Our Deepest Identity
(Is.42:1-4, 6-7; Acts 10:34-38; Mt.3:13-17)
Today, our readings take us to the River Jordan, where Jesus is standing with St John the Baptist. The water is flowing, there’s a crowd nearby and Jesus steps forward to be baptised.
What happens next changes everything. As Jesus emerges from the water, heaven opens up, the Holy Spirit descends on him like a dove, and a voice is heard saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’
This is a profound moment in Jesus’ life, for it reveals his deepest identity: he is no longer just the carpenter’s son; he is now the Beloved son of God.
But this moment also does something else: it marks the beginning of his life mission.
Jesus knows that something remarkable has happened, so he withdraws into the desert to reflect on what it all means. Then he goes out into the villages and towns of Galilee, teaching, healing and bringing God’s mercy to the world.
Jesus’ Baptism, then, isn’t just about who he is; it’s also about what he is sent to do. And the same is true for us.
Those of us who have been baptised have all had our own Jordan moment. Many of us were too young to remember it, however God spoke the same words to us that he spoke to Jesus: ‘You are my beloved child; with you I am well pleased.’
This was the day we received our truest identity. It’s not something we had to earn or achieve; it’s a gift that’s freely poured into us in love. And from that moment we belonged to Jesus Christ and his Spirit began to live in us.
This is who we are, and that identity never fades even if we forget it.
At the same time, baptism also gives us our mission in life. Just as Jesus was sent out from the Jordan to bring God’s love to others, so we are all called to do the same, each in our own place and time.
Our baptismal mission is to make the love of Christ visible in the ordinary moments of our lives.
Pope St John Paul II understood all this deeply. Towards the end of his life, a journalist asked him, ‘Holy Father, who are you?’
He could have said, ‘I am the Pope,’ or ‘I am a priest,’ or he could have listed his many other titles and achievements. But instead, he replied, ‘In the deepest sense, I am a baptised man.’
He explained that everything he did, including his priesthood, his leadership and his courage, flowed from that single identity. And with that identity came a mission: to bear witness to Jesus Christ in the world.
He once said, ‘Every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ.’
This is what baptism does. It fills us with the love of God and it sends us out to share it.
At every baptism this mission is reflected in a small but powerful sign. That’s when the baptismal candle is lit from the Paschal candle – the great Easter candle – and we hear the celebrant say, ‘Receive the light of Christ.’
That light is not meant to be hidden away. It’s meant to be carried out into the world, into homes, workplaces, schools and communities, bringing warmth and hope to anywhere there is fear or darkness. And when we forgive, comfort or help others, that light continues to burn even brighter.
This is how we fulfil our baptismal mission.
Florence Nightingale once said that she felt God had called her by name to serve the suffering. After her baptism, her faith had grown and she came to see her nursing not as a career, but as a mission that flowed from her baptismal call to love and heal.
How are you called to make a difference in the lives of others?
Today as we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, we are reminded that our baptism is so much more than an ancient family tradition. It’s the defining moment of our lives, the source of both our identity and our mission, just as it was for Jesus all those years ago.
So, when you ask yourself, ‘Who am I?’ you can answer with St John Paul II: ‘I am a baptised person, a beloved child of God.’
And when you ask yourself, ‘What should I be doing, what is my mission in life?’ the answer is the same:
‘To live out my baptism, to bring the light and love of Jesus into our world.’
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Infographic courtesy of Fr Don at thewordthisweek.net:
