John the Baptist was driven by one mission: to point people to Jesus, to prepare the way for Jesus. Yet John is uneasy in this account of Jesus’ baptism. The moment has arrived but he is standing before someone much greater than himself and is being asked to minister. John feels unqualified, unworthy of such a task. After some persuasion ‘John gave into him’ and accepted his responsibility. This is a lesson to all of us, not to let feelings of inadequacy stop us from carrying out our various missions and vocations in our lives. Jesus explains to John that this is necessary as a sign for the beginning of his ministry, a public statement of identity.
Pope Francis recently set us some homework: to find out the date of our baptism. He added: “We are all part of the Church. If you say you believe in God, and if you say you believe in God but not in the Church, you're saying you don't believe in yourself, and that's a contradiction. We all are the Church, all of us. From that little child recently Baptised to the bishops and Pope, all of us”. He is reminding us to think deeply about what our baptism means for us, that moment when we were sent out to be part of God’s mission in this world, in our local communities and sent out to minister to those around us, even if we feel unworthy of such a task. Take example from John the Baptist today and don’t forget your homework!
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