Benefits of Baptism
Isaiah 55:1-11; Psalm – Isaiah 12:2-6; 1John 5:1-9; Mark 1:7-11
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The Baptism of the Lord is the feast day commemorating the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. The feast of the Baptism of the Lord traditionally marks the end of the Christmas season as well as the beginning of the Ordinary Time of the Church’s Liturgical calendar. The next special season is Lent which begins February 14th.
The Baptism of the Lord: It marks the beginning of his public ministry. Therefore anyone who wants to begin the Christian life must first be baptized. Among the Seven Sacrament; baptism is one of the sacraments of Christian initiation. So only those who have gone through this initiation are worthy of the name Christian. Penny Catechism – a book of Christian Doctrine defines Baptism “as a sacrament which cleanses us from original sin makes us Christians, children of God and members of the Church.” The implication is that if you are not yet baptize you are not yet free from original sin, you are not yet a Christians, you not recognize as a child of God and you are not a member of the Church. More so, according to today’s reading it equally means that God is not pleased with you, because at Jesus’ baptism the Father spoke saying “you are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased” (Mark1:11).
At the Baptism of the Lord three significant events happened: The Heaven was opened, the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form, as a dove; and a voice came from heaven. These events speak about the benefits of baptism we shall look at them closely and draw some inspirations from them.
1.The Heaven was opened: One of the benefits of Baptism is open heaven. An open heaven was prophesied in Isaiah 64:1 it was an intercessory cry, where the prophet cries out “Oh that You would rend the heavens and come down”. To rend the heavens as in Ps. 104:2 is to tear the Heavens open like a curtain. Therefore open heaven indicates that all dualism between God and humanity, between humanity and nature is broken down. It gives us free access to everything in heavenly realms. Just as baptism brings about open heaven and the rain of God’s blessings. Therefore let us seek baptism and have an experience of open heaven. Open heaven also refers to open doors and baptism opens the door to other sacraments. In other words Baptism is a condition for other sacraments.
2.The Holy Spirit descended: Another benefit of Baptism is the decent of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was Baptize the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove. At baptism we all receive the Holy Spirit which is later confirmed at the Sacrament of Confirmation. We receive the Holy Spirit to carry out the duties for which we came to earth. Through the gift of the Spirit we are at our best. Through the Holy Spirit witness becomes our primary business. The Holy Spirit enables us to do good Acts 10:38 says, “how Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit and he went about doing good…” so know that if you are not able to do any good the Holy Spirit is absent in your life. Rom 8:26 the Spirit helps us in our weakness and it helps us to pray.
The Holy Spirit is the Energizer of the word spoken by the Son. He is the Executor, the One who brings God’s plan to reality and fulfillment. The Holy Spirit is the one who can lead us to the complete truth especially in this generation where there is so much confusion, John 16:13 tells us that the Holy Spirit will lead us to the complete truth. Again, the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove. Dove in biblical parlance is a symbol of peace, a symbol of God’s presence and a symbol of a messenger. These go to show that after our baptism we should become carrier of God’s presence, his messenger of peace.
3.A voice came from heaven: Another benefit of Baptism is that it enables us to hear God’s voice. We live in a world of many voices and only one voice is reliable and unfailing. 1Cor. 14:10 there are many kind of voices and none of them is without meaning. Today, everybody is speaking and nearly everyone is preaching, the social media is loaded with lots of barking sermons and teachings from various corners of life. Today, the economy is speaking politicians are talking, comedians are taking, musicians are not quiet in fact there is so much noise – voices everywhere, the security is crying, parents are shouting; family problems yell at us; children are pleading and so on. Beloved in the midst of these voices only one voice is reliable and that is the voice of God. Beloved, at his baptism the voice of God spoke – after baptism you enjoy the benefits of hearing God’s voice. John10:27 says my sheep hears my voice and they follow me. This voice directs you in the right way. Isaiah 30:21 assures us that if we wander off the road to the left or the right, we shall hear your voice say to us “Here is the road. Follow it” Beloved, follow the voice of Christ; if you follow the voice of man you shall wallow. Gen. 16:2 Abram followed the voice of Sarah and committed blunder. If you don’t want to fall into errors listen to the voice of God. This voice is available in the Scriptures, the Teaching office of the Church and in prayers.
Finally, for those who have not yet received baptism; the first reading is an invitation to baptism it says, “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters […] buy wine and milk without money and without price.” Baptism is free; go for baptism; only then you can draw water with joy from the wells of salvation. Again, for those already baptized the second reading invites us to live out the promptings of our call. It calls us to love those whom we come in contact with, for we cannot say we love God and hate our brothers and sisters. May the Lord Jesus help us and lead us to salvation. Amen!
