Daily reflection of January 10, 2021 "You are my beloved son"

It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. Coming out of the water he saw the sky tear apart and the Spirit, like a dove, descend upon him. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am very happy. "Mark 1: 9-11 (year B)

The feast of the Baptism of the Lord concludes the Christmas season for us and makes us pass the beginning of ordinary time. From a scriptural point of view, this event in Jesus' life is also a time of transition from His hidden life in Nazareth to the beginning of His public ministry. As we commemorate this glorious event, it is important to reflect on a simple question: Why was Jesus baptized? Remember that John's baptism was an act of repentance, an act by which he invited his followers to turn their backs on sin and turn to God. But Jesus was sinless, so what was the reason for his baptism?

First of all, we see in the passage quoted above that Jesus' true identity was made manifest through His humble act of baptism. “You are my beloved Son; I am pleased with you, ”said the voice of the Father in Heaven. Furthermore, we are told that the Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove. Therefore, Jesus' baptism is in part a public statement of Who He is. He is the Son of God, a divine Person who is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This public testimony is an "epiphany," a manifestation of His true identity that all can see as He prepares to begin His public ministry.

Secondly, Jesus' incredible humility is manifested with His baptism. He is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, but He allows Himself to identify with sinners. By sharing an act focused on repentance, Jesus speaks volumes through His baptismal action. He came to join us sinners, to enter our sin and to enter our death. Entering the water, he symbolically enters death itself, which is the result of our sin, and rises triumphantly, also allowing us to rise again with him to new life. For this reason, the baptism of Jesus was a way of "baptizing" the waters, so to speak, so that the water itself, from that moment on, would be endowed with its divine presence and could be communicated to all those who they are baptized after him. Therefore, sinful humanity is now able to encounter divinity through baptism.

Finally, when we participate in this new baptism, through the water that has now been sanctified by our divine Lord, we see in the baptism of Jesus a revelation of who we have become in Him. Just as the Father spoke and declared Him as His Son, and just as the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, so also in our baptism we become adopted children of the Father and are filled with the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Jesus' baptism gives clarity about who we become in Christian baptism.

Lord, I thank you for your humble act of baptism with which you opened the heavens to all sinners. May I open my heart to the unfathomable grace of my baptism every day and live more fully with You as a child of the Father, filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus I believe in you.