The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Prayer-Soldier

Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching. (Isaiah 42:1-4)

Though man rises against man and nation rises against nation, the servant of the Lord needs no violence to bring justice to the the earth. The only begotten Son of God was not born into this world to raise armies of conquest, but to raise servants of love to care for all of the children of God. He came to teach us that love begins with selflessness; therefore, for us to fulfill the commandment to love one another, we must seek to serve one another.

Great evil covers the earth being fed by all sorts of violence, terrorism and senseless agony. The Lord blesses those who defend the innocent, but His desire is that there be love between all His children. He has left it to the choice of men as to whether they choose love or the violent ways of evil. The evil ones may attack what they perceive to be weak, but there is no weakness in the Word of the Lord. With the strength of the Word, He reveals the weakness of those who believe they are powerful, but whose days will not last and will pass to dust.

Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, â€œIn truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him. You know the word (that) he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.â€ ( Acts 10:34-38 )

Those who follow the Son of God know that first they are called to love, for who may be healed by violence, who may grow through hate; only death awaits the heart of evil. Whatever evil may gain in this world will be vanquished, whatever its temptation will yield nothing but sorrow. Those who are enchanted by the deceptions of the evil one are the ones in the most need of the forgiveness of the Lord. We must pray that all are drawn to live in the Word so that evil shall have no hold. Through Him, those who have been consumed by evil may be forgiven their sins.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him, saying, \\\"I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?â€ Jesus said to him in reply, â€œAllow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.â€ Then he allowed him. After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened (for him), and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove (and) coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, â€œThis is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.â€ (Matthew 3:13-17)

Jesus is sinless; therefore, for what purpose does He need baptism? Through baptism we receive a grace through which we are forgiven original sin as well as our personal sins. It is a birth into a new life with the Father. Through baptism in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, we become part of the body of Christ and a temple for the Holy Spirit. With the Holy Spirit within us, our soul becomes consecrated for the worship of Christ. It is not that Christ needed to be washed of sin, but it was to begin the mission of what He accepted from the Father; to be the sacrifice to atone for what needed to be washed from the whole world.

The baptism of Jesus was the beginning of His public life as the suffering servant of God, â€œthe Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.â€ (John 1:29). From this time, He would walk among His flock to teach them of the Word, to live the Word by example, to reveal those who followed in public the letter of the law, but who did not understand the spirit of the law. He came to demonstrate for us what it means to love God and to love of one another, in faith, forgiveness and charity. He came to teach us and to send out His teachers to the far reaches of the world so that we all may learn that when we seek to serve one another, when we join each other in the worship of God, when we live faithful to the body of Christ; forgiveness, peace and eternal life in the kingdom of heaven is also ours.

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier