John the Baptist was a very
fierce man. This might be what you would expect of a man who lived most of his
life in the desert. He knew all about hardship and he had the marks of penance on
his body. Much of his message was taken up in condemnation, condemnation of
those living a life of luxury and giving no thought to the life of the Spirit.
But if John was so fierce why
did so many people come to him, people from all over Palestine? If Father Tom
and I preached fierce condemnatory sermons each week you would soon get fed up,
so why did the people flock to hear John.
They came because he had a
message of hope. Yes, he was fierce, but he was also gentle. He tapped into
something deep inside each person. He knew that each person is profoundly aware
of their own guilt and wants to repent and he drew this out. But he was able to
tell them that one of their deepest yearnings was also about to be filled, a
saviour was about to come. One who would reach out to them with the hand of
healing and salvation.
They came to John because he
had a message of hope, and the hope he pointed to was Jesus.
You can see the beautiful
humility and gentleness in John when Jesus asks him for baptism and he says:
But it is I who need baptism from you. Jesus, just as gently, tells him to go
ahead.
Jesus was commencing his
public ministry, John had been preaching that the Saviour was already here and
so Jesus came to John to make, if you like, a formal start to his ministry.
Jesus, of course, had no need
of baptism. It has often been speculated over the centuries why he received
baptism from John. But, if you think about it, it was entirely typical of him.
The Church places this feast so close to the feast of the Incarnation,
Christmas and that gives us a clue. There was no strict necessity for the
incarnation, God could have brought about our salvation in an instant if he
wanted to. Jesus, through the incarnation, chose to take on human form and by
becoming like us brought about our salvation. Jesus, undergoes baptism in order
to be like us and show us the way to salvation. In the same way he will undergo
death in order to make salvation possible for us.
Jesus chooses this propitious
moment to be baptised by John, and it became a moment of wonderful revelation.
The Holy Spirit descending like a dove and the voice of God blessing and
approving Jesus action. He begins his ministry in this wonderful way. It is a
ministry we are going to hear about through the words of Mark over the next
year. It was a ministry which was truly blessed by God, he through healing and
teaching over the next three years made God present to the people in a truly
wonderful way.
This is the first reference
in the Bible to the Holy Spirit coming in the form of a dove. A dove was not an
image that was generally used by the Hebrews. In fact, about the only reference
to a dove is Noah sending out the dove over the waters to find land, the dove
returned bearing an olive branch.
But what a wonderful
coincidence of images. Here Christ descends into the waters of baptism, the
flood in Noah's time is generally seen as a prefigurement of this baptismal
water. The Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove on Jesus as a sign of the
Father's favour and the assurance of salvation. The dove returns to Noah with
the sign that salvation, dry land, is at hand.
Scripture is full of such
lovely parallels, that is why it is so fruitful for meditation. We would hardly
think that there could be a direct connection with Noah's flood and yet there
it is. And what better image of salvation than dry land.
Most of us were baptised as
infants, we have no recollection of our baptism, yet we know it was the most
significant day of our life. It was the day we were specially singled out by
God for ministry in the world.
It is the sign of his special
favour resting upon us. We have through that closely linked sacrament,
Confirmation, had the power of the Holy Spirit poured out on us. We, like
Christ, have begun a ministry for we are the instruments he has chosen to
communicate his salvation to the world.
If we undertake it with due
seriousness, it is a ministry which will be marked by miracles, healings,
powerful signs from heaven, temptations, and moments of deep communion with
God. It will transfigure our lives and we will become God's windows on the
world, conduits of his love to all we meet.
But it will be a baptism, and
baptism means a death, a drowning. It means going down into the water and literally
drowning. It is a death to self. If we are to be true followers of Christ this
is what it will mean. It won't be at all easy; but in order to achieve
greatness real sacrifice is necessary. Then when our time on earth is at an end
and we finally break through that ultimate barrier of our own bodily death, the
church will gather and pray over us that wonderful and powerful prayer: ‘You
have been baptised with Christ; may you now rise with him in glory.’
To draw out this connection
with our own baptism we will instead of the Creed renew our baptismal promises.