By Jem Sullivan, Ph.D.
Baptism of Jesus, mosaic in the Chapel of Our Lady of Pompei, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C.
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord brought the liturgical season of the Incarnation of Jesus, the Word made flesh, to a fitting close. This feast, celebrated at the start of a new calendar year, also offers a graced opportunity for our renewed participation in the Eucharist, the repeatable sacrament of our Christian initiation that began at Baptism.
In this beautiful mosaic image from the Chapel of Our Lady of Pompei in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, we gaze on the Gospel moment of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist that marked the beginning of his public ministry. Following his Baptism, Jesus goes forth to teach, to preach, to heal and to save. His earthly ministry that begins in the waters of the Jordan will culminate on the glorious morning of his Resurrection and continue in every age through his saving presence in the Eucharist.
The slender figures of Jesus and John the Baptist take center stage in this mosaic. The tranquil frame of Jesus stands in the river with folded hands in a gesture of prayer as the Baptist pours water over his sacred head.
The rugged, bare desert landscape of hills and rocks and the winding stream of water leads our eyes back into space. Unfolding before our eyes is an epiphany, a manifestation of Jesus’ divine Sonship and a public proclamation of his saving mission. From a distant swirling cloud, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, descends with golden rays of light on Jesus. We hear the voice of his heavenly Father saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mt 3: 17). A cruciform halo frames the serene face of Jesus, foreshadowing that his Baptism in water will culminate in his total gift of self on the Cross.
Every Christian is called, by virtue of Baptism, to ongoing conversion of life, perseverance in prayer, and loving witness to the Gospel. This baptismal vocation is lived at home, in the workplace and in our communities. The joy, humility, perseverance and courage that marks our witness to the Gospel is rooted in graces first received at Baptism, the unrepeatable sacrament of Christian initiation. At our Baptism we were incorporated into the Trinitarian mystery of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in whose name we are baptized.
The grace of Baptism is not a thing of the past, a sacramental memory from infancy or childhood; it is the foundation of a new life lived daily in the light of God’s love and mercy. Every Eucharist renews the gift of God’s abundant graces, first received at our own baptism into new life in Jesus Christ.
Dr. Jem Sullivan is associate professor of catechetics in the School of Theology and Religious Studies at The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.