As we celebrate the feast of the baptism of Our Lord Jesus today, let us reflect on the significance of baptism.
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We are God’s Beloved, first and foremost, before anything else
As we celebrate the feast of the baptism of Our Lord Jesus today, let us reflect on the significance of baptism.
Have you ever found yourself in a moment where someone you love looked deeply into your eyes and said, “I’m so proud of you?” It might have been your parents at your graduation, your spouse after you made a challenging sacrifice, or a mentor after years of hard work. Those powerful words continue to echo in your heart because they speak to something deeper than mere achievements; they affirm your very identity. Now, picture this: instead of hearing those words after you’ve reached a milestone, you hear them before you’ve even taken your first step. Not as a reward, but as a starting point.
That is exactly what we see in the baptism of Jesus. He stands in the Jordan River. Before He preaches a single sermon, performs any miracles, or faces the cross, the heavens tear open, and the Father declares, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." (Mt. 3:17) This emphasises that identity comes before action, and being beloved comes before achievement.
This scene, however, posed a real problem for the early Church. John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance and for the forgiveness of sins. If Jesus is sinless, why would he submit to it at all? The earliest Gospel, Mark, written around 65–70 AD, preserves the event in its raw historical memory. Jesus comes from Nazareth, is baptized by John, and the heavens are torn open. There is no explanation, no clarification, no attempt to soften the tension. Jesus simply enters the water (Mk 1:9–11). Mark leaves the question hanging, reflecting what was likely the earliest and most unfiltered memory of the event. Matthew, writing later, senses the difficulty and addresses it directly. He introduces a dialogue in which John protests, saying he should be baptized by Jesus. Jesus responds that this must be done “to fulfill all righteousness” (Mt 3:13–17). Here, the baptism is reframed as obedience to God’s saving plan rather than an admission of guilt. It becomes an act of solidarity, not repentance. Luke handles the issue more subtly. John is already in prison when Jesus is baptized, distancing the two figures. The focus shifts away from the act itself to Jesus at prayer and the descent of the Spirit (Lk 3:21–22). John’s Gospel goes further still. It does not describe the baptism at all. Instead, John the Baptist testifies to seeing the Spirit descend and identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God and the Son of God (Jn 1:29–34).
These differences are not contradictions. They reveal the evolution of an early Christian community as they think, pray, and clarify their faith over time. Early Christians were anxious to safeguard Jesus’ divine dignity. A scene in which he appears subordinate to John could be easily misunderstood by Christians as well as by others. As Origen observed, Scripture often adapts its presentation to human weakness. St. Augustine later noted that the Gospel writers tell the same truth from different angles, shaped by their audiences and theological aims.
What once felt like an embarrassment gradually became a cornerstone of Christian faith. The Church came to understand Jesus’ baptism as an act of profound meaning: solidarity with sinful humanity, the beginning of his public mission, a revelation of the Most Holy Trinity, and the foundation of Christian baptism itself. God’s way of saving the world was revealed not as distance or dominance, but as descent and closeness.
So, what does this mean for us today? At its heart, the baptism of Jesus speaks about human identity – ‘We are God’s Beloved.’ It reminds us that our worth does not rest on performance, success, or moral perfection. Before Jesus does anything remarkable, He is named ‘Beloved.’ The same is true for every baptized person. Identity is not earned; it is received. Many people carry quieter wounds: the affirmation never spoken, the love that felt conditional, the inner voice that measures worth by success or failure. The baptism scene challenges those voices. It insists that ‘Belovedness’ is not fragile. It is spoken once and cannot be taken back.
At the same time, this identity is not passive. Immediately after his baptism, Jesus is led into the desert and then into public ministry (Mt. 4:1-25). Being ‘Beloved’ is not an escape from responsibility. It is the only foundation strong enough to carry it. Christian life flows from love already given, not love anxiously pursued.
Finally, Jesus’ descent into the Jordan points outward. Faith does not lift people above the mess of human life; it leads them into it. Jesus stands in the water with sinners, prostitutes and tax collectors, not to endorse every choice, but to refuse abandonment. That same movement defines Christian discipleship: entering difficult spaces, standing beside uncomfortable people, choosing solidarity over safety. The Jordan, then, is not just a past event. It is a pattern. Heaven opens not after everything is resolved, but right in the middle of ordinary, muddy waters. And there, before any achievement can be claimed, a voice still speaks: ‘YOU ARE MY BELOVED CHILD.’
I invite you to try a simple daily practice: Each morning when you wake up, before checking your phone or dwelling on your anxieties, make the Sign of the Cross on your forehead – the same cross that was traced there at your baptism. As you do this, say the words: "I am beloved by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and sealed by the Holy Spirit." Let this affirmation be your foundation.
Isaiah Newme Sdb
Kristu Jyoti College, Bengaluru