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Pope
Benedict XVI - Homilies |
Homily
"He, Who Is Without Sin, Lets Himself Be Treated as a Sinner"
Homily on Baptism of the Lord
H.H. Benedict XVI
January 9, 2011
www.zenit.org
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am happy to give you a cordial welcome, especially you parents and
godparents of the 21 infants to whom, in a moment, I will have the joy
of administering the sacrament of baptism. As has become tradition, this
rite takes place again this year during the Holy Eucharist in which we
celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. This is the feast that, on the First
Sunday after Epiphany, concludes the Christmas season with the
manifestation of the Lord at the Jordan.
According to the story of the Evangelist Matthew (3:13-17), Jesus came
from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John; in fact, all of
Palestine flocked to hear the preaching of this great prophet, the
announcement of the advent of the Kingdom of God, and to receive
baptism, that is, to submit themselves to this sign that called to
conversion from sin. Although it is called “baptism,” it did not have
the sacramental value of the rite that we celebrate today; as you well
know, it is in fact by his death and resurrection that Jesus instituted
the sacraments and brings about the birth of the Church. [The baptism]
administered by John was rather a penitential act, a gesture that
invited people to humility before God, for a new beginning: Plunging
into the water, the penitent acknowledged having sinned, he implored God
to purify him of his sins and he was sent forth to change his erroneous
behavior.
So, when the Baptist saw Jesus, in line with sinners, having come to be
baptized, he is stunned; recognizing him as the Messiah, the Holy One of
God, he who is without sin, John shows his confusion: He himself, the
baptizer wanted to be baptized by Jesus. But Jesus tells him not to
resist, to agree to carry out this act, to do what is proper to "fulfill
all justice." With this expression, Jesus shows that he came into the
world to do the will of him who sent him, to do everything that the
Father asks him; it is in obedience to the Father that he has agreed to
become man. This gesture reveals first of all who Jesus is: He is the
Son of God, true God like the Father; it is he who "humbled himself" to
become one of us, he who became man and agreed to humble himself to the
point of death on the cross (cf. Philippians 2:7).
The baptism of Jesus, which we recall today, fits into this logic of
humility: It is the gesture of one who wants to be one of us in
everything and gets in line with sinners; he, who is without sin, lets
himself be treated as a sinner (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21), to carry on his
shoulders the burden of guilt of all humanity. He is the "servant of
Yahweh" whom the prophet Isaiah spoke to us about in the first reading
(cf. 42:1). His humility is determined by a desire to establish full
communion with humanity, by the desire to achieve a true solidarity with
man and his condition. Jesus' gesture anticipates the cross, the
acceptance of death for man’s sins. This act of abasement, with which
Jesus wants to conform totally to the Father's plan of love, manifests
the total harmony of will and purpose that exists between persons of the
Most Holy Trinity. For this act of love, the Spirit of God manifests
himself as a dove and descends upon him, and in that moment a voice from
above, which all hear, testifies to the love that unites Jesus to the
Father for those present at the baptism. The Father openly reveals to
men the profound communion uniting him to the Son: The voice that
resounds from above attests that Jesus is obedient to the Father in all
things and that this obedience is an expression of love that unites
them. This is why the Father delights in Jesus, because he sees in the
Son’s action the desire to follow his will in everything: "This is my
Son, the beloved, in him I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). And this
word of the Father also alludes, in anticipation, to the victory of the
Resurrection.
Dear parents, baptism, which you ask for your children today, inserts
them into this reciprocal exchange of love that exists in God between
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; by this gesture that I am going
to perform, the love of God is poured out upon them, inundating them
with his gifts. By being bathed in the water, your children are inserted
into the life itself of Jesus, who died on the cross to free us from
sin, and rising, conquered death. So, spiritually immersed in his death
and resurrection, [these children] are freed from original sin and in
them the life of grace begins, which is the very life of the risen
Jesus. "He,” said St. Paul, “gave himself for us to redeem us from all
iniquity and form for himself a pure people who belong to him, zealous
for good works" (Titus 2:14).
Dear friends, giving us the faith, the Lord gave us that which is most
precious in life, that is, the truest and most beautiful reason to live:
It is by grace that we believe in God, that we have known his love by
which he wants to save us and deliver us from evil. Now you, dear
parents and godparents, are asking the Church to accept these children
into her bosom, to give them baptism, and you make this request because
of the gift of faith that you yourselves have, in turn, received. With
the prophet Isaiah, every Christian can repeat: "The Lord has shaped me
his servant from the womb of my mother" (cf. 49:5); thus, dear parents,
your children are a precious gift of the Lord, whose heart he has
reserved for himself, to be able to fill with his love. Today through
the sacrament of baptism he consecrates them and calls them to follow
Jesus, through the realization of their personal vocation according to
the particular design of love that the Father has in mind for each of
them; the goal of this earthly pilgrimage will be the full communion
with him in eternal happiness.
Receiving baptism, these children are granted an indelible spiritual
seal, the "character" that marks forever their belonging to the Lord and
makes them living members of his mystical body, which is the Church.
While entering to be part of the People of God, for these children there
starts today a path of holiness and conformity to Jesus, a reality that
is placed in them as the seed of a splendid tree, which must be made to
grow. Thus, understanding the magnitude of this gift from the earliest
centuries, [the Church] has been concerned to give baptism to newborn
children. Certainly, there will also be the need of a free and conscious
adherence to this life of faith and love, and that is why it is
necessary that after baptism they are educated in faith, instructed
according to the wisdom of sacred Scripture and the Church's teachings,
so that the seeds of faith that they receive today can grow, and they
can reach full Christian maturity. The Church, who welcomes them among
her children, is responsible, together with the parents and godparents,
for accompanying them on this path of growth. The collaboration between
the Christian community and the family is much needed in the current
social context in which the institution of the family is threatened from
many sides and finds itself faced with many difficulties in its mission
to teach the faith. The disappearance of stable cultural references and
the rapid transformation that society continually undergoes, make the
educational task truly difficult. Therefore, it is necessary that
parishes increasingly strive to support families, the little domestic
Churches, in their work of passing on the faith.
Dear parents, I thank the Lord with you for the gift of the baptism of
these your children; in lifting up our prayer for them, we invoke the
abundant gift of the Holy Spirit, who today consecrates them in the
image of Christ as priest, prophet and king. Entrusting them to the
maternal intercession of Mary Most Holy, we ask for them life and health
so that they can grow and mature in the faith, and bear, with their
lives, the fruits of holiness and love. Amen!
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