by Fr. Tommy Lane
I remember during my first year when studying theology in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland, one of the professors teaching us about the importance of baptism. The Berlin Wall or Iron Curtain had not yet fallen but I remember the professor saying that President Mikhail Gorbachev had been baptized and our faith tells us his baptism must make a difference. His grandmother had him secretly baptized by a Russian Orthodox priest. His grandmother/ mother put an icon of Jesus on the wall in every room in the house. Gorbachev’s father was a staunch Communist and put a picture of Stalin next to each picture of Jesus. Three years later when I was studying in Rome, the Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989. Then on December 1, 1989, I went to St. Peter’s Square and watched President Gorbachev being driven into the Vatican to meet Pope John Paul II. The two met and spoke in the Pope’s private library for seventy minutes. That is the power of the Holy Spirit received at baptism. Baptism counts. Baptism makes a difference.
Our Gospel account today of Jesus’ baptism reminds us of our own baptism. Why did Jesus ask John for baptism? Baptism is for the forgiveness of sins and Jesus did not need forgiveness. No wonder that in Matthew’s account, John objects to giving Jesus baptism: “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” (Matt 3:14) But Jesus insisted on being baptized. All of Jesus’ followers would be baptized, and so Jesus too wanted to be baptized to show his unity with all of us. A new family was formed at Pentecost, the Church, and baptism is the way to enter the Church.
What difference does baptism make to us? When Jesus was baptized, the Father spoke and said, “You are my Son, the beloved; my favor rests on you.” (Mark 1:11) When we are baptized, the Father says over each of us: “You are my son/daughter, my beloved; my favor rests on you.” Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit when he was baptized in the Jordan (Acts 10:38), and we are anointed with the oil of chrism during our baptism and like Jesus we receive the Holy Spirit also. These are some of the instructions for the newly baptized in Jerusalem in the early Church:
Now that you have been
baptized into Christ and have put on Christ,
you have become conformed to the
Son of God…since you share in Christ, it is right to call you ‘Christs’ or
anointed ones… You have become ‘Christs’ by receiving the sign of Holy
Spirit…When you emerged from the pool of sacred waters you were anointed in a
manner corresponding to Christ’s anointing. That anointing is the Holy Spirit…
Christ was anointed with...the Holy Spirit…and you have been anointed with
chrism because you have become fellows and sharers of Christ…But be sure not to
regard the chrism merely as ointment…When the Holy Spirit has been invoked on
the holy chrism it is no longer mere or ordinary ointment; it is the gift of
Christ…It is applied to your forehead and organs of sense with a symbolic
meaning; the body is anointed with visible ointment, and the soul is sanctified
by the holy, hidden Spirit.
(The Jerusalem Catecheses in the Office of Readings for Friday of the Easter Octave)
Those were beautiful words from the instructions given in the early Church in Jerusalem reminding the newly baptized that after baptism they share deeply in the grace of Jesus. Vatican II in the 1960s has once again reminded all the faithful that they share in the priesthood of Christ. During baptism when the child is anointed with the oil of chrism, part of the prayer for the anointing is, “As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet and King, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.” Because of our baptism, we are all united in Jesus. That is why Paul in his letters makes statements like, “there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, you are all one in Christ.” (Gal 3:28)
So, what is your vocation since baptism? Your vocation is to witness Jesus to the world. Because we fail, we ask for mercy at the beginning of every Mass. I conclude with some of the instruction to the newly baptized at Jerusalem:
it is right to call you ‘Christs’ or anointed ones… You have become ‘Christs’ by receiving the sign of Holy Spirit…When you emerged from the pool of sacred waters you were anointed in a manner corresponding to Christ’s anointing.
Copyright © Fr. Tommy Lane 2003
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More homilies for the First Sunday: Baptism of Our Lord
Deepening our unity with Jesus since baptism 2023
Jesus’ solidarity with us 2021
United with Jesus since baptism 2020
The baptism of Jesus: every grace in the Church comes from Jesus 2011
Sharing in the salvific effects of Jesus’ cross through baptism 2009
Sons and daughters of our Father since our baptism
Year C: Jesus was baptized and we are baptized, Jesus prayed and we pray 2013
Year C: Jesus with us 2022
Related Homilies: Baptism changes the quality of our souls forever 2011
Professing our faith with the Apostles' Creed during baptism