Baptisms are moving ceremonies. The beauty and sweetness of the moment touch the soul, and the joy that one can palpably feel in parents, godparents, grandparents, sisters and brothers, family and friends move the heart. These alone are enough to feed and strengthen our spirits. But there is another level, a “more” to baptism: God is communicating an amazing grace to this person being baptized, whether an innocent newborn baby, or an older person receiving the promise of salvation, also to this one’s parents and godparents, family and, ultimately, to us all: belonging to the family of God, identity as child of God, and God’s commitment of love that is faithful for all eternity.
People were coming to be baptized in the River Jordan, by John the Baptist, as a personal choice, to signify their repentance. They were turning their lives around, from ways that were sinful, selfish, and destructive, to ways directed toward God, more intentionally living out God’s Law of Love, striving for righteousness, justice and peace. This commitment was enough to put them on the path of salvation. As all people of good will, striving to follow God’s Law of Love written in our hearts, this is the choice we make every day of our lives.
“This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3.17). In the baptism of Jesus another meaning, a richer understanding of baptism is revealed. In his baptism, Jesus hears God name him Son and Beloved. God reveals to Jesus his own identity, chosen and loved by God in the most unbreakable, faithful commitment: Beloved. Our belonging to God’s family, as children of God, faithfully loved by our Father with unbreakable love, is the firm foundation on which our Christian identity is built. “And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him” (Matthew 3.16). Our baptism is completed by confirmation, through which we receive the gifts and the grace to live out our Christian identity and to fulfill our mission, to be messengers and witnesses of God’s love to the world.
Love is not fragile. Love is strong, faithful and committed. Love is unbreakable.
– Fr. Gerry McDougall, SJ
