* The text in italics is not part of the Catholic liturgy of Jesus' baptism.

15 All the people lived in expectation of the Messiah, and debated in their hearts whether John was not the one they were waiting for. 16 But John clarified matters: "I simply baptize you in water. But one is coming who is much more powerful than I am, so much so that I can't even stand up to him. He is the one who will baptize you to communicate a holy spirit and purify you.

17 Indeed, his intervention will identify and consolidate what is good in human beings and what must be rejected, like a farmer who separates the wheat from the chaff, harvesting the former and burning the latter." 18 So in various ways he supported the people by proclaiming the good news. 19 But Herod, the tetrarch of Galilee, having been rebuked by John for his relationship with his brother's wife, Herodias, and for other reprehensible actions, 20 decided to continue in the same direction, and had John thrown into prison.

21 But one day, after all the people had been baptized and Jesus himself had been baptized, while he was praying, 22 the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove, and a voice from heaven was heard: "You are my son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased."

How do get in touch with the mystery of the invisible?

Some thirty years ago, the world learned of the tragedy of the Order of the Solar Temple, where 74 people in Switzerland, France and Canada were to die over a 3-year period, some murdered, others committing suicide. To everyone's astonishment, the members of this Order were not naive, manipulable, vulnerable or poorly educated, but accomplished in many respects (professional, social, family, etc.). Of course, as is often the case, those responsible for the tragedy were great manipulators turned swindlers. But the majority of members were on a genuine mystical quest, seeking to connect with the invisible while aspiring to a better, greener world. But the way to achieve this was through esotericism and occultism, and the training of a spiritual elite. The idea was to create Life Centers all over the world. But in 1994, in an apocalyptic atmosphere, it was explained that the Temple's mission was coming to an end, that the OST leaders would disappear on the star Sirius, and that others would have to take up the torch. In fact, the Sirius transition project was a way of eliminating the traitors who were leaving the Order, while creating the framework for people to make the transit to Sirius, either by causing their physical death or inciting them to suicide.

How was such madness possible? All this forces us to recognize that many people have a very strong spiritual quest, such a strong desire to enter into a relationship with the invisible that they are ready to follow almost anyone. How can we find our way in all these paths that propose to open us up to the mystery of the invisible? I'd like to use today's Gospel to shed some light on this question.

In Catholic liturgy, this gospel is used to celebrate the baptism of Jesus. The desire to celebrate the baptism of Jesus is a little paradoxical: the first Christian generations sought rather to eliminate the mention that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. Indeed, only Mark, the first evangelist, clearly but briefly mentions that Jesus was baptized by John at the Jordan. A dozen years later, Matthew, no doubt finding it incongruous that Jesus should be baptized for the conversion of his sins by someone inferior to him, offers us a short introduction in which John refuses to baptize him, before agreeing to do God's will; moreover, he presents baptism as a thing of the past (Jesus having been baptized). Luke goes even further, not only presenting it as a thing of the past, but burying it under the baptism of all the people. Finally, the Gospel of John, the latest of our Gospels, never says that Jesus was baptized. It's clear that the first Christians were uneasy about a baptism whose meaning they didn't understand.

And yet, historically speaking, it is probable that Jesus was baptized, especially since at least two sources confirm this (Mark and the so-called Q tradition). And when we also include the Gospel according to John, we arrive at the following portrait of Jesus' vocation and early ministry. Awakened by the preaching of the Baptist, Jesus leaves Nazareth to travel with several of his compatriots to the Jordan Valley, where he is baptized to join this renewal movement. It was probably on this occasion that Jesus had an important religious experience, in which he discovered his vocation and which changed the course of his life. And if the Gospel of John is anything to go by, it was on this occasion that he met Simon, Andrew and Philip, who were to become his disciples. What exactly was Jesus' religious experience, his getting in touch with the invisible? Only he knows. But Christian tradition has created a story to tell us its profound meaning.

The Lucan version of this story begins by mentioning the people's intense expectation of an "anointed one", i.e. messiah in Hebrew, christ in Greek. While for the Jews this expectation was primarily the restoration of David's kingship, especially in the context of Roman domination, it can be broadened to include all the expectations of humanity, including its quest for a relationship with the invisible world. And Luke adds that people wonder whether John the Baptist might not be this messiah. Then, immediately, the Baptist clarifies things: someone stronger than him is coming, and it's a baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire that he will confer. What does this mean? In the Old Testament, the word "strong" refers above all to the "Strong One", i.e. God; so the Baptist announces someone who is closer to God, who reflects him better. The baptism of the Holy Spirit does not refer to the 3rd person of the Trinity, which would not be clearly specified until the Council of Nicaea, but to the divine breath that transforms and guides the person. The mention of fire introduces an eschatological note: Jesus' intervention will enable the final discernment between what corresponds to the world God wants, and what must be rejected.

This account of John the Baptist clarifying things is obviously not historical, as we need only think of the fact that the Baptist's disciples continued to exist in parallel with Jesus' disciples during his ministry (John's disciples ask Jesus why his disciples don't fast as they do), that the Baptist in prison sends disciples to inquire of Jesus whether he is not the Messiah, and that according to the Acts of the Apostles, not only did Apollos know only the baptism of John, but also in Ephesus Paul found a number of disciples who had received only the baptism of John the Baptist. What can we conclude? This scene is the result of years of reflection by early Christians, who sought to clarify John the Baptist's role in God's plan. To sum up: even if he wasn't fully aware of it, John the Baptist prepared hearts to welcome the one who was to be the revelation of the very face of God and an unprecedented transforming force. The scene that follows goes even further.

Luke presents us with his version of Jesus' religious experience. It takes place in a moment of prayer, as is often the case in Luke. Various images follow one another: heaven opening, God's spirit descending on Jesus. These images reinforce each other to say the same thing: the open heaven means that communication and relationship with God are restored; the spirit descending on Jesus means the incarnation of God's world in Jesus. What does the image of the dove have to do with this? We don't really know, but since it is universally associated with love and peace, as in the story of Noah's ark after the flood, it supports the image of reconciliation between heaven and earth, and introduces the words that follow. Note that Luke, addressing a Greek audience for whom only that which can be touched is real, specifies that the dove has a corporeal form to affirm that the Holy Spirit really does exist.

What does the voice that accompanies the spirit's arrival say? "You are my son, my beloved, with you I am well pleased." We have translated as "I am well pleased" the Greek verb: eudokeō, which means: to find good, to judge good, to approve, to take pleasure in, to agree with, to delight in. What does this story say about Jesus' religious experience? To translate this experience, the first Christians chose a few words from the Old Testament, such as Isaiah 42:1-4, where God designates either the people or someone in particular as a "son" to whom he gives his spirit before sending him on mission, or the expression "beloved" used to designate Isaac (see Gn 22), the only son, whom Abraham is called to sacrifice. But putting all these expressions together, and adding "to be well pleased", the story emphasizes Jesus' experience of being unconditionally loved by God, an experience that will accompany him throughout his life, that will make him proclaim that God's world is near, that will mark his prayer to the point of calling God "daddy", that will lead him to ask people to trust in life and not let themselves be overwhelmed by worries. This experience, according to the Gospels, was the beginning of his unique mission. At the same time, this experience also affirms that God is a mystery of love without measure, a love that heals. When Jesus sent his disciples on their mission, he told them simply this: "Heal, and tell people that the world of God is at your doorstep".

So this story seems to me fundamental for anyone seeking to enter into a relationship with the mystery of the invisible. For there is no other path than the one where one experiences love, and more particularly the experience of being deeply loved. Seeking special and unique knowledge through esotericism is a false path. The secret of life is not reserved for the elite.

For the early Christians, John the Baptist was an admirable man, and he helped people walk in the right direction, which is a lot compared to all the charlatans. Under the name John the Baptist, we can include all the sages, philosophies, religions that guide us in the right direction. But for the first Christians, the most perfect reflection of the mystery of God came in Jesus, who revealed how much we too were loved. It was this love that was the source of his unshakeable faith, a faith whose vital importance for each and every one of us he constantly stressed, a faith that enabled him to face an unjust death.

Yes, only the experience of love enables us to see and relate to the invisible.

 

-André Gilbert, Gatineau, October 2024