Theology of the Baptism of the Lord
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    So, I know this is a question that has been debated and pondered for 2000 years, but, still....

    I sat down to write a hymn text for the Baptism of the Lord (you know, like I do).
    And I'm having some trouble because, well- I just can't penetrate it.
    I get some of the details, of course- and I guess I can focus on the statement of the Father,
    "This is my beloved son, listen to him."
    Okay- I could stretch that idea into a few lines.

    But other than blind paraphrasing of the lessons, I'm a bit lost.
    I've never really understood what the Baptism is about. Like John, I can't help but be confused at Christ's decision to be baptized. Surely the one who is "like us in all things EXCEPT SIN" does not need "baptism for the repentence of sin." John seems not to understand. The Evangelist records the details but gives no explanation, so I assume he didn't know either. I certainly don't know- never have.

    Anyway- obviously a hymn doesn't need to have a clearly logical and systematic answer to those sorts of questions. It is enough, I think, if it illuminates the complexity of the mystery. But I'm in the dark, so I find it hard to proceed.

    So- those of you interested in helping to midwife a new hymn into the world... how about a little theological insight. It can come from the official Church, Catholic and related thinkers, or off the top of your own head (or anywhere else really). What is this Luminous Mystery all about?
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,220
    Look to the Byzantine liturgy of the Theophany for a synopsis:

    TROPARION -At Your Baptism in the Jordan, O Lord, the
    worship of the Trinity was revealed; for the Father's
    voice bore witness to You by calling You His "beloved Son",
    and the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the truth
    of these words, 0 Christ God. You appeared and enlightened
    the world. Glory be to You!

    Baptism in the Byzantine tradition is linked with revelation: it is the mystery of "illumination" (enlightenment).
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,513
    I wrote a hymn on this subject. It's under copyright, but the sources were these:

    1. FRAMEWORK
    From the Book of Daniel, Chapter 3
    (Prayed on alternate Sundays and feastdays at morning prayer)

    Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord;
    Praise and exalt him above all forever.
    Angels of the Lord, bless the Lord;
    You heavens, bless the Lord;
    All you waters above the heavens, bless the Lord.
    All you hosts of the Lord; bless the Lord.
    Sun and moon, bless the Lord;
    Stars of heaven, bless the Lord.

    Every shower and dew, bless the Lord;
    All you winds, bless the Lord.
    Fire and heat, bless the Lord;
    Cold and chill, bless the Lord.
    DEW AND RAIN, BLESS THE LORD;
    Frost and cold, bless the Lord.
    Ice and snow, bless the Lord;
    Nights and days, bless the Lord.
    Light and darkness bless the Lord;
    Lightning and clouds, bless the Lord.

    Let the earth bless the Lord;
    Praise and exalt him above all forever.
    Mountains and hills, bless the Lord
    Everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord.
    YOU SPRINGS, BLESS THE LORD;
    SEAS AND RIVERS, BLESS THE LORD.
    You dolphins and all water creatures, bless the Lord;
    All you birds of the air, bless the Lord.
    All you beasts, wild and tame, bless the Lord;
    Praise and exalt him above all forever.
    You sons of men, bless the Lord;

    O Israel, bless the Lord.
    Priests of the Lord, bless the Lord;
    Servants of the Lord, bless the Lord.
    Spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord;
    Holy men of humble heart, bless the Lord.
    Ananias, Azarias, Misael, bless the Lord;
    Praise and exalt him above all forever.

    Let us bless the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit;
    Let us praise and exalt God above all forever.
    Blessed are you O Lord in the firmament of heaven;
    Praiseworthy and glorious and exalted above all forever.

    2. SYMBOL: WATER
    a. Gladness
    i. CM
    ii. Tune: Morning Song

    b. Baptism

    From the Preface of John the Baptist:
    He baptized Christ, the giver of baptism, in waters made holy by the one who was baptized.

    c. Holy Spirit

    John 7: 37-39
    On the last and most important day of the festival Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, "whoever is thirsty should come to me and drink". As the scripture says "whoever believes in me, streams of life-giving water will pour out from his heart". Jesus said this about the Spirit, which those who believed in Him were going to receive. At that time the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not been raised to glory

    3. RESTORATION AND RENEWAL: THEOLOGICAL PROPOSAL

    From the Office of Readings, from a sermon by St. Gregory Nazianzen
    Jesus rises from the waters; the world rises with him. The heavens like Paradise with its flaming sword, closed by Adam for himself and his descendants, are rent open. The Spirit comes to him as to an equal, bearing witness to his Godhead. A voice bears witness to him from heaven, his place of origin. The Spirit descends in bodily form like the dove that so long ago announced the ending of the flood and so gives honour to the body that is one with God.

    Responsory, Office of Readings
    Today the heavens opened and the waters of the sea became sweet and fragrant; the earth rejoiced, the mountains and hills exulted, because Christ was baptized by John in the Jordan. What has happened that the sea has been put to flight, and the Jordan has turned back upon itself?

    Magnificat Antiphon, Evening Prayer I:
    Our Savior came to be baptized, so that through the cleansing waters of baptism he might restore the old man to new life, heal our sinful nature, and clothe us with unfailing holiness.

    FWIW
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,513
    Also, I wrote it in a sushi bar in Annapolis.
  • rich_enough
    Posts: 1,050
    Benedict XVI's book, Jesus if Nazareth, has some profound reflections on the Baptism of the Lord which you may find helpful, particularly pp.17-18 (echoed in the Catechism nos. 535-37):

    "It is not easy to decode the sense of this enigmatic-sounding answer [of Jesus to John]. . . . . The key to interpreting Jesus' answer is how we understand the word righteousness. The whole of righteousness must be fulfilled. In Jesus' world, righteousness is man's answer to the Torah, acceptance of the whole of God's will, the bearing of the "yoke of God's kingdom," as one formulation had it. There is no provision for John's baptism in the Torah, but this reply of Jesus is his way of ackonwledging it as an expression of an unrestricted Yes to God's will, as an obedient acceptance of his yoke. . . . He inaugurated his public activity by stepping into the place of sinners. His inaugural gesture is an anticipation of the Cross. . . .the fact that he bears "all righteousness," first comes to light on the Cross: The Baptism is an acceptance of death for the sins of humanity, and the voice that calls out "This is my beloved Son" over the baptismal waters is an anticipatory reference to the Resurrection. This also explains why, in his own discourses, Jesus uses the word baptism to refer to his death (cf Mk 10:38; Lk 12:50)."
  • Maureen
    Posts: 679
    By entering into all our good human pursuits, and by entering into the Covenant as a human as well as as God, Jesus gave divine holiness to all these things and to humanity.

    So yeah, Jesus got baptized. The pure one ritually purified Himself, and thus made water capable of a purer, holier baptism, which did not just purify us but transformed us into a divine life something like His. The Holy Spirit descended upon the body of Christ, and all the later baptized became the Body of God's beloved Son. Jesus didn't need a baptism for the repentance of sin, but the sinful body parts (us!) of the sinless eternal Body of Christ did need such a baptism.

    Now that I think of it, this comes into the blessing of the baptismal water at Easter. The Easter candle is the light of Christ, and it "walks" into the water and is "baptized" by the water even as it's blessing the water by entering it. (There's other interpretations, just as valid or more so. But this is the one I'm talking about now.)
  • eft94530eft94530
    Posts: 1,577
    Parent sitting in car, waiting for child to climb in and buckle up after catechism class.
    Parent rolls down window and yells to instructor:
    "Hey, Jesus was Jewish, right? So when did he become a Christian?"
    Instructor:
    "Just like you and me, when He was Baptized."
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    Parents in town- so I got to discuss this with them over dinner tonight.
    My dad brought up the connection to the Crucifixion:
    He who is without crime, bears a punishment not due him.
    Likewise, He who is without sin is baptized for the repentance of sin.

    Our sin, our crime- in both cases.

    That connection, of course, echoes Romans:
    We who are baptized into Christ Jesus are baptized into his DEATH.



    Anyway- this is all very helpful.
    More please.
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,116
    The western tradition has been less certain about the theology of this event as a liturgical commemoration (hey, it didn't even exist a century ago, IIRC) than the eastern tradition, where it is emphasized as the first revelation of the Most Holy Trinity to the world.
  • Ralph BednarzRalph Bednarz
    Posts: 493
    I love a good Mystery.
  • Chris_McAvoyChris_McAvoy
    Posts: 389
    "baptism of the lord" formerly was known as "theophania" (or theophaniae)

    Their ought to be some hymn or sequence prose for it somewhere in a volume of "Analecta Hymnica Medii Aevi".
    There are several antiphons and responsories in latin tradition regarding specifically our Lord's baptism for this day.

    Illuminans altissimus by st ambrose, mentions his baptism.
    many sequence/proses mention it along with the miracle of wine and magi, but whether there is one specifically dedicated to the baptism alone, I am uncertain. I could have sworn i saw one somewhere. the sequence in the graduale von santa cecelia in trastevere mentions it in it at the beginning..thats online on the st gallen website..dont remember the folio though..

    see page 30 of The British magazine, Volume 19 on google book:

    http://books.google.com/books?id=sasEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA30&dq="Illuminans+altissimus"&hl=en&ei=ePQeTYvVK4-q8AaFiqm3Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CD4Q6AEwBjgU#v=onepage&q="Illuminans altissimus"&f=false
  • Maureen
    Posts: 679
    Epiphany also covered the Baptism of the Lord and the Wedding at Cana, because it was all about the Lord revealing Himself (epiphany and theophany being pretty much the same thing). That's why no separate Latin Rite commemoration until 1955.

    The name "Tiffany", btw, is really Greek "Theophane" turned into French "Tiphaine". I wish I'd known this back in the Seventies, because I always felt sorry for all the Tiffanies.

    Hee! Text stuff I know something about, and can help with!

    You know, though, there might be stuff about the Lord's Baptism in St. John the Baptist stuff.
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,116
    Maureen

    Well, Epiphany and Theophany are distinguishable: the latter refers to the manifestation of the Triune Godhead, the former to the second Person of the Trinity more directly and the other persons of the Trinity impliedly but less obviously.
  • dominusregitme
    Posts: 3
    All water is sanctified by the immersion of Christ into the waters of the Jordan.
    He is Lord over all creation, and in this symbolic act He is laying claim to water.
    I would tie it in to the mysterious water that flowed from His pierced side at His crucifixion.

    Christ did not need to be baptized, as you pointed out, Adam.
    Neither did He need to die. Aquinas and others agree that any spilling of His blood could be propitiatory to our salvation.
    In terms of the baptism in the Jordan, you, like St. John the Baptist, may not "get it."
    Very few, I imagine "got" the crucifixion of the Messiah either.
    In both is the mysterious mixture of Divine will and human choice.
    Per huius aquae et vini mysterium eius efficiamur divinitatis consortes, qui humanitatis nostrae fieri dignatus est particeps.
  • Heath
    Posts: 966
    The feast has come and gone, of course, but a late addition by the esteemed J. Michael Thompson:

    Come, you lovers of the feasts,
    Celebrate the wondrous day
    Christ to Jordan's waters came,
    There to drown and wash away
    The pow'r of death; in humble love
    Bowing 'neath the heav'nly Dove.

    There the Father's voice was heard:
    "This is My beloved Son,
    On Whom all My favor rests;
    In whom all My will is done!"
    There beneath the heav'n-rent sight
    Christ stood, the Father's great delight.

    Joined with Christ in watery grave,
    By the power of God's grace
    Called to be all nations' light,
    Made the Spirit's dwelling place,
    Let us all this good news sing to the world:
    "Jesus, our King!"
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