A: Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord (12 Jan 2020) - INAUGURATION OR REPENTANCE? (Mt 3:13–17)

The sacrament of Baptism has been identified synonymously with the word “inauguration.” It has become a normal rite of passage that gives entry to an individual, not only to the Christian life of sacraments but to the greater society. Thus, baptisms are normally celebrated in a festive mood when relatives, friends, and colleagues gather together to welcome an infant into the greater societal family which, from now on, he/she belongs into.

Indeed, baptism is a sacrament of initiation and inauguration to the Christian world as it allows an individual to receive the other sacraments and is worthy of the label Christian. However, what is normally underappreciated is the fact that baptism is primarily a rite of “repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (cf. Mk 1:4; Lk 3:3; Acts 13:34; 19:4). Coming from the Greek word “baptizein” which literally means “to cleanse,” “to wash,” or “to purify,” baptism is used in traditional Jewish mores as a ceremonial rite of purification performed by dipping or plunging a candidate into water (cf. BDAG). This is practically the same baptism being introduced by John which was geared toward calling everyone to repent their sins (Mt 3:2–3). Accordingly, the water serves as the symbolic purifying instrument of this sacred ablution.

This underlying rationale moved John to refuse initially the baptism of Jesus (cf. Mt 3:14), whom he had known as the pristine and sinless Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world (cf. Jn 1:29, 36). In response, Jesus convinced John to baptize him, saying: “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness” (Mt 3:15). By and large, his words actually taught all of us that beyond the value of repentance lies a more fundamental virtue called humility. Indeed, true repentance happens only in perfect humility. Jesus is the model par excellence of this virtue since “though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God… emptied himself, taking the form of a slave… and became obedient to the point of death” (Phil 2:6–8).

Recently, two world leaders displayed opposing take on the meaning of leadership. On the one hand, Pope Francis seemingly understood it to mean a kind of “Baptism of Repentance.” Last week, a video clip grew viral which featured him last New Year’s Eve at the St. Peter’s Square slapping the hand of a woman who had pulled him hard toward her. Immediately a day after, he acknowledged his colossal mistake. Actually, the Pontiff could have remained mum about it since he only acted out of self-defense—his mild violent deed could be a form of disciplining unmannered pilgrims. Yet, he apologized to everyone saying: “Love makes us patient. So many times we lose patience, even me, and I apologize for yesterday’s bad example.”

On the other hand, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his successful elimination of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani last January 3, 2020. Instead of apologizing to the public for this grave mistake of judgment—he did not seek Congress's approval before the attack, he did not present convincingly the imminence of Soleimani’s terroristic threat, and he did not anticipate its sentimental and moral impact to the Americans, Iranians, and to the people of the whole world—he remained proud of his catastrophic decision. Incorrigibly, he even threatened against any Iranian counterattacks, vowing to destroy their cultural heritages and imposing stricter economic sanctions to any would-be supporter. Clearly, for Mr. Trump, leadership is a kind of a “Baptism of Inauguration” to power, to supremacy, and even to international bullying.

As we reflect on the baptism of Jesus, may we continue to pray for all world leaders to be humble enough to listen to the people, to admit their mistakes, and to spearhead the healing of all conflicts, making our world a place of lasting peace, harmony, and unity. Yet the first step toward this utopic dream is by realizing that authority is primarily a “baptism of repentance.”

- Rex Fortes, CM