Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
This feast of the Baptism of the Lord is a milestone in the life of Jesus Christ and our Christian story. As an adult, Jesus lost none of that child-like trust in the God the Father. He who was like us in all things but sin, having taken on himself the weight of human sin, humbled Himself to be baptized. He did not need to do this, but, like everything else He did and does, He did it out of love for us and for the Father.
Humility draws God: the Holy Spirit descends on Him in the form of a dove and the Father is well pleased. The Trinity manifests itself in this theophany, this manifestation of God. What an extraordinary moment!
“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”*
* (From a Sermon by Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, bishop; Second Reading, Office of Readings for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Liturgy of the Hours).
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Art for this post on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord: The Baptism of Christ, Pietro Perugino, between circa 1481 and 1483, PD-US author’s life plus 100 years or less, Wikimedia Commons.
