"Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near" (Is 55,6).
These
words from the second part of the Book of Isaiah…are an invitation to go more
deeply into the meaning for us of today's Feast, the Baptism of the Lord.
In
spirit let us return to the banks of the Jordan where John the Baptist
administered a Baptism of repentance, exhorting to conversion. Coming up to the
Precursor is Jesus, and with his presence he transformed that gesture of
repentance into a solemn manifestation of his divinity. A voice suddenly comes
from heaven: "You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased"
(Mk 1: 11) and, in the form of a dove, the Spirit descends upon Jesus.
In
that extraordinary event, John saw realized what had been said about the
Messiah born in Bethlehem, adored by the shepherds and the Magi. He was the
very One foretold by the prophets, the beloved Son of the Father; we must seek
him while he can be found and call upon him while he is at hand.
In
Baptism every Christian personally meets him; he is inserted into the mystery
of Christ's death and resurrection and receives a new life, which is the life
of God. What a great gift and what a great responsibility!
-Homily of Blessed John Paul II for The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, 2003
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