As we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord this weekend, it is fitting that we reflect on the meaning of baptism. Baptism is the first of the sacraments, and as such, is the doorway to the other sacraments. You cannot receive any of the other sacraments without first having received Baptism.
God, in His love, created humanity to live in perfect unity with Him – first in this world, and then for eternity in Heaven. Yet all of us know that our first parents messed things up by disobeying God. This Original Sin, which is passed on to every human being through propagation, caused a rift between humanity and God. We could no longer live the perfect unity with God for we had lost the Divine life within us, which is called Sanctifying Grace.
Naturally, our all-loving God did not want to leave us in this condition, but being all-loving also mean that God in infinitely just. There was now the debt of sin between God and humankind. Since God is infinite, this debt was infinite, yet in justice, only a human could pay off that debt.
This leads to the answer as to why Jesus was baptized. Obviously, Jesus as the only-begotten Son of God was completely sinless – not only no personal sin, but also no stain of Original Sin. St. John the Baptist offered a baptism of repentance; of acknowledging one’s sins and need for forgiveness. Just as an individual, Jesus did not need St. John the Baptist’s baptism. However, in uniting our human nature to His divine nature, Jesus took on the sins of the world. Through His Passion, Death and Resurrection He would pay the debt for Original Sin and everyone’s personal sins. Having our human nature, Jesus fulfilled the demands of justice that the one who committed the offense pay off the debt; and His divinity gave Him the infiniteness to pay off an infinite debt.
OK, that is a thumbnail sketch of the theology of baptism, but what are the effects of baptism in the life of the individual? First, baptism is the sacrament of faith; even if that faith is not perfect and mature. Baptism is the beginning of Faith that will develop as the person continues to live the life of a disciple; continuing to participate in the other sacraments, especially attending Mass each week, and obeying the commandments and precepts of the Church. In order to do this, faith need the community of believers.
Baptism forgives all sins, both Original Sin and personal sin, as well as all punishment for sin. Most of us were baptized as infants, so we did not have personal sins, but we still needed to be freed from Original Sin. While the sin is forgiven, some of the effects of sin remains. We call this concupiscence, which is a tendency towards sin. So there is a disordering of the senses, a dimming of the intellect, and a weakening of the will. God, through the sacraments and living in the Church, provides the grace we need to overcome concupiscence, but we need to cooperate with that grace in order to avoid sin.
Baptism also makes us a “new creature,” namely an adopted child of God who has become a “partaker of the divine nature,” and a temple of the Holy Spirit. This is known as the grace of justification, and it enables us to believe in God, to hope in Him, and to love Him. It also gives us the power to live and act under the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Finally, justification allows us to grow in goodness through the moral virtues.
Finally, baptism makes us members of the Mystical Body of Christ, incorporating us into the Church. As a member of the Church, we no longer belong to ourself, rather we belong to Christ Jesus, who died and rose for us.