The Baptism of the Lord

Written by ​R Susan Smandych  
​January 7, 2024

​This morning, I woke up to a flurry of social media posts between Eastern Orthodox friends wishing each other ‘Merry Christmas’ - or in Ukrainian, ‘Khrystos Rozhdaetsia!’ (…which means ‘Christ is Born!’). The appropriate response is Slavitey Yoho! (Let us Glorify Him!).

​As a child of British and Ukrainian heritage, I loved the idea of having two Christmases, even though I did not understand why they were celebrated on different dates, based on the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Somehow, just having the opportunity for a ‘second’ Christmas helped to counterbalance the anticlimactic feeling of the end of the Christmas season, when the tree and decorations came down - and it was time to return to school.

​In the liturgical calendar, today is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which signifies the end of the Christmas Season, and the beginning of Ordinary Time. Ordinary Time – now that sounds really anticlimactic, after the anticipation of Advent and the excitement of Christmas! But the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is not just the end of Christmas and the beginning of Ordinary Time; it is also the beginning, once again, of Jesus’ mission - and by virtue of us being the disciples of Jesus, it is the beginning of our mission, too! 2 The Baptism of the Lord is described in all three Synoptic Gospels (i.e., in Mark, Matthew and Luke). In the version in today’s Gospel of Mark, we hear about how John the Baptist was out in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Both city and country folks were rushing to him, confessing their sins, and being baptized by him in the water of River Jordan. And as he did so, he announced that he was merely baptizing them with water, and he predicted that someone else would be coming along to baptize them with the Holy Spirit. Then along came Jesus - and He was suddenly baptized by John, too!! And as He was coming up out of the water, Jesus saw the heavens split, the Spirit descend in the form of a dove, and a voice from heaven proclaim, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased"; what an incredible sight that must have been!!

​Now, historically, Jesus was a first century Palestinian Jew, just a ‘run-of-the-mill’ Galilean from Nazareth, and theologically, He was the Word made flesh and the Incarnation of God - and yet Jesus Himself willingly submitted to a sacred rite which was intended to address the salvation of the lost, the healing of the sick, the renewal of the broken. But since Jesus was neither lost nor sick nor broken, why was He baptized, and what was the significance of the baptism of the Lord? The Baptism of the Lord was significant in several ways…

​• First, the Baptism of the Lord affirmed Jesus’ humanity: Jesus received John’s baptism to identify Himself with earthly people, with His fellow Jews, who, as a result of John's preaching, had recently became aware of their sins, and of their need for repentance

​Second, the Baptism of the Lord demonstrated Jesus’ humility: Jesus allowed himself to be numbered among sinners, even though He had no sin and had nothing to repent of. Although it would seem that John’s baptism was inappropriate for Jesus, since He had identified with the people of Israel, He also identified with their sin, and as the Lamb of God, became their sin bearer. This act foreshadows the cross when Jesus would die for the sins of the people of Israel - and indeed for the sins of all those who came after.

​• Third, the Baptism of the Lord confirmed Jesus’ identity as the Son of God: The opening of the Heavens with the Holy Spirit descending as a dove upon Jesus, and the voice of God the Father explicitly declaring, "This is My beloved Son with Whom I am well pleased" revealed Jesus’ true identity. Jesus’ baptism remarkably shows all three Persons of the Trinity, the presence of the Triune God, at the same time - the voice of the Father, the physical body of the Son, and the symbol of the Holy Spirit in the dove. During the baptism, the Father and the Holy Spirit confirm the inherent deity of Jesus.

​• Finally, the Baptism of the Lord marked the start of Jesus’ public ministry: Jesus’ baptism was a catalytic turning point in His life, a transition from His hidden and private life, which essentially ‘inaugurated’ His mission and the fulfilment of His vocation on earth, the moment when He became what He was meant to be. Through His baptism in the Spirit, Jesus was commissioned and equipped for ministry as God’s servant – and this is what we celebrate today: the baptism of Jesus as the beginning of His mission.

​The Baptism of the Lord was not only significant in the life of Jesus, in highlighting His humanity, humility, and identity, and in marking the beginning of His ministry; the Baptism of the Lord is also significant - and relevant - to our lives as Christians.

​• The Baptism of the Lord reminds us of our identity: it reminds us of who we are, and whose we are. Through baptism, we have become the children of God, the siblings of Jesus, members of the Body of Christ, and thus share in the priesthood of all believers. We have the amazing opportunity to experience the presence of God within us, and the awesome responsibility to honor, love and serve with humility all other human beings.

​• The Baptism of the Lord also reminds us of our mission: it reminds us that we have been commissioned and called to serve others based on our baptismal covenant and the promises that we made when we were baptized – to live as children of God in thought, word and action so that our Heavenly Father may also say to each one of us what He said to Jesus: "You are My beloved child with whom I am well pleased.” We are called to be compassionate, to seek justice and to act with mercy, and to help others to see, through the love that we show and the help that we give, that God loves them, too.

​• But living out our baptismal covenant in the context of today’s world is not easy. In his book, Caesar and the Sacrament: Baptism, A Rite of Resistance, a professor of Biblical Theology named R. Alan Streett claims that baptism is a rite of resistance, a politically subversive act against prevailing power structures which requires us to break away from 5 the norms of the predominant culture and challenge the systemic inequity, violence and oppression which overwhelm our society. Sound familiar? The mission we are called to today, is the same mission Jesus was called to, at the beginning of His ministry at His baptism. The Baptism of the Lord is not only the beginning of Jesus’ mission – it is also the beginning, once again, of our mission as modern disciples of Jesus.

​As we continue to reflect on the significance of The Baptism of the Lord, it is appropriate for us to also reflect on the significance of our own baptism. Today’s Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is a reminder of what it means to be Christian. In a few minutes, we will have the opportunity to renew our own baptismal vows, and to recommit to living out our baptismal covenant in everything we do, with everyone we meet, and in everywhere we go. Today is a day to remember the graces we received in Baptism; to thank God for the privilege of being joined to Jesus’ mission; to consecrate ourselves to the Trinity; and to reject Satan. And even after this Feast day, we can and should continue to reflect on our own baptism. 

​In just over five weeks on Ash Wednesday on February 14th , we will embark on the journey of Lent. Lent is a time of intentional self-examination, to reflect on our lives, words, and behaviours - and also on our relationship with God. This year, I am planning to offer a Lenten series entitled, ‘Time Out: Reflecting on Our Baptismal Covenant’ on Tuesday evenings via Zoom starting Feb 20 and running for 6 weeks until Mar 26. During the series, we will have an opportunity to journey with our Saviour to look inwards and reflect on our baptismal covenant as individuals, and to look outwards and reflect on our baptismal 6 covenant as a parish, as the Body of Christ which has committed to supporting all those who have been baptized in this parish, in their lives in Christ and in their faith journeys.

​Our celebration of Christmas does not end with the infant Jesus, but with the adult Jesus being baptized. The Baptism of the Lord is an invitation to renew our discipleship and to reignite our baptismal covenant. We who have been baptized take up His mission, after the Christmas lights have faded. The end of Christmas is the beginning of the work of Christmas, the work of Christ. The work of Christmas begins again today, as described by Howard Thurman, an African-American theologian, educator, and civil rights leader…

​“When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among the people, to make music in the heart.” In Jesus’ most precious name we pray. Amen