Today, on the feast of the Baptism of Jesus, the evangelist Matthew tells us about Jesus at the River Jordan, where he does nothing else: he doesn’t preach, he doesn’t perform miracles, he doesn’t call disciples. He is simply in line with the others, with the sinners, immersed in the water like everyone else. And it is precisely there that one of the essential things in His life happens: the sky opens, and the voice of the Father is heard: “This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased.” It is as if today a father were to say: “This is my son. I am proud of him. He gives me joy as he is, for how he conducts his life and relates with the world.” In the Baptism of Jesus, a decisive truth is revealed to us: before commitment there is identity, before mission there is love, before duty there is gift. Baptism is the place where God says to man: “You are my son. Your life has meaning.”
Ordinary Time
The Feast of the Baptism of Jesus marks the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of Ordinary Time in the liturgical year. This event, which celebrates the beginning of Christ’s public ministry, is a kind of “bridge” between Christmas and the daily life of the Church, which also invites us to reflect on our own baptism and to remember it with gratitude. Thanks to our baptism, we have become children of God, partakers of His own divine life, and included in the great family of the Church. Now we are launched into to “ordinary time” to live out our baptismal promises in the ordinariness of everyday life.
Divine Nearness
Today we want to focus in particular on one aspect that emerges from the baptism of Jesus. His style of nearness to man. Jesus, even though He is without sin, draws near to our human experience: He is baptized by John not out of necessity, but out of solidarity with us. He does not need purification but chooses to stand in queue with sinners to share the experience of human fragility. This gesture is the first sign of his closeness to each of us. It reminds us, as Pope Francis said, that “God does not remain distant, but enters into the history of people.” Yes, God is not indifferent to our struggles. He is not foreign to our sufferings. He is not frightened by our weaknesses, and He does not stop loving us when we fall into sin. God is with us; he is for us.
Humble Solidarity
At the same time, the baptism of Jesus is an example of concrete humility. The Son of God stands in line with sinners. This teaches us that His style of closeness to us is not paternalism, but real solidarity. Standing beside people in their limitations, in their wounds, in their weariness – making them always feel loved. In many situations, it would be easier to distance ourselves and pass judgment, point the finger, lock ourselves in presumed “circles of the righteous”, excluding others, perhaps looking at them from top to bottom by virtue of our egocentric feeling of being “better”. Jesus, on the other hand, shows something completely different and asks us to do as He did. We are to assume that style of closeness, compassion and tenderness. Real closeness, made of small gestures of attention, listening, care and mercy, compassion inspired by the example of Jesus Himself.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for the gift of my Baptism. Help me to live as a true son/daughter loved by the Father: to be close to others, to do them good, and to follow Your will every day. Holy Spirit, guide me and sustain me, so that I may grow in faith and love. Amen.
[Readings: Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7; Acts 10:34-38; Matthew 3:13-17]
Thank you for this reflection, and I thank God for the gift of baptism which enables me be in communion with God 🙏