Baptism – God’s extravagant gift

This Sunday, we are invited to reflect on our baptismal promises

WORD OF FAITH: A breakdown of each week's upcoming Sunday readings to better understand the Word of God at Mass.

The reading from the Prophet Isaiah holds the seeds that will grow into the Good News of Jesus’ ministry among us. First, there is the reassurance that God wants to comfort the people, to speak tenderly to them, to us. The Holy One desires to end a relationship of fear, guilt and servitude and usher in a time of forgiveness and mercy. Then we hear a voice crying out in the wilderness announcing this extraordinary news. This voice is echoed in John the Baptist’s announcement of the coming of the “mighty one.” John prepares the way just as royal highways were created — all obstacles are removed for the king. The glad tidings and good news are being announced with great joy! The king, the Lord God, comes with power and a strong saving arm. But the authority that this Lord wields is the might of one who bends down to serve, like a shepherd gently leading his flock with care. These seeds of hope will grow and flower in Jesus’ preaching and healing.

Just as Isaiah’s hope-filled words comforted the Jewish exiles, John’s preaching created great expectation among the people. They thought that perhaps John was the Christ — the Messiah. But John points to Jesus, the one who will fulfill the promises, the one who will “baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Jesus’ ministry, his messianic role, is confirmed in his baptism in the Jordan, even though this baptism is not one of repentance but one “to fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus is in the presence of the Holy Spirit and of the Father, whose voice — “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” — affirms the Son. In this tremendous theophany, this manifestation of the Trinity, Jesus begins his ministry.

In the Second Reading, St. Paul reminds us that we are part of this great theophany — “the grace of God has appeared” … God has “cleansed for himself a people as his own … he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior.” We have been swept into the arms of the Trinity — into the very life of God! This is our baptismal inheritance: the Divine Indwelling of the Blessed Trinity, the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. On this feast, when we consider the richness of our relationship with the Holy One, we are given the opportunity to renew our baptismal vows. We are challenged again to “reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly and devoutly in this age as we await the blessed hope … of our savior Jesus Christ.” We are reminded that we are the children of God!

Our baptism plants these seeds in us. This Sunday, we are invited to reflect on our baptismal promises. We can also go deeper into the outpouring of gifts we received at baptism. We are temples of the Trinity; God’s life pulsates in our own hearts and minds. What does the Divine Indwelling mean to us? What treasures do the virtues of faith, hope and charity hold for us? Can we be more aware of the power that they give us? Do we tap into them when life gets testy? Do we rejoice in them and in their call to live life abundantly? Perhaps we haven’t considered the Gifts of the Spirit since we studied them for confirmation preparation. These are the Holy One’s extravagant endowments for us, but sometimes they lie dormant because we don’t exercise them. The waters of baptism nourish the seeds of God’s word, God’s life in us. These seeds sprout into a great harvest that Jesus proclaimed with great joy!