LGBTQ+ people refer to certain passages of Scripture whose interpretation traditionally is seen as condemnatory to them as "Clobber Passages." Well, this Sunday's Gospel reading for Mass (St. Luke 3.15-17, 21-22) has often been used as a "Clobber Passage" against...wait for it...Christians in general.
If you are sitting there blinking in confusion, I understand. You see, many who have an axe to grind against the Church, particularly against the Church's message that in Jesus Christ, God became Incarnate as the only Sinless One. Here they point to the story of Jesus being baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist as a source of embarrassment for Christians, that the Only Sinless One should not have needed a washing from sin.
The Church met this criticism head on, making this event not only a major feast of the Church Year but a feast outranking all others, Christmas included, with the exception of Pascha (Easter) and Pentecost (Whitsunday). The Baptism is part of the Epiphany, where the Lord is made manifest in the signs that led the Magi to Him as a child, in the signs ushered in by the first miracle at the Wedding in Cana, and here, the portent-heavy Baptism in the Jordan River.
The Gospel accounts make no bones that John the Baptist felt unworthy to baptize Jesus, but Jesus overrode this objection, stating it was to "fulfil all righteousness." (St. Matthew 3.15) Our Lord was scrupulous in the matter of the Law, being very clear that when it appeared He was breaking it, He actually was fulfilling the calling of practicing mercy: "And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?" (St. Luke 6.9). Here, Our Lord took the baptism at the hands of John as a public statement of His submission to the will of the Father, which is the keystone of righteousness, and in return the Father and the Spirit both sealed this proclamation by the Son with the seal specific to each Person of the Holy and Undivided Trinity. This move foreshadowed the greater sign to come, where the Son again publicly submitted to the will of the Father by fulfilling the Prophets and offering Himself as the Final and Perfect Passover sacrifice, and as foreshadowed by rising from the waters of the Jordan rising from the Dead, breaking the hold of Sin and Death upon humanity.
This is no cause for shame, but for wonder, that God in His wisdom and love should take on our humanity, and in every thing He did in that time among us show us the way of righteousness. There should be no shame, but only emulation.
