The Baptism of
the Lord
Matthew 3:16-17
After Jesus was
baptized… a voice came from the heavens, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with
whom I am well pleased."
The tagalog word for
baptism – “binyag” – has acquired various usage. Initially, it would mean being baptized, by
water and spirit. But, then it would
mean, for boys, undergoing the “ritual” for manhood, which is normally done
when one reach the age of 10 and up. In
general, when it is your first time to do it, “ikaw ay nabinyagan” (you have
been “baptized”).
Today, in the Catholic world, we celebrate
the baptism of the Lord Jesus in the River Jordan, by St. John
It served as the beginning of Jesus'
ministry, which soon overtook the ministry of John. Jesus did not really "need" baptism
because He was without sin, but was baptized anyway to introduce Himself to the
world, and start His ministry of salvation until His death, resurrection and
ascension.
At baptism, we accept Christ as our Savior,
gained his friendship, the guidance of the Spirit, and the protection of the
Father, acknowledging God’s presence in our life.
And we have to continue doing so. We cannot be baptized and just go back to
Church when we are married and when we died.
We need to renew our vow of being a child of God everyday of our lives.
We have Jesus who loved us so much to die
for us, we have the Father who encloses us with his arms of mercy and safety,
and we have the Spirit who lives inside of us - even after 2000 years we are
still baptizing in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Let us pray +
We thank you, God, for the gift of
creation, the gift of life and your presence with us. Create new life for us, from the day that we
are baptized till the day that we rise in Christ. Amen +
The Lord will bless his people with peace.
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