That is where it all began. Down by the riverside with John the Baptizer.
One day, Jesus came to hear the Baptizer preach. He left his home in Nazareth and
came to the river Jordan. That day, he stood among the crowd — that whole
gathering of very different people, soldiers, the poor, teachers, etc. — and took
another step toward being our savior.
On that day, Jesus was baptized. He went down into the water but was
baptized with the Holy Spirit. In the language of the Old Testament prophets, he
was anointed with the Holy Spirit.
The power of God came upon Jesus, designating and giving him power for
the work he was to do. His work was to make peace between God and the human
family by forming a new, unbreakable bond of mercy and forgiveness.
With that outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Jesus began his preaching, teaching,
and miracles. He brought the Good News. The Good News was that God’s
promises were about to be fulfilled.
Jesus’ baptism was also a revelation. The vision of the Holy Spirit and the
words from heaven which accompanied his baptism showed the people Jesus had a
unique relationship with God. This baptism was the next step in revelation after
Christmas. On Christmas, shepherds found Jesus. On the Epiphany, Magi found
Jesus. The angels and the star gave witness to Jesus. Now the whole nation of
Israel would find Jesus, and many would recognize him as the one sent from God.
Jesus the messiah was known only in faith to those who came to the stable. Now
he would become more clearly visible as he worked the signs of salvation
(miracles) and preached the Good News to all the people.
During the Sundays of what is called “ordinary time,” (all the Sundays
which are not in Advent, Christmas, Lent or Easter) the Gospel readings are about
the events from Jesus’ public life. In a spiritual way, we are like those first
disciples who came to know Jesus by spending time with him. Each of us receives
the same invitation the disciples received in John’s Gospel “Come and see.” (Jn
1:37-39)
As we walk with Jesus and listen to his words, we can find the meaning of those
words from heaven, spoken at his baptism, “You are my own dear son. I am
pleased with you.” Jesus invites us to come and find out who he is and how God is
present in his life.