The Baptism of the Jesus is a very important feast because, in fact, the Holy Trinity presented themselves to humanity at the baptism of the Lord.
Jesus, the Son of God, one born of the Father, came and became like us because we are sons of God by grace, His creation. He came to be baptized not because he was a sinner, but because baptism, the forgiveness of sins, is the first act that someone has to do on the road to his salvation. Jesus came and became man to be an example for us: to show us basically how to repent, how to return to God.
The Father in heaven, blesses Him by introducing Him to the people: “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”, expressing His total unity through the identity of will with the Son who plays the role of the repentant man.
Now, the Father does not say “This is Who you should obey” because God, in His delicacy, does not want to impose, from the beginning, the Son who is baptized in humility, even though, through this obedience to the Son, we obtain our salvation.
It is only at the Transfiguration, when the Son has truly proven to us by deeds that He is the true God, the Father validates him by saying, “This is Who you should obey.”
The Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, shows by His descent from heaven, from where the voice of the Father is heard, that proceeds from Him and only from Him, and rests upon the Son as the perfect gift and fulfillment of the Father’s love for the Son. The dove is the symbol of love and purity.
In this way, the Holy Trinity presents us in the unity of their work with the relationships between God’s persons and their role in our salvation: the Father who blesses us, the Son who shows us the way through humility, and the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, sent by the Father—of course, if we want this. Hell and heaven are our choice.
In the photo, a snapshot of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the moment when the Holy Cross was caught at sea. Vatopedi Monastery, Mount Athos.
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