We Are Baptized Into God's Family ~ by Ronnie Archer

We hear very often in our homilies about the humility of Jesus. In today's Gospel reading of Mark 1:7-8, John the Baptist displayed a great attitude of humility in proclaiming: "One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

Jesus displayed ultimate humility by being baptized, because He was sinless. Jesus submitted to baptism and purified the waters to bear our sins and to cleanse us with His blood.

Isaiah 55:7-8 tells us to "seek the Lord while He may be found." In the Gospel, John the Baptist calls us all to repentance. Whether we've done wrong or not, we should be completely submissive to God as Jesus was in His baptism.

At the baptism of Jesus, the heavens were opened for the first time since the fall of Adam and Eve. When God spoke, He acknowledged Jesus as Son. Since then, through our own baptism, God speaks of us as sons and daughters too. Before this, God had always used a term like "friends" when speaking to His people.

This baptism of Jesus, by John the Baptist, was the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. This is when He left home to preach the word of His Father to all people.

Remember that we too, are not only sons and daughters of our parents, but when baptized, we are also brought into the family of God.

It is important to understand the presence of God in our lives, and to understand the role of baptism in our own life. We can become saintly by repenting and by complete submission to Him.


~ The Baptism of the Lord ~