Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and She gives us two scenes in our readings that clearly belong together.

First, in this passage from Isaiah, God is speaking about His servant, someone who isn’t a political figure or some brutal conqueror. Instead, the servant the Prophet mentions is one who is chosen, one who is sustained by God, and sent to accomplish a specific purpose. He’s called to establish justice, to be a light for the nations, to bring healing and restoration, and to bring freedom to captives. But what matters most about this passage is how it begins. It says: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased.” Before this servant does anything, what happens? God claims him.

We see something similar in the Gospel. Jesus comes to the Jordan and asks to be baptized. Now, it’s important to mention that Jesus doesn’t need to be baptized for repentance or forgiveness, but He is choosing to be baptized so that He can fully step into our human condition. And, Matthew is clear that this happens at the very beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. That’s on purpose. He hasn’t preached yet. He hasn’t healed anyone at this point. He obviously hasn’t gone to the Cross. And yet the Father speaks; He says: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

There’s something really important in that detail. The Father is showing us how identity comes first; mission can only come after we know who we are. That’s what happens in our baptism, we are given our identity.

Baptism isn’t a reward for good behavior or a sign that we have figured faith out. There’s a reason it comes at the beginning of our Christian life. It’s God claiming us and calling us into the daily work of discipleship, setting the direction of our lives as we learn how to follow Jesus. When we receive the Sacrament of Baptism, God names us His beloved sons and daughters, giving us a new identity that must be lived faithfully.

That’s why we used the sprinkling rite at the beginning of Mass today. When we do that, the Church is intentionally bringing us back to the beginning of our lives in Christ; She’s bringing us back to the font of our baptism. Before we hear the Word, before we approach the altar to receive the Eucharist, it’s good to be reminded of who we are. We’re people who belong to God; we’re claimed by Christ to be His disciples; we’re formed by the Spirit to go out into the world.

Isaiah’s words and the words of the Father in the Gospel are not just about Jesus. They’re about us as well. We have been given a similar mission through Baptism. We are called to be a light for the nations, to help establish a foundation of justice, to bring healing and restoration to others, and to proclaim freedom to the oppressed.

The real question this feast invites us to consider is this: are we fully living out the identity that we received at our Baptism? The Father has already spoken over us; He has claimed us as His own. He now asks us to participate in a mission that’s meant to be lived out in the ordinary situations and experiences of daily life, and He invites us to let that identity guide everything we say, think, and do every day. If we do that, we will show others the face of Christ and we’ll bring them to their own experience of God’s love.

Photo: Infant Baptism, Josh Applegate. Used under Unsplash license.