“Christ Was Baptized to Cleanse the Waters” Is 42:1-4, 6-7; Acts 10:34-38; Mt 3:13-17 (A)

 

“Christ Was Baptized to Cleanse the Waters”

Is 42:1-4, 6-7; Acts 10:34-38; Mt 3:13-17 (A)

“The voice of the God of majesty resounds on the waters.”

Today we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, a mystery that reveals not only who Jesus is, but who we are. At the Jordan River, Jesus steps into the waters where sinners are seeking repentance. Yet he is sinless. Scripture tells us he is “like us in all things but sin” (Heb 4:15). So why does he ask to be baptized? The Church answers through the words of St Gregory of Nazianzus, “Christ was baptized, not because he needed to be cleansed, but to cleanse the waters.” Jesus does not go into the Jordan to be purified; He goes in to purify. By his presence, the waters are changed. The Catechism teaches that by descending into the waters, Christ sanctified all waters, so that they might become the source of new life for us in baptism (CCC 536–537).

This means that every baptism—including ours—draws its power from this moment. When water was poured over us, and we were baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit - Christ himself acted—cleansing, healing, and re-creating us. At the Jordan, the heavens open, the Spirit descends, and the Father’s voice is heard: “This is my beloved Son” (Mt 3:17). Here the mystery of the Holy Trinity is revealed. Heaven, once closed by sin, is opened again. As St Gregory says, Christ opens the gates that Adam had closed. The Jordan flows through the wilderness—a place of barrenness and struggle. Yet it is there that light breaks forth. Isaiah’s promise is fulfilled: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Is 9:2). Baptism is this light. The Catechism calls it illumination, because it enlightens the soul (CCC 1216).

But this feast is not only about Christ’s baptism. It is about our baptism today. St Gregory challenges us: “Christ is baptized; let us go down with him, that we may also rise with him.” St Paul tells us that in baptism we die with Christ, so that we may rise with him and walk in newness of life (Rom 6:4). we are not just people who attend church. We are the baptized. We are not meant to live in fear or darkness. We are children of the light. We are not spectators of the Gospel. We  are witnesses. Reject sin where it has quietly returned. Choose the light where compromise has crept in. Speak and act as sons and daughters of God in your homes, workplaces, and communities. When you bless yourself with holy water, remember: These waters were cleansed by Christ for you.

 

“This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased. To him, then, listen”.