Dear parishioners, visitors & friends,

 

This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord to wrap up the Christmas season. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, ‘baptism is a founda- tional sacrament. It is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. It is also through baptism that we are freed from original sin and reborn as sons and daughters of God and also become members of the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church’ (1213). Saint Luke’s account of Jesus’ baptism is almost the same as that of Matthew and Mark, but Luke does differ from the others on a few things. Saint Luke is the only evangelist who added that Jesus was baptised ‘when all the people had been baptised.’ Perhaps, it might be worth asking why Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist. The baptism that John the Baptist administered to the people was a baptism of repentance of sins (Lk 3:3). All who came to John the Baptist had one thing in mind – to repent of their sins. If this was the case, why then would Jesus Christ who knew no sin (Hebrew 4:15) accept to undertake a baptism which amongst other things is for the forgiveness of sins? In Matthew’s account of Jesus’ baptism, John objected to giving Jesus baptism, “It is I who need baptism from you, and yet you come to me.” (Matt 3:14). Jesus Christ was baptised to fulfil all righteousness. “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteous- ness.” (Matt 3:15). The sinless Christ had no personal sin to take into the River Jordan but He had the sins of the world. In other words, as Christ stepped into the water of baptism, Christ carried with Him, the sins of the world. This prefigures Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross for the redemption and salva- tion of the world. The cross did not come to Christ unawares. Right from the beginning, everything in the life of Christ pointed to Christ’s salvific mission on the cross. No wonder, Jesus Christ remains the only one in history, who was born not only to live but also die. This weekend, as we celebrate the baptism of Jesus Christ, each of us has a wonderful opportunity to reflect on our own individual baptism and what it means to us. If we were baptised as little children, our baptism would make no sense if we do not make it a point of duty to renew and live out our baptismal vocation daily. Baptism is not a magic formula recited over us by the priest or deacon to wash off original sin and give us a chance of getting to heaven. Like the other sacraments, baptism has a lasting effect. The grace of baptism has to be lived out every day of our life. The grace of baptism marks us with a seal and makes us adopted sons and daughters of our loving God. We are special and highly privileged through the grace of baptism. “This is my beloved son, this is my beloved daughter,” was the silent voice of God which echoed when each of us was baptised. I hope and pray that just as the baptism of Jesus Christ marked the beginning of Christ’s public ministry, so too will our own baptism help us daily to realise our God-given place in the Church and in the world.

God bless you all.

Fr. John Ikechukwu Echewodo

Parish Priest