Fr. Franz Jalics, S.J., tells the story of a Hungarian parish priest whom his parishioners greatly loved. His bishop attempted several times to transfer him to another parish, but his parishioners always pleaded with the bishop to keep him in the same parish. As much as they loved him, his parishioners had one criticism against him. This criticism grew louder until a group of lay leaders finally summoned the courage to talk to the priest about it. It was already his thirtieth year in the parish. They told him, “Dear Father, you are such an excellent person…” Having lived among them for a long time, the priest could read their minds, so he asked, “My children, what do you want?” The group leader spoke, “Father, we have noticed that you have a sermon for every Sunday of the liturgical year, and you repeat them every cycle. We have heard them so many times that we even have them memorized. Could you not prepare a new homily for once?” The elderly priest replied, “My dear children, every Saturday, I sit in the confessional for hours, and for thirty years, you have confessed the same sins over and over again. If you invent a new sin, I will invent a new homily for you.” I ran into this story while debating whether to repeat a homily I preached on the Baptism of Jesus a few years ago.
Today is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. This feast also marks the conclusion of the Christmas Season. One of the main challenges the New Testament poses to us is the fundamental question that borders around the identity of Jesus. At a point, Jesus had to ask his apostles, “Who do people say I am?” and later, “Who do you say I am?” At the beginning of today’s Gospel passage, “The people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ.” Reading this passage as spectators may make us wonder why it was difficult for the people to identify the Messiah. It is no news that spectators tend to believe they know the tricks of the game better than the players, just as passengers think they know the skills of driving better than the drivers.
Let us transition from spectators and get into the game ourselves. Imagine you were part of the crowd when John the Baptist and Jesus arrived. Who would you pick as the Messiah? One was a Levite, the son of a Priest; he strictly followed the Jewish tradition; he dressed like a prophet, talked like a prophet, and acted like a prophet. The other was the son of a carpenter, known for not keeping the Sabbath; he showed up for many parties, hung around with the poor, the marginalized and the sinners, and at some points was ok with eating with unwashed hands. To make matters worse, he comes to the son of the Levite for Baptism. But John was not ready to succumb to the temptation; he made it clear that he knew his identity and mission and that he was not the Christ.
What business does Jesus have being baptized since baptism cleanses us of sins and Jesus is sinless? The reason Jesus was baptized is the same reason he became flesh. He was born in human flesh to identify with us and save us. Similarly, he submitted to baptism to identify with sinful humanity. He went into the river to sanctify the water of Baptism. It was necessary for him to be baptized by John, for that it how it has been since the time of King David. Jesus was a descendant of King David. King David and his descendants were all anointed by Levites/Priests. Similarly, Jesus was baptized (anointed) by John, who was a Levite. When David was anointed, 1 Samuel 16:13 says that the Spirit of the Lord rushed on him, and in the case of Jesus, at his baptism, the Spirit descended on him like a dove.
Today’s feast of the Baptism of Jesus reminds us of our own baptism. Apart from cleansing us of sins, Baptism incorporates us into the One Body of Christ; we become different parts of the One Body of Christ through baptism. As we reflect on our own baptism, we reflect on our identity in Christ and what is expected of us based on that identity. The origin of most of the crises in this world is traceable to identity crisis. In today’s Gospel passage, John knew his identity and his role in the salvific mission of Christ. Even though people came to tempt him to usurp the position of the Messiah, John would not succumb because he knew his identity, and he was contented with it.
It is common today to find many people running into trouble due to the inordinate desire always to be the center of attention and attraction. When people like that attend a child’s baptism, they feel they should be the child; when they attend a wedding and see how all attention is on the bride, they wish to be that bride. I am tempted to think that some who have become so sick in this way can even attend a funeral service, and because of the attention on the corpse, they may also desire to be the corpse. But that is not how life is. We all play different roles in the body of Christ, and sometimes we need to take turns. When John knew his time was over, he humbly stepped aside for Christ. My dearly beloved in Christ, know yourself and be yourself. When you grow, become a better version of yourself, do not grow to become someone else. If you are bent on becoming someone else, there is no vacancy; everyone else has been taken, and you are the only one left. So, be yourself, pick yourself up, and move on!
Homily for the Baptism of the Lord Year C 2025
A longer homily but a good one!
Cheers Fada,
Keith