Gift wrappings and presentation boxes make gifts more attractive. But at times, they may distract us a little from the gift itself. The Gospel account for Christ’s baptism is full of drama as our own baptism is full of attractive rituals. It would be a pity if these baptismal wrappings distract us from what they are meant to highlight. They highlight the fact that at his baptism, Christ was commissioned to carry out his mission of bringing justice to all by establishing the reign of God’s kingdom. Likewise, when we are christened at our baptism, the Christ-King appoints us to our Christian vocation, setting us aside for the apostolic life which Christ initiated.
That is why the day a person is baptised is the most important of the persons life, for it is the day of a new birth. When the Roman youth reach manhood, he puts on the Toga Virilis, the robe of manhood. When the Hindu youth of a certain caste reached manhood, they put on the yagnopavitan or sacred cord. So at baptism a believer puts on Christ, a new of righteousness to display to the world and a new cord of justice to establish in the world. Thus our baptism is dynamic; it points back to the work of God in us and forward to the life of faith. We are inclined to speak of our baptism in the past tense, ‘I was baptised” implying perhaps that our baptism is a static event now over and done with. It would be better to say, “I am baptised”, meaning that baptism is an on going thing to be lived out daily.
Therefore, the question we must ask ourselves is whether as members of the new messianic people we are available to God as his instrument to bring justice to all, he was commissioned to bring justice particularly to sinners, to the poor and the little ones of the society. This is the reason he allowed himself to be baptised. The baptism of St. John the Baptist was a baptism of repentance. It was a sign that the people repented of their sins. But Jesus was sinless, always God’s beloved Son. In spite of it, if he still chose to be baptised, it was to show solidarity with us sinners, needing forgiveness; it was to identify himself with the poor, the distressed, the oppressed, needing justice.
If we are convinced that God has chosen us as his servants upon whom he put his Spirit when we were baptised, the question we must ask is: To what extent are we prepared to identify ourselves with our mission of Christ, the mission of peace and justice; of sanctity and righteousness? How deeply are we involved in the plight of people, in order to bring light where there is darkness and ignorance, sight where there is blindness and racism, freedom where there is oppression and ill treatment? As adult Christians, are we prepared to take a public stand for the marginalised in the society, a call we received at baptism as babies? In our present world, such public witness can be a daunting prospect as it could mean becoming unpopular and isolated, finding ourselves battling in a wilderness.
At such moments of lonely suffering in the cause of truth and justice, we need to allow ourselves to hear that word from God: You are my son/daughter, the beloved; my favour rests on you (Mk1:11). When we experience God’s favour resting on us and his spirit overshadowing us, we can go forth and do battle as Jesus did. And we continue to find favour with God. Amen.
By Fr. Francis O. Anyanwu |
