  January 12, Feast of the Baptism of Christ  Today we celebrate the baptism of Christ in the Jordan. This is the second epiphany, or manifestation, of the Lord. The past, the present, and the future are made manifest in this epiphany.
The most holy one placed Himself among us, the unclean and sinners. The Son of God freely humbled Himself at the hand of the Baptist. By His baptism in the Jordan, Christ manifests His humility and dedicates Himself to the redemption of man. He takes upon Himself the sins of the whole world and buries them in the waters of the Jordan. — The Light of the World by Benedict Baur, O.S.B.
Catholic Culture
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A READING FROM A SERMON BY ST CHROMATIUS OF AQUILEIA
Since Jesus was to give a new baptism for the
salvation of the human race and the forgiveness of sin, he deigned to be himself
baptized first, not in order to put off sins, since he alone had not sinned,
but in order to sanctify the waters of baptism that these might wash
away the sins of believers. For the waters of baptism could never have
cleansed believers of their sins, unless they had first been sanctified by
contact with the Lord’s body. He was baptized, therefore, so that we might be
washed clean of sins. He was immersed in the water so that we might be cleansed
of the filth of sin. He accepted the bath of rebirth so that we might be reborn
of water and the Holy Spirit, for as he himself says elsewhere: Unless reborn
of water and the Holy Spirit, no one shall enter the kingdom of heaven.
While John did indeed baptize our Lord and Saviour, in a
deeper sense he was baptized by Christ, for Christ sanctified the waters, John
was sanctified by them; Christ bestowed grace, John received it; John laid
aside his sins, Christ forgave them. The reason? John was a man, Christ was
God. For it is God’s prerogative to forgive sins, as it is written: Who can
forgive sins, except God alone? This is why John says to Christ: I ought to be
baptized by you, and do you come to me? For John needed baptism, since
he could not be without sin; Christ, however, did not need a baptism,
since he had committed no sin.
In this baptism, then, our Lord and Saviour washed
away the sins first of John and then of the entire world. It is for this reason
that he says: Allow it to be so now. For it is fitting that we should fulfil
all justice. The grace of his baptism had been mystically prefigured
long ago, when the people were led across the river Jordan into the promised
land. Just as at that time a way was opened for the people through the Jordan,
with the Lord going on before, so now through the same waters of the river
Jordan access has for the first time been given to the heavenly path by which
we are led to that blessed land of promise, that is, to possession of the
kingdom of heaven. For the people long ago Joshua, son of Nun, was their leader
through the Jordan; our leader through baptism to eternal salvation is
Jesus Christ the Lord, the only-begotten Son of God, who is blessed forever and
ever. Amen
St Chromatius of Aquileia, Tractatus XII In Math. III, 13-15 (CCL 9A, 244-246),
from Word in Season 2 [Edition 1981]
Since Jesus was to give a new baptism for the salvation of the human race and the forgiveness of sin, he deigned to be himself baptized first, not in order to put off sins, since he alone had not sinned, but in order to sanctify the waters of baptism that these might wash away the sins of believers. For the waters of baptism could never have cleansed believers of their sins, unless they had first been sanctified by contact with the Lord’s body. He was baptized, therefore, so that we might be washed clean of sins. He was immersed in the water so that we might be cleansed of the filth of sin. He accepted the bath of rebirth so that we might be reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, for as he himself says elsewhere: Unless reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, no one shall enter the kingdom of heaven.
While John did indeed baptize our Lord and Saviour, in a deeper sense he was baptized by Christ, for Christ sanctified the waters, John was sanctified by them; Christ bestowed grace, John received it; John laid aside his sins, Christ forgave them. The reason? John was a man, Christ was God. For it is God’s prerogative to forgive sins, as it is written: Who can forgive sins, except God alone? This is why John says to Christ: I ought to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? For John needed baptism, since he could not be without sin; Christ, however, did not need a baptism, since he had committed no sin.
In this baptism, then, our Lord and Saviour washed away the sins first of John and then of the entire world. It is for this reason that he says: Allow it to be so now. For it is fitting that we should fulfil all justice. The grace of his baptism had been mystically prefigured long ago, when the people were led across the river Jordan into the promised land. Just as at that time a way was opened for the people through the Jordan, with the Lord going on before, so now through the same waters of the river Jordan access has for the first time been given to the heavenly path by which we are led to that blessed land of promise, that is, to possession of the kingdom of heaven. For the people long ago Joshua, son of Nun, was their leader through the Jordan; our leader through baptism to eternal salvation is Jesus Christ the Lord, the only-begotten Son of God, who is blessed forever and ever. Amen
St Chromatius of Aquileia, Tractatus XII In Math. III, 13-15 (CCL 9A, 244-246), from Word in Season 2 [Edition 1981]
iBreviary
Sunday, 12 January 2014
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| John the Baptist site in Jordan |
The Baptism of the Lord
Type: Lively - Time: ordinary
SECOND READINGFrom a Sermon by Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, bishop
(Oratio 39 in Sancta Lumina, 14-16, 20: PG 36, 350-351, 354, 358-359)
The baptism of Christ
Christ is bathed in light; let us also be bathed in light. Christ is baptized; let us also go down with him, and rise with him.
John is baptizing when Jesus draws near. Perhaps he comes to sanctify his baptizer; certainly he comes to bury sinful humanity in the waters. He comes to sanctify the Jordan for our sake and in readiness for us; he who is spirit and flesh comes to begin a new creation through the Spirit and water.
The Baptist protests; Jesus insists. Then John says: I ought to be baptized by you. He is the lamp in the presence of the sun, the voice in the presence of the Word, the friend in the presence of the Bridegroom, the greatest of all born of woman in the presence of the firstborn of all creation, the one who leapt in his mother’s womb in the presence of him who was adored in the womb, the forerunner and future forerunner in the presence of him who has already come and is to come again. I ought to be baptized by you: we should also add, “and for you,” for John is to be baptized in blood, washed clean like Peter, not only by the washing of his feet.
Jesus rises from the waters; the world rises with him. The heavens like Paradise with its flaming sword, closed by Adam for himself and his descendants, are rent open. The Spirit comes to him as to an equal, bearing witness to his Godhead. A voice bears witness to him from heaven, his place of origin. The Spirit descends in bodily form like the dove that so long ago announced the ending of the flood and so gives honor to the body that is one with God.
Today let us do honor to Christ’s baptism and celebrate this feast in holiness. Be cleansed entirely and continue to be cleansed. Nothing gives such pleasure to God as the conversion and salvation of men, for whom his every word and every revelation exist. He wants you to become a living force for all mankind, lights shining in the world. You are to be radiant lights as you stand beside Christ, the great light, bathed in the glory of him who is the light of heaven. You are to enjoy more and more the pure and dazzling light of the Trinity, as now you have received—though not in its fullness—a ray of its splendor, proceeding from the one God, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
RESPONSORY
Psalm 114:5
Today the heavens opened and the waters of the sea became sweet and fragrant;
the earth rejoiced, the mountains and hills exulted,
– because Christ was baptized by John in the Jordan.
What has happened that the sea has been put to flight,
and the Jordan has turned back upon itself?
– Because Christ was baptized by John in the Jordan.
Pope
Francis has announced his first trip as pontiff to the Holy Land, from 24 May
to 26 May.
He will
visit Jerusalem, Bethlehem in the West Bank, and Will the Pope visit John the
Baptist site in Jordan the Jordanian capital, Amman.
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