IMAGE: The Baptism of Jesus by He Qi
As soon as Jesus was baptised he came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And a voice spoke from heaven, This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him. Mt 3, 16-17
In his book, “The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan,” Kilian McDonnell OSB calls Jesus’ baptism a boundary event. It was a “…bridge-burning event – the boundary cannot be recrossed- representing a radically new orientation in the life of Jesus.” p4-5.
In the gospels, Jesus came to the Jordan an unknown, or as McDonnell says, “an anonymous face in the crowd.” After the baptism, he is singled out as “the one who is to come,” “My beloved Son,” “the servant of Yahweh.” Some scholars hold that his baptism was the moment when Jesus came to understand who he was. Others say he came to his baptism already knowing his identity and mission.
Either way, the direction of his life changed from that moment. No longer a carpenter from Nazareth, he was a prophet, teacher, healer, preacher. His path was set before the water dripping from his body had dried.
As I pondered this feast and Jesus’ message of repentance with forgiveness already manifest in his being, I considered my own life. What have been my boundary events? What has given new direction to my journey? What has been an occasion of increase in faith and self knowledge? What has profoundly affected how I live faithful to my knowing of God and my ministry?
The decision to marry? The choice of my lifelong partner? Surely anyone who is a parent knows that the moment of your child’s birth is a boundary event. Nothing is the same again. Accepting the opportunity to live and work for two semesters at the Collegeville Institute. The recognition that a marriage has ended and the decision to legally declare it so is also a life changing event.
The new year is an appropriate time to reflect on these questions and to think about Jesus’ response to his baptism. He went away to pray and face the temptations that could lure him away from his new path. He sought strength and understanding by spending time with the One who sent him and emerged from the desert a man committed to his vision.
Nothing deterred him. He went forward, not always knowing where he would sleep or what he would eat. Not knowing the “how” but sure of the “why” of his life.
Today’s feast encourages us to deepen our relationship with God and to respond to the Spirit moving in our deepest center. She will give us strength and courage to accept the place our boundary events have taken us and to walk our path with heart.
© 2011 Mary van Balen
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