From a homily excerpt from St. Gregory Nazianzen:
Christ is bathed in light; let us also be bathed in light. Christ is baptized; let us also go down with him, and rise with him.
John is baptizing when Jesus draws near. Perhaps he comes to sanctify his baptizer; certainly he comes to bury sinful humanity in the waters. He comes to sanctify the Jordan for our sake and in readiness for us; he who is spirit and flesh comes to begin a new creation through the Spirit and water.
The Baptist protests; Jesus insists. Then John says: I ought to be baptized by you. He is the lamp in the presence of the sun, the voice in the presence of the Word, the friend in the presence of the Bridegroom, the greatest of all born of woman in the presence of the firstborn of all creation, the one who leapt in his mother’s womb in the presence of him who was adored in the womb, the forerunner and future forerunner in the presence of him who has already come and is to come again. I ought to be baptized by you: we should also add, “and for you,” for John is to be baptized in blood, washed clean like Peter, not only by the washing of his feet.
Jesus rises from the waters; the world rises with him. The heavens, like Paradise with its flaming sword, closed by Adam for himself and his descendants, are rent open. The Spirit comes to him as to an equal, bearing witness to his Godhead. A voice bears witness to him from heaven, his place of origin. The Spirit descends in bodily form like the dove that so long ago announced the ending of the flood and so gives honour to the body that is one with God.
Today let us do honour to Christ’s baptism and celebrate this feast in holiness. Be cleansed entirely and continue to be cleansed. Nothing gives such pleasure to God as the conversion and salvation of men, for whom his every word and every revelation exist. He wants you to become a living force for all mankind, lights shining in the world. You are to be radiant lights as you stand beside Christ, the great light, bathed in the glory of him who is the light of heaven. You are to enjoy more and more the pure and dazzling light of the Trinity, as now you have received – though not in its fullness – a ray of its splendour, proceeding from the one God, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel from Lk. 3:22 And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Reference: Saint Gregory of Nazianzus (Oratio 39 in Sancta Lumina) from the Office of Readings for the Feast of Baptism of the Lord in the Roman breviary.
Reflection Questions:
Do you recall the date of your baptism in which you were made into a new creation and received sanctifying grace to cleanse you from the stain of original sin?
As baptized Christians we become adopted sons and daughters of the Holy Trinity. We put on the white garment symbolizing the purity of Christ Jesus as the lamb that was slain for our sin. We receive our baptismal candle, lit from the Easter paschal candle reminding us that we are made for the light, not the dark. No sin or transgression can separate us from God’s love. How do we live our call to continue to put to death our sin and those obstacles that separate us from God’s love? (See CCC, 2nd edition #s 1246-1284 for further reading & reflection of this great sacrament).
Many baptismal font designs now resemble a tomb that reminds us of this most crucial sacrament where sin is defeated and we rise to new life. The crucifix and carrying of our earthly crosses in the below image reflection from the baptismal font at a Catholic Church in North Texas reminds us of the ongoing effort to rid those roadblocks in our life and to put to death our sinful behavior so that we too might rise to new life in Christ Jesus.
Pax, Eric
StreetEvangelist 
