Today
we celebrate the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord. In the Eastern Orthodox Church
it forms one of the feasts they regard as the Epiphany: the Epiphany itself,
the Baptism of the Lord (which we celebrate today), and the wedding feast at
Cana, which is celebrated next Sunday.
All three of these reveal Jesus to the world in various ways.
He has already been welcomed at Christmas by the shepherds, the humblest of his
own people, Israel. In the Epiphany, he is first revealed to the gentiles, the
non-Jews, through the visit of the magi, who give him gifts of gold, frankincense
and myrrh (prophetic of what he was to become: priest, prophet, and king). In
the Baptism, he is revealed as God’s only Son, Anointed One, the Holy Spirit
being poured out upon him so powerfully that the heavens are ‘torn apart’.
Finally, at the wedding at Cana, he shows the reality of his divine powers through
changing water into wine, a small hint of the joy which is to be ours in the
kingdom of God.
In his baptism, we are told at the Easter Vigil, Jesus makes
holy the waters of baptism, the sacrament that frees us from sin. It is worth
pondering today, how that freedom from sin affects our lives. Do we strive
after holiness? Do we REALLY believe that Jesus’ death has freed us from sin,
so that we might serve him in our hearts, our lives, our thoughts, our words? “This
is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him”.
Fr. Phillip
