WE WERE BAPTISED IN THE SPIRIT

THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD: 1 John 5:1-9

To belong to God as God’s children, we must believe that Jesus is the Christ (1 Jn 5:1) and that he is “the Son of God” (1 Jn 5:5). And the Son incarnated and lived in a human body. His incarnation is testified by his baptism and by his death on the cross, or as the first letter of John puts it, he “came by water and blood”. In his baptism, Jesus showed his willingness to share our human condition and his readiness to carry our sins. His baptism in water was a prophecy and a preparation for the baptism of the cross, where he would shed his blood for the forgiveness of sins. 

The water of his baptism and blood of his crucifixion give witness to him as the Christ and the Son of God. And the Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth, testifies that Jesus is the true Son of God who came to be our Saviour. John counts three witnesses - the Spirit, the water and the blood, who agree together in testifying that Jesus is the Son of God, who became a human being. The Spirit manifested himself in the baptism of Jesus, anointing him and investing him with power to carry out his mission. 

Jesus’ baptism was an extraordinary event and an extraordinary experience, in which the water was sanctified, becoming a sacrament, that is a sign and an instrument that unites us with Jesus, mainly with his death and resurrection, so that in Jesus we find life and salvation. So we were baptised with the baptism of Jesus Christ, in the Spirit. The water is a symbol of life, and so a symbol of Holy Spirit, who recreates us, grafting us in Jesus Christ. In Christ, being one with him, we become children of God.

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The liturgy of the feast of the Baptism of the Lord gives us as first reading this extraordinary passage of the Prophet Isaiah:

Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty;

though you have no money, come!

Buy corn without money, and eat,

and, at no cost, wine and milk.

Why spend money on what is not bread,

your wages on what fails to satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and you will have good things to eat

and rich food to enjoy.

Pay attention, come to me;

listen, and your soul will live.

…

Seek the Lord while he is still to be found,

call to him while he is still near.

Let us approach the waters of salvation with confidence. Let us come closer to the Lord and listen to him, and we will find life.