HW: Baptism — unconventional, radical, wonderful!

A reflection for the Baptism of the Lord, based on Matthew 3:13-17. Written and spoken by Kieran J. O'Mahony OSA

Gentle piano music to close the meditation

Transcript

John’s Lane
D08 F8NW
11 January 2026
Matthew 3:13-17. The Baptism of the Lord

Welcome
Today, the baptism of a child is a significant family event. A good deal of preparation goes into it — choosing of readings and godparents, some kind of family celebration afterwards. The rite itself is quite beautiful, with a great deal of symbolism, such as the white garment, various anointings with holy oils and the handing over of the baptism candle, a sign of the light of faith entrusted to the parents. It was not always that way. When I was baptised, for example, my mother was not present. This was usual, because baptism was done ASAP after birth, in case the baby died and went to limbo. It would also have been done mostly in Latin, a language not widely spoken in our part of Cork! While I remember nothing of it, of course, I’m sure we followed the conventions of the day.

Topic
Baptism as such can be both conventional and radical.

Steps
Baptism used to be highly conventional — virtually everyone was baptised. Nowadays, it is no longer exceptional for parents not to have a child baptised. There is a kind of integrity in that and a back-handed acknowledgement that baptism means more than blessing or welcoming a child into the world.

Baptism has many layers to it. It is, of course, a moment of wonder, an acknowledgement of the gift of a whole new life, an awareness that in bringing to birth a new human being parents are about as near to God as humans can be. It opens up a whole dimension of wonder and gratitude. In the course of baptism, there are some extra, very powerful moments. The baptismal candle is lit and handed over to the parents and godparents, entrusting to them the faith in which the child will be brought up. Then the celebrant touches the ears and mouth of baby with the marvellous words: may the Lord soon open your ears to hear his word and your mouth to proclaim his Gospel. Personally, I find that moment very moving. It is also a clear indication that baptism is not just for the day but for life. In that sense, baptism is no mere convention but a radical choice of direction of life.

We can see this already in the baptism of Jesus. Our word baptism comes from a Greek word — baptisma — which means “immersion” — not on the sense did you leave the immersion on, but a descent to water — the meaning of which must come from the context. Clearly, Jesus felt himself attracted to the preaching and programme of John the Baptist. As a sign of his personal engagement with that preaching and programme, Jesus underwent John’s immersion or baptism. John preached the future coming of God’s kingdom and, as a consequence, conversion of life and heart to enter into that kingdom. For Jesus, it signalled as well a new sense of being a child of God — ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him’ as well a new sense of the gift of the Spirit. In other words, it set the programme for Jesus’ life and eventually for his own ministry, preaching and destiny. In his day, this was a radical alternative, a highly unconventional act.

In our day, baptism is becoming radical again. When we baptise a child, the immersion takes its  meaning from our Christian faith. It is radical in the sense that the Gospel vision as such is radically different. I am reminded of the often quoted words of Pope Benedict XVI:

We have come to believe in God's love: in these words the Christian can express the fundamental decision of his life. Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction. Saint John's Gospel describes that event in these words: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should ... have eternal life” (3:16).

As Christians we have a comprehensive vision for being human, centred on the extraordinary love of God. There is a set of values — often in tension with conventional values. There is a path to happiness — again often in tension with conventional happiness. There is a sense of life as a great pilgrimage of transformation, a conversion to goodness and love, encompassing all that I am — again in tension with the limited vision of a merely materialist world view. But all of these — the values, the sense of pilgrimage and conversion — grow out a personal encounter with Jesus of Nazareth, the risen Lord of life and death. That encounter is open to everyone at every stage of life. In his first letter, the Joy of the Gospel, pope Francis invited us all in those words:

I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord”. The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realise that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms.

Conclusion
For Christian believers, life is no mere chance existence, lived without purpose and extinguished in death. On the contrary, it is wonderful to be alive, every day is gift and nothing, absolutely nothing is lost. This is because we believe so strongly in God who is love, who has shown himself in his beloved Son, in whom is all his delight. God takes the very same delight in all of us — a delight first celebrated in our baptism and experienced throughout of lives as believers. Nothing could be more unconventional, nothing more radical, nothing more wonderful.