More Than A Ritual
Julián Carrón - Baptism is Jesus’ first public act. Through it, the revelation of God that began in the manger at Bethlehem discloses its full scope and keeps us from reducing Christmas to the usual sweet, sentimental image.
Let us allow ourselves to be surprised. “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God, “proclaim to them that their iniquity is ended.” With these words, the prophet Isaiah shows us the gaze that God wants to have upon His people—upon each of us. We, who are so often burdened by worries or remorse, are told: “Your iniquity is ended.” To keep us from trivializing this claim, Isaiah reminds us who makes it: “Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God comes with power; with His arm, He rules.”
But Isaiah immediately steers us away from our usual notions of power by describing how God actually exercises it: “Like a shepherd, He feeds His flock; with His arm He gathers them; He carries the lambs on His breast and gently leads the ewes.” His power is not meant to dominate, but to care for His flock, even going so far as to carry the lambs close to His heart. Could there be a more tender consolation for us, the helpless lambs?
With this in mind, we can turn to the baptismal account that Isaiah leads us toward: “The people were waiting.” Consciously or unconsciously, everyone awaits someone who will care for them. What had awakened this expectation in the people? The presence of John the Baptist, before whom “all were wondering in their hearts if John might be the Christ”—the One they had long been waiting for, the Messiah who would fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy.
John answered them all: “I baptize you with water, but someone more powerful than I is coming, and I am not worthy to loosen the straps of His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” John’s baptism is an occasion to announce the “Mighty One” promised by Isaiah—the One who will “baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.” John knows his baptism lacks the power truly to console the people. A baptism with real power is needed.
Who could have imagined what would happen next? “When all the people had been baptized, and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven: ‘You are My beloved Son; with You, I am well pleased.’”
Jesus uses John’s baptism to do something simple and extraordinary: The One who has no sin stands among sinners, receiving John’s baptism. “There is something profoundly mysterious in the fact that Jesus allows Himself to be baptized along with those seeking conversion for their sins; it is as if, in His first public act, He wanted to express His solidarity with all sinners” (Balthasar).
For each of us who sins, this solidarity is our consolation. Its deepest meaning, however, emerges only in Jesus’ death and resurrection, which baptism foreshadows. In baptism, God’s plan is proclaimed—later fulfilled when Jesus takes upon Himself the sin of the world. Yet even now, in Jesus’ baptism, the Father shows us all His love by sending the Holy Spirit upon His Son. The entire mystery of God reaches out to us sinners. From the very beginning, we encounter the nature of our God: The One who launches His public ministry is the Father’s beloved Son, filled with the Holy Spirit, and everything in His public life will confirm this.
In the second reading, St. Paul—already seeing the entire plan fulfilled through the death and resurrection of Christ—exults because he sees this plan come to completion. After all, as we heard, “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all.” Indeed, “He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to make for Himself a people that is His very own.”
“When the kindness of God and His love for humanity appeared, He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” This “washing of rebirth” is baptism. In baptism, God’s kindness and love for humanity reach us. Christian baptism—bestowed on each of us—is Christ's gesture, overflowing with concern for our destiny, to say to sinners: “You are deeply loved.” Through this act, “He regenerates and renews us by the Spirit, poured out on us in abundance through Jesus Christ.” Our life and our very selves are totally immersed in His merciful passion.
There is no greater comfort than this realization, which lets us look at our lives today, aware of the gift being restored to us. What is the ultimate goal of this gesture? St. Paul concludes: “Justified by His grace, we have become heirs in hope of eternal life.” Our final destiny is not death but eternal life—eternal life that begins here, in the present, fulfilling all our longings. How can we not be again astonished when we truly grasp what we celebrate before such boundless love?
Baptism of the Lord (Year C) - Sermon by Julián Carrón, January 12, 2025
(First Reading: Is 40:1-5,9-11; Psalm 103 [104]; Second Reading: Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7; Gospel: Lk 3:15-16,21-22).
The author has not revised this text or its translations.
