Joke: A mother decided it was time that her three sons to get baptized. On the designated Sunday morning as they were on their way to Church, the mother noticed that her nine-year-old seemed to be a bit preoccupied. When she asked him what the problem was, he said, “Mom, I want to go first.” Why do you want to go first? She asked. “Because,” he explained, “I don’t want to be baptized in water that has all of my brothers’ sins floating around!”

What was the date of your baptism? On the date of your baptism, they throw water on you. On the date of your wedding, in some cultures, they throw rice on you or put some coins in your hands with Hispanic culture. What happens to you when you die? They throw dirt on you. If you believe that our human body is attached to a soul that needs salvation, we all go through these rituals except those who dedicate their lives in doing service to others in religious life or priesthood life, we only go through baptism and death. In these three rituals, baptism is the first of all and the gate for all other sacraments in the Catholic Church. Why is it the gate for all other sacraments in the Catholic Church? It is to cleanse us from our original sin inherited by our first parents, and it is as COVID vaccines to boost our immune system to stay away from virus infection, the sacrament of baptism is to help us against sin.

Today, the Church solemnly celebrates the Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ. Celebrating the baptism of our Lord is not to make the sins floating in the water just as the boy thought of his brothers’ sins floating after baptism; but rather, at Jesus’ baptism, he sanctified the water and make it holy to wash away our original sin. This feast also ends the Christmas season, not the Epiphany. What is it special about Jesus’ baptism? What is it special about our baptism?

In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist proclaimed to the people that there is one mightier than him, who will come after him and he will baptize them with the Holy Spirit. The Baptism that John the Baptist performed is the baptism according to the Laws, and the baptism that Jesus received under the law is to complete our baptism where three Persons in God are glorified. After Jesus’ baptism, reported in today’s Gospel, “heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’” At the baptism that John performed, it was the act of cleansing with water only; but at Jesus’ baptism, three Persons in God were present: The Father identified as the Voice from heaven; the Holy Spirit identified as a Dove resting on Jesus; and the Second Person in the Most Holy Trinity was the Lord Jesus Himself. Has Jesus as God and the Son of God needed to be baptized? He didn’t have to be baptized, but he did so, first of all, to sanctify the water for the cleansing of our original sin and then to complete our baptism. His baptism was to bring people back to God with his mercy and compassion as it was prophesized by the prophet Isaiah reported in today’s first reading saying, “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.” What was Jesus’ mission if it’s not to heal the sick, cure the disease, release the oppressed, free the captives, forgive the sinners, and unite people back to God? His mission only began after his baptism.

At Jesus’ baptism, there is Spirit, the words of the Father came down from heaven saying, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” What had he done that God the Father was pleased with him? His ministries had not started yet. What had he done to please God the Father? John the Baptist baptized people with water for cleansing, but Jesus came to baptize people, what John said, “with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Mt 3:11). The fire of love that Jesus began his ministries extended to all nations, races, and cultures. He healed the sick, cured diseases, freed the prostitutes who were caught in the act, set free the tax collectors and sinners, & freed the dead to bring him back to life again. Besides all these great acts, how did he demonstrate his ultimate love if it’s not to be nailed on the cross for the sake of salvation for the whole human race? His ultimate love forgave those who had a changing heart to come back to him. His ultimate love continues in the Eucharistic celebration each time we come together to celebrate the Mass.

At Jesus’ baptism, he completed the sacrament of baptism to fulfill what he said in scriptures that he had come to fulfill the laws, not to abolish but to fulfill. Has Jesus ever actually needed to be baptized by John the Baptist? No. But why did he get baptized? The baptism that John performed was a passive baptism, while the baptism that Jesus received was the active act of the three Persons in God united and glorified. Not only revealing God the Father and the Holy Spirit, but at his baptism, Jesus sanctified the water to make it holy, and his baptism signified the beginning of his ministry to go to heal the sick, to cure the disease, to free the captive, and to perform many other good deeds. How does this relate to our baptism?

Our baptism would be invalid if there were no water and the formula that a deacon or a priest says, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Somebody asked, can we use another liquid rather than water for baptism? NO. Can anyone baptize others? By the virtue of our baptism, any baptized person, in the emergency situation, can baptize someone else using water and the formula: “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The real question for us is those who have been baptized into the Catholic faith, what effect does it have on us after we are baptized into Christ?

In our baptism, we have washed away our original sin. Also, through our baptism, we are called the children of God, calling God, Abba , Father. At Jesus’ baptism, three Persons in God were revealed, how should we live our Christian life to reveal the three Persons in God living in us? Each of us lives a dual life, a mortal life, our physical body, and the immortal life, our spiritual soul. What should this mortal life do for the immortal life to grow within us? The Lord Jesus allows God the Father and God the Holy Spirit to work in him and through him to bring that immortal life within him alive to heal the sick, to cure the diseases, and to bring salvation to the whole human race, what should we do to allow the Trinity present in our lives to nurture and to help that immortal life to grow within us? Our baptism will become meaningless if there is no growth in that immortal life. The decision is yours.