Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

In 2002 Pope John Paul II introduced five new mysteries of the Rosary, the Luminous Mysteries, to cover Christ's public ministry. The Baptism of the Lord is the first Luminous Mystery and marks the beginning of Christ's public ministry. With his baptism Jesus leaves his private, domestic life at Nazareth, and sets out to proclaim God's salvation for the world.

Today's feast celebrates not just Christ's baptism, but ours. Through our baptism we have been born from above -- from God -- and have become the children of God. Just as Jesus shared our human life through his birth at Bethlehem, so we share his divine life through our rebirth at baptism. We become God's beloved sons or daughters, with whom he is well pleased.

Jesus’ baptism prepared him for his mission and ours prepares us for our mission. We are not simply called to a private, cozy relationship between each of us and God; rather our baptism commissions us to share the faith we have received. Like Jesus, we are meant to be luminous -- lights revealing the glory of God and the power of his salvation. Like Jesus we are called to dispel the darkness of ignorance and error. If we live up to our vocation God will, indeed, be able to say, 'This is my beloved son or daughter, with whom I am well pleased.'

There is a final point, which we can easily overlook. When God calls us to carry out any task, he always gives us the strength to do it. After his baptism Jesus prepared for his mission by spending forty days praying in the desert. His whole ministry formed a rhythm of preaching and healing, punctuated by long periods of prayer. This should remind us that we cannot be faithful to our baptismal mission without God's help, which we must seek in prayer. The greatest mistake we could make would be for us to try doing God's work without his assistance.

God our Father,
with Jesus you call us to be
your beloved sons and daughters
and with him you give us the mission
to become humble and dedicated servants.
Grant that we may not break
those crushed by sin and sorrow.
Help us to serve always the cause of right,
to be eyes to the blind
and a voice for the downtrodden.
May we please you in all we do.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

Amen.