The Baptism of the Lord C

January 12, 2024

Luke 3: 15-16,21-22

When leprosy broke out among the people of the Hawaiian Islands in the middle of the 19th century, the government authorities responded by establishing a leper colony on the remote island of Molokai. The victims were snatched by force from their families and sent to this island to perish. However, moved by their terrible plight, a young Belgian priest, Saint Damien De Veuster, asked permission from his superiors to minister to them. Straightaway he realized that there was only one effective way to do this, and that was to go and live among them. Having got permission, he went to Molokai.

At first, he tried to minister to the lepers while maintaining a certain distance. But he soon realized that he had to live among them to gain their trust. As a result, he contracted leprosy himself. The reaction of the lepers was immediate and wholehearted. They embraced him and took him to their hearts. He was now one of them. There was no need, no point anymore, in keeping his distance. The lepers had someone who could talk with authority about leprosy, about brokenness, about rejection and public shame.

Today’s Gospel tells us how, by receiving the baptism of repentance, Jesus became identified with the sinners whom He had come to save. When we become one with Jesus in Baptism, we pledge ourselves to become one with those around us. This is an ongoing journey which lasts until we begin our final journey joining God in our passage from life here on earth to that of heaven.

Is this not the story of our life in Christ? Jesus was baptized, not because he had sinned or needed to repent and turn to the Father. No, rather, Jesus was baptized by John to show that he is part of us, and that he is not separated from us. Jesus has joined us as we are and offers the waters of baptism to us so that we become sons and daughters of the Father.

And as the story of St. Damien and the lepers of Molokai shows, we do not just journey alone, but with all the saints who have gone before us. We constantly have to find our way back to the Father as we travel on our way. Even if we get off the right path, we can always return. But we cannot be Christ to others from a distance; that was not Jesus’s way. If Jesus became one of us as truly a human being, we do no less. By our baptism, we are made one with Jesus’ Father, but like Jesus we are still united to our humanity.

Baptism is not just a one-time rite of passage in our lives; it is an ongoing journey with God and to God to the dwelling place of the Father.

Today, we ask ourselves as we celebrate the Lord's baptism: how has this past Christmas Season renewed our understanding of being part of a family, a parish, a community? We travel with others, not from a distance, but with them. And most importantly, how can we put this insight into action, just as St. Damien did?

By: Fr. John Tran