You Are My Beloved Son
Br. Anselm Dominic LeFave, O.P., reflects on the Gospel for the Baptism of the Lord (Lk 3:15-16, 21–22) in our weekly video series.
What do we expect from God? What kinds of things do we pray for, and how do we expect those prayers to be answered?
In the Gospel today, the Jewish people are “filled with expectation” as they listen to the preaching of St. John the Baptist. As sons of Abraham, they have been expecting God to come to their defense against the domination of Rome, expecting a Messiah who would come with divine power to bring Israel back under the rule of their true King: the God of Abraham.
In St. John, they see the radical change which they are hoping for—here is a man who has given himself entirely to God, who preaches obedience to the laws of God to all, including extortionate tax collectors and oppressive soldiers. St. John, the voice crying in the wilderness, demands a new order of things, a washing away of the corruption and evil under which Israel suffers.
The Israelites, listening to St. John, heard in his preaching the fulfillment of all their expectations. In him, they see God at work, and so they start to believe, “could it be that John is the Messiah?”
They are partially right—God is working through St. John—but at the same time, what God is doing is more powerful, more beautiful, and still more radical than everything they expect.
St. John brings a call to repentance. But the true Messiah, mightier than St. John, brings much more than that. When St. John baptizes Jesus, the true identity of the Messiah is revealed: more than a prophet, more than a king, more than a priest. The Messiah is God Himself, come down to free His people from sin, yes, but the Baptism of Jesus the Messiah is a Baptism in the fire of the Holy Spirit. To be washed by Jesus is to have the blazing fire of God’s Love leap from His Sacred Heart to yours. To be baptized by Jesus is to have His Father open the Heavens to you, and hear Him say, “You are my beloved son.”
This divine adoption goes far beyond anything St. John’s followers could have expected. But some of them, at least, were able to see Jesus for who He was, and step with faith into the new life He offered.
All of us have expectations, hopes, desires, dreams for our lives. As our Father, God wants to take care of those things. But He also has other, greater gifts for us which go far beyond our own vision for our lives.
On this great feast of the Lord’s Baptism, let us pray for the grace to receive the new things which Our Father offers to us, the always-unexpected call given to the beloved children of God.
