We began this morning’s Mass in an unusual way, with the Blessing and Sprinkling of Holy Water, intended to remind us of our Baptism. This is especially appropriate as we celebrate the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, and recall how John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, inaugurating his public ministry.
But what is this Baptism, this washing with water which we reflect upon today?
As the ancient prayer I prayed to bless the water a few minutes ago reminds us, God created water to be a source of life and purification, both inside and out. washes dirt away on the outside, so Baptism washes away sin and causes the the life-giving spring of eternal life to well up deep within.
But why was Jesus Baptized? Was he in need of cleansing? Not at all. He was a man like us in all things except sin. No sin was within him.
But so much did he love us, that he not only became one of us, but he stood there among the sinners waiting to have their sins washed away, in order to encourage us to return to God with our whole heart, and to be totally immersed in his love.
Indeed, the Greek word baptisma literally means immersion, as when John baptizes Jesus by immersing him in the waters of the Jordan River, and as Jesus entirely immerses himself in our human condition so that he could understand our weaknesses and our frailty.
But then what happened at the moment of Jesus’ Baptism, the moment when his public ministry of meekness and humility began in a life of sacrificial love?
You heard what Saint Luke told us. The clouds parted and the Holy Spirit showed himself in the form of a dove, while the voice of the Father acknowledged his beloved Son using words of the Prophet Isaiah.
Here stands Jesus, acclaimed by his Father as the hope of the prophets, the light for the nations, sight to the blind, freedom to prisoners and the way our of the dark dungeons of selfishness and sin.
Here stands Jesus, who with his strong right arm outstretched upon the Cross, conquers the Evil One by suffering and by laying down his life for his sheep.
Here stands Jesus, come to “baptize humanity in the Holy Spirit…to give humanity God's life and his Spirit of love…” (Pope Benedict XVI, 13 Jan 2008.)
It is that same Jesus who we receive in the Sacraments of water and blood which flowed from his side on the Altar of the Cross. In Baptism, by which our sins are washed away, and in this Eucharist, at which we drink from the Chalice of Salvation.
So let our prayer this morning be the one which I prayed a few moments ago, at the end of the sprinkling with holy water on this Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, that “Almighty God [might] cleanse us of our sins, and through the celebration of this Eucharist, make us worthy to share at the table of his Kingdom.”
