Encountering Baptism in Christmastide

I was 17 when Joan Osborne sang One of Us, asking, "What if God was one of us?" Christianity decisively answers her question in the person of Jesus Christ. Among the religions of the world, this astonishing proposition makes Christianity a unique contender. In her musical genres, we encounter lyrics such as, "Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing," and "Jesus, Lord at Thy birth." We hear these truths so often that for many they may seem little more than poetic platitudes. However, to fully embrace Christianity is to experience the God who is not a distant "other," but is Immanuel: a God who is ''with us," a God who embraces our humanity through humanity. Nevertheless, what can Immanuel truly mean for us? What vistas open for humanity because of the incarnation of Christ?

In the Mass of Christmas Day, the gospel proclaims that “all who received him [Christ], who believed in his name, he gave the power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” The sacred author presents a dynamic interchange where the truly human God extends to each of us the invitation of familial relationship; the opportunity to become a child of God. Catholic theology teaches that being a child of God is not mere metaphor, but a profound reality. This is why the Church opens Christmastide with the celebration of the birth of Christ and concludes it with his baptism by John in the Jordan River.

In the Order of Baptism of Children, several selections are provided for the celebrant to choose for biblical readings. The passage I choose to use is Mark 1:9-11, which recounts Jesus’ own baptism concluding with a voice from heaven announcing: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” How can this revelation not extend to all those baptized into Christ? This passage from Mark’s gospel might call to mind that through our Baptism we too have become God’s “beloved.” Here too, we encounter this voice from heaven. In and through the baptismal liturgy God has included us in his work of redemption, adopting us as his own. In this way being initiated into the Church imbues baptism with regeneration. This life of grace is sustained through friendship with Jesus, sacramental life, and participation in the communal life of the Church.

One of the great joys I have in ministry is celebrating the sacrament of baptism. The feasts of Christmastide provide a unique opportunity for priests and deacons to reflect, as I have on our engagement in something so sublime. Our ministerial participation in these sacred mysteries calls to mind one of my favorite passages of Scripture wherein Saint Paul reminds us that ministry is a treasure contained within us as “in earthen vessels” (2 Cor. 4:7). As we approach Ordinary Time this Sunday with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we will once again encounter Christ as “Immanuel” who in the fullness of his humanity allows his earthen vessel to be the means through which the grace of baptism flows for all time.