Gospel Mk 1:7-11
This is what John the Baptist proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Homily
Many years ago, as a young missionary I went to visit some Jesuit missionaries who were working in another rural area in Paraguay. When I got to the parish house the person who attended the door told me that the priests were working in the garden. I thought that it was their flower garden but it was more than that. The garden was in fact the means by which they supported themselves and their mission. In conversation I inquired from them the reason for this approach to their life and ministry. Why as priests, all degreed, they chose to be involved in manual labour instead of devoting their time and energy to teaching the people about the bible and prayer etc, all things which the people needed to know and wanted. They gently reminded me that this was also Jesus’ approach. Jesus they pointed out to me had entered into solidarity with all humanity so as to save us. Jesus had effectively lowered himself to the level of human beings so as to raise up human beings to another level. These priests had taken the decision to live and experience what the people they worked for experienced so as to help them to rise to another level.
I thought of that experience as I meditated on the Gospel for this feast of the baptism of our Lord. The Gospel, after the proclamation of John the Baptist concerning Jesus and his greatness tells us that “Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John.” We must remember the circumstances surrounding John’s baptism. John has preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin and many people from the surrounding countryside and even farther afield, touched by John’s call to repentance, came to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan as they confessed their sins. When Jesus, not only accepted baptism from John but even demanded it, Jesus was entering into radical solidarity with sinful humanity. Jesus, however, unlike sinful humanity was fully human. In radical solidarity with sinful humanity, Jesus underwent temptations as all humans do but he did not sin. Jesus is fully human precisely because he resisted temptation and did not sin. To be fully human is to recognize our condition as creature and embrace it. When we sin we reject our condition of creature and we aspire to be like God. This was Adam’s sin and this is the root of all sin, our refusal to accept that we are creatures and are meant to do what God wills of us.
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Jesus in entering into solidarity with us stooped down to our level to bring us into our true humanity. This he did by his radical obedience to God as a human being, accepting his condition as creature doing exactly what God wanted of him. As a human being Jesus reversed the disobedience of Adam and Eve. This is why Jesus “On coming up out of the water saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” While the Father was displeased by the disobedience of Adam and Eve, He is well pleased with Jesus’ attitude of obedience, an obedience seen in the rejecting of the temptations in the desert and then of course by Jesus’ death on the cross. As a human being Christ gave back to us human beings the possibility of being truly human, the possibility which was lost by the sin of our first parents. Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan therefore signals the possibility of my return and your return to true humanity. What a celebration this demands; what thanksgiving!
The downward mobility of the incarnation must therefore be the pattern of my life as I strive to imitate the Lord Jesus. True humanity does not exist in having much but in doing much to help others to become more and more human; persons capable of saying “Yes” to God. This is how the saints whom we venerate lived. If you and I lived like that what a difference it would make to our country!
As I think of those missionaries in Paraguay, I can only say that they were correct and had discovered the secret of being fully human.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, you were well pleased with your Son Jesus because he grew in wisdom and grace before You and others and was totally committed to doing your will. In this, as a human being he accepted his condition as a creature and so was fully human. Help us your sons and daughters to grow in wisdom and grace so that our lives may be lives lived in obedience to your will so that we too may be fully human and so live in obedient and loving relationships with You and in relationships of true justice, peace and love with others. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, our mother and your Son Jesus. Amen
