The baptism of Jesus was a milestone in his life and the evangelists understands its significance a little differently. St. Mark (whose account we will read in the upcoming liturgical celebration of the Baptism of the Lord) and St. Luke see the event as the occasion for God to address Jesus confirming his identity and mission: “You are my beloved son.…” For St. Matthew, the baptism reveals who Jesus is to the crowds: “This is my beloved son…” In St. John the revelation was directed to John the Baptist: “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him.” However the event was interpreted, the Church came to see baptism as a milestone in the life of every believer. We are irrevocably stamped as belonging to God at baptism. See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now. Our foundational reality is that we are named and claimed by God, not because of anything we have done but because of God acting in our lives. All that we do is our effort to be who we are.
