After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased’” (Matthew 3:13-17).
Jesus’ ministry begins with his baptism, a defining moment in his life. He emerges from years of obscurity to become a public figure. The question of who Jesus is arises early in his public life. Jesus came to be baptized but does not need to be baptized. The circumstances following his baptism suggest that something momentous is happening in this experience. The heavens are opened and the veil that separates the heavenly realm from the earthly one is pulled back.
The baptism of Jesus shakes heavenly realities loose and allows them to spill out onto the earth.
First, the life-giving Spirit, the breath of God, descends like a dove and hovers over and gently envelops Jesus. Through Jesus’ own death and resurrection, this same Spirit, this divine breath, will “fire up” his disciples and, through them, the whole world.
Next the heavenly voice is heard through the torn fabric of the cosmos. Some felt that when the end time came God’s voice would be heard directly and not mediated by a prophet or sage. And so it is heard at the baptism of Jesus. And what is heard is truly amazing. This Jesus is the Son, the Beloved, the One pleasing to God. This otherwise unknown person sees himself and is seen by others as embodying on earth the essence of God’s reality.
Our baptism parallels that of Jesus. Having been plunged into water, we arise new and whole. We are transformed. The barrier between ourselves and God, a barrier established by sin and death, is breached. With Jesus, we are surrounded by the warm, life-giving Spirit, the breath of God. And the voice echoes in us that we are known and loved by the One from whom all things come. With Jesus, we emerge from baptism empowered to do battle with our demons (see Matthew 4:1-11) and to become persons through whom God’s life and love can be carried into the world.
- When have you stepped forward publicly, as Jesus did, as a way of announcing and choosing a new direction for your life?
Adapted from PrayerTime: Faith-Sharing Reflections on the Sunday Gospels, available at the RENEW International store