Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish

FR MICHAEL BIBLICAL IMAGERY

(Fr Michael Boakye Yeboah: Vice Rector of St Gregory Seminary, Kumasi-Ghana)

WATER

            Today’s Feast of the Baptism of the Lord officially marks the end of the Christmas season. Baptism is very important in our Christian pilgrimage. In the rite of baptism two elements are crucial for the validity of the sacrament; that is the “form” and “matter”. The form of baptism consists of the words by which the Sacrament is affected while the matter for baptism is water. On the form and matter of baptism, Christians today are highly indebted to the Medieval French Scholastic theologian William of Auxerre. So many theological themes can be drawn from the teachings on the sacrament of baptism but we may not be able to discuss everything today so I have decided that we focus on the matter of baptism – WATER.

            Water is a primal symbol for human race. Water embodies all that is precious on earth. Anyone who has ever been thirsty knows the truth of this. Anyone who has endured the grilling force of the sun for many hours on end and then suddenly stumbled on a fresh, sparkling spring of water knows that there is in fact nothing more precious than that bright, clear water. Thus, water awakens in us the memory of Paradise and fruitfulness.

            During Easter we celebrate beautifully the whole mystery of water, when we reflect on a far more precious spring than any on earth; that is the spring that burst forth from the Lord’s pierced side (John 4:10; 7:37; 19:34). The Cross of Christ is nothing else than his radical surrender of himself, his ultimate commitment in which he holds back nothing for himself but pours himself out totally for others. On the Cross, then, the truly precious wellspring of pure devotion, of extravagant self-giving love for God, was unsealed. All the priceless value of water is concentrated in it: the power to cleanse, fruitfulness, all that is refreshing and cheering and invigorating.

            In baptism, this spring flows from Christ’s Cross through the entire Church like a mighty stream and “makes(s) glad the city of God” (Psalm 46:4). We bathe in this stream and are reborn. Today’s reading enriches our reflection on “water” very well.

            The theme uniting the texts for today’s celebration is not so much the act of baptism as it is the connection between water and healing salvation. Water is the symbol of freely given grace that cleanses and refreshes.

            In today Gospel’s account, Marks narrates to us a dramatic scene on the shores of the Jordan River. The inspired writer tells us that John the Baptist was ministering and baptizing in the Jordan and all of a sudden Jesus steps into the waters to be baptized – what an irony. John took a step back but he was invited by the Lord to step forward and perform his duty of which John obediently obliged though with some reservations. Over the centuries, theologians have pondered on the rationale behind Jesus’ stepping into the waters. Why did Jesus submit himself to a rite he clearly did not need? Jesus’ reason was identification. He wanted to identify with the people for whom he had come into this world. He wanted to be where they were. He had come, as the Lamb of God, to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29). He was going to do it by going right to where the sinners of the world were. He wanted to be seen as one of them, even though he was not really one of them in the sense of not being a sinner himself. The same attitude would characterize Jesus’ dealings with sinners all through his public ministry. If Jesus was able to identify himself with sinners, then men of God have to do same or more. There seem to be some complaints from the lay faithful of a growing gap between some Pastors and their congregants.

            And for some pastors if they are to get closer to the flock of God, it may be because of the financial benefits attached to the performance of their duties. Pastors should always remember the words of the Lord: “You receive without cost, give without charge.” In the first reading, water becomes an anticipatory image of grace bestowed from on high, without which the earth – and also the thirsty heart of man – would remain arid. “All you who are thirsty, come to the water, buy without money!” With these words the prophet Isaiah paints to us a very kindhearted God. Men of God should note that in God’s house anything that must be purchased with money “nourishes not” and “satisfies not” – there can be no commercial exchange with God, rather, one must simply receive his gifts, which are compared with “rain” falling from heaven that is essential to the growth that makes bread possible on earth (Is. 55:10).

            In the second reading blood is portrayed as a third element which together with water flowed from the lacerated side of Christ. The One the Father designates at baptism as his beloved and chosen Son is the One destined for the Cross, the One who will fulfill the complete will of the triune God there. And now “these three, the Spirit, the water, and the blood” have become a single “testimony for his Son”. Each person baptized must realize that he owes the fact that he is a child of God to this unity of the water and blood of Christ. Whoever enters upon Christ’s life by baptism will somehow ends up where his life ended up – Heaven.