also voiced his concern for the many baptized Christians “whose lives do not reflect the demands of baptism, who lack a meaningful relationship to the Church and no longer experience the consolation born of faith.” Part of our mission, then, is to help such people to “experience a conversion, which will restore the joy of faith to their hearts and inspire a commitment to the Gospel.” (“Evangelii Gaudium,” 15) A major step toward this end took place when, following a year of spiritual renewal and awakening among the 630,000 souls who make up his flock, Bishop James F. Checchio consecrated the Diocese of Metuchen to Jesus through Our Lady of Guadalupe [dubbed by St. John Paul II as the “Star of the New Evangelization”] in December.
The next logical step would be the application of the consecration. One way is to visit with those who have strayed from the Church and invite them back. Another way to evangelize is through prayer. We should ask Jesus that those whose faith is tepid will rediscover their relationship with God through freedom and love. Finally, nothing says “Good News” like faith lived out in charity, that is, in service to others. Yes, the lives renewed through Our Lady of Guadalupe’s intercession will certainly bear fruit. This is what it means to take the New Evangelization to the next step. We must not only shed the habit of dormant faith, we must also share the graces received and become missionary disciples. How much our world yearns for this proof of basic, human goodness, especially as we embrace this new year.
Father Comandini is managing editor of “The Catholic Spirit.”