God Comes For Us
The Baptism of the Lord
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Matthew 3:13-17– Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him. After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
This Gospel passage is of particular importance because it reveals the Blessed Trinity to us, in sensory form. There are three divine “Persons”: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each of them is infinite in Himself and fully possesses the Divine Nature. They are distinct Persons. However, these three distinct Persons are not separate. They are united in an eternal bond of self-giving love. (The closest image of “distinct but not separate” persons is the bond between husband and wife, in which “two become one”.)
Yet added this wonderful revelation of the Blessed Trinity at the Baptism of the Lord, it is here at this event also that Jesus begins His public ministry. So here we not only see God… but we also see that God came for us. The Catechism starts (in the first paragraph) by saying that God is “infinitely perfect and blessed in Himself…freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life.” This means that God needs nothing else to be more blessed or happy. He is infinitely happy. So why does God make us if He doesn’t need us for any reason? He makes us for our own sake. He makes us capable of receiving an immense happiness so that we can be eternally blessed by sharing in His own Blessed Life. We exist to exist in God. God cares immensely about our happiness!
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above.(Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
