Stories

By Fr. Anh Nhue

By divine providence, the Liturgy of the Church this Sunday offers us, through the biblical readings and especially with the Gospel, the opportunity to delve further into the mystery of the Baptism of Jesus celebrated a week ago. Keeping in mind this fundamental event in the life and mission of our Lord and all that we have meditated on, let us now reflect together on some aspects of baptism that the Gospel wishes to emphasize with the testimony, in this regard, of John the Baptist

1. A necessary clarification on the vision of John the Baptist

The Baptist, after baptizing Jesus at the Jordan River, bears witness to what happened, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and remain upon him.” We also find this description in the accounts of the other gospels. In this regard, to deepen our understanding, we can ask a simple question, “What did John the Baptist see and contemplate at that time?” The question seems trivial but it is not, because someone, indeed, many would immediately answer, “He saw a dove.” And that is the wrong answer! According to John the Baptist's literal statement, he saw “the Spirit come down like a dove” and not “a dove”! What does the key word “like” mean? “Like” means “like” (!) and not “exactly so.” Yes, I would like to reiterate, “The Baptist saw/contemplated the Holy Spirit and not the dove.” At this point someone might say, “Father, but in all the paintings and pictures of the Baptism of Jesus you always see a dove!” I reply, “Yes, because it will always be easier to paint a dove than the Spirit, isn't it?” But we have to be very clear about what the Baptist really experienced, as the Gospel points out.

The precise sense of the word “like” serves as a reminder of the mysterious character of what happened. It is an elusive (and therefore always to be scrutinized) mystery of the manifestation of the Trinity and particularly of the Holy Spirit descending on the baptized Jesus at the beginning of his mission. Likewise, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Mary and the disciples in the Upper Room at the beginning of their proclamation of the risen Christ and his Gospel to the world will also remain a mystery never grasped by human perception, as can be seen from the use of the same word “like”, “Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. 

And they were all filled with the holy Spirit” (Acts 2:3-4). It was not fire, but the Spirit mysteriously and mystically descending “as of fire.” (After all, if there had been real fire on the heads of Mary and the disciples, all their hair would have been burned off!) Moreover, in the very event of Pentecost we can glimpse the fulfillment of what John the Baptist announced about Jesus' mission, “He is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit” (Jn 1:33).

2. “…like a dove…”

In this regard, a question arises: why at the Jordan River the Spirit descended on Jesus “like a dove,” while descending later on the disciples “as of fire”? Someone might respond jokingly, “Father, I don’t know, ask the Spirit! He wanted to do that!” Certainly, only the Spirit knows exactly why, but in light of Scripture we can glimpse the reason behind the Spirit’s manifestation “like a dove.” 

First of all, it should be remembered that at the beginning of creation, the Spirit of God swept “over the waters” (Gn 1:2), and the Jewish tradition here sees the Spirit precisely as a dove that flew over the waters of primordial chaos, working during the creation of the universe. Thus, the image of the Spirit like a dove over the waters of the Jordan River seems to indicate, with Jesus’ baptism, the inauguration of the new creation.

Moreover, as St. Gregory of Nazianzus mentioned, “The Spirit descends in bodily form like the dove that so long ago announced the ending of the flood and so gives honor to the body that is one with God” (cf. Gn 8:11). The image of the dove during Jesus' baptism thus seems to allude to the beginning of the new era of messianic peace between God and all creation, as after the flood in the days of Noah.

Finally, it is interesting to note that in the OT the dove is sometimes associated with a people who are foolish and unfaithful to God. In particular, the prophet Hosea denounces the attitude of Israel/Ephraim: “Ephraim is like a dove, silly and senseless” (Hos 7:11); it seeks help not in God but in foreign powers. In this perspective, one could also glimpse, in the resting of the dove on Jesus, an allusion to the mission of Christ, Son of God: from the moment of His baptism, that is, immersion, in the water of the Jordan, He mystically carries on His shoulders all the people together with the burden of their sins, until His baptism in blood on the cross. Jesus, by the supreme sacrifice of His life in obedience and faithfulness to God, thereby accomplishes the cleansing of all sin in the world, particularly that singular sin-madness of sins as disobedience/infidelity to God. Precisely with this in mind, John solemnly announces concerning Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29) (where the singular noun is accentuated).

3. “The Lamb of God,” “Is the One Who Will Baptize With the Holy Spirit” 

From what is deepened on the testimony of John the Baptist today, the dual nature of Jesus' mission becomes clear. On the one hand, He is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” and on the other, “he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.” These two aspects are actually intrinsically connected. The cleansing of sins takes place precisely with and in the Holy Spirit who purifies and sanctifies. Therefore, St. John the Evangelist points out that immediately in the first meeting with the disciples after the resurrection, Jesus transmitted to them His Spirit for the remission of sins, “He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained’” (Jn 20:22-23).

From what is explained in the Feast of Baptism, to baptize means to immerse. Therefore, the baptism in the Holy Spirit that Jesus offers will be the immersion in the Spirit, and this finds its fulfillment already on the day of Christ's resurrection for the first disciples (and then culminates with the event of the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost). It should be noted that just before the transmission of the Spirit to the disciples, the risen Christ sends his disciples to continue His mission (and this is His first "command" to the disciples after the resurrection!): “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” The disciples are invited to continue the same chain of mission that Jesus fulfilled at the Father's sending. Specifically, like Jesus and upon his mandate, they are now sent to “baptize” everyone in the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins.

Baptism or immersion in the Spirit will be the perennial mission of Jesus Christ, Son and Servant of God, to bring, “salvation to the ends of the earth.” He continues to do so even in this our time, in this our New Year, with and in every one of his disciples, already baptized/immersed in the Spirit by divine grace and called now to live it and pass it on to others in every corner of the earth. May the holy desire of Jesus Himself burn for all of us who are baptized to transmit to all, indeed to immerse all in the fire of the Holy Spirit, by virtue of the supreme baptism He performed on the cross! May we always carry these moving words of Jesus in our hearts, “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!” (Lk 12:49-50). Now and forever. Amen.