Today the season of Christmas draws to a close. It reaches a wonderful climax in a definitive event in the Lord’s life: his baptism in the Jordan. Jesus’ baptism was a remarkable event because the baptism offered by John the Baptist was for repentance. The immersion in the waters of the Jordan was a sign of conversion, of a person changing direction in life. John’s message was addressed to tax collectors, soldiers and ordinary men and women. It was a message of moral reform, of preparing for the coming of the Messiah. Jesus’ baptism began his public life and in this moment God is revealed as Blessed Trinity.
Jesus’ baptism was the acceptance and inauguration of his mission as God’s Suffering Servant. He allowed himself to be numbered among us sinners — He is truly ‘the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.‘
In today’s Gospel we are seeing unfolding before our very eyes the ‘fulfilling of all righteousness.‘ We are witnesses of Jesus consenting to submit himself entirely to his Father’s will, which was his death on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. The coming down of the Spirit at Jesus’ baptism looked forward to the coming down of the Holy Spirit on us — a prelude, if you like, to the new creation. We commit ourselves to entering more deeply into the mystery of our baptism, praying about it, seeking to understand it and growing in our appreciation of this wonderful grace.