The Baptism of the Lord [2012]

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'and a voice came from heaven, "Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased."' - Mark 1:11

Being pleased means being happy or joyful, therefore it connotes a positive feeling or emotion. 

What could have made the Father so pleased, happy and joyful about Jesus Christ our Lord? Surely, being His only begotten Son, Jesus our Lord deserves all the love of the Father. 

Most if not all of the fathers among us would surely attest to the fact that even when our children do things that we do not approve of, we still love them because they are our children. How much more when the child is an only son through whom our name would be assured of its posterity [for daughters when they marry changes their father's name into their husband's]? But God is not concerned about this earthly matter. The Jews probably have so much concern about this for they were actually waiting for someone who would come from the line of King David to restore the Kingdom of Israel. Even the Apostles before the coming of the Holy Spirit had this view [see Acts 1:6]. 

Somewhere else, John the Baptizer tells Jesus that he is the one who needs to be baptized by Him for he knows that He is truly greater than him and yet Jesus tells him to proceed with the activity because it is the proper thing to do [see Matthew 3: 14-15]. Here we see the great contrast between the Divine King and an earthly ruler. While earthly ruler at times try their best to see loopholes in the laws so that their interests would be protected, here is the King of the Universe making sure that everything should be done in accordance with what is "the proper thing to do". While earthly rulers would try to see for technicalities in the law for their own benefit, here is the King of the Universe showing that the fulfillment of every detail of the law is important. 

So what made God so pleased with Jesus Christ our Lord? It is because of His humility and submission to the will of the Father. Jesus Christ humbled Himself. While earthly rulers would do anything to secure their claim for honor, the services of men and the security for the maintenance of their power, here is a God who emptied Himself and took the form of a slave and even accepted the most gruesome death which no innocent man in His right mind would ever accept [see Philippians 2: 6-11, the Carmen Christi]. Just like anyone else, Jesus Christ has the freedom to accept or reject the will of God. In fact He had asked the Father in prayer to take away the cup of suffering and He could even have called angels just to ensure that He won't be arrested [see Matthew 26:53] but He still acknowledged that the Father has the final say in everything and His will is by far greater even than the freedom of any one even if it be His only begotten Son [see Luke 22:42]. 

Jesus Christ's obedience to the will of the Father even to the point of death on a cross is the greatest anti-thesis to the disobedience which Adam and Eve has made and which caused the fall of the human race from the original state of grace. Such selflessness surely deserved the greatest pleasure for the Father the same way that when our children obey what we want them to do we, earthly fathers, feel so much joy. If human fathers would be so glad to have their children follow their order, command or request, how much more the Father who was not only concerned about His own for after all He is God and is the most self-sufficient and self-fulfilled Person. His greatest joy for the obedience of Jesus Christ is that after Adam and Eve caused His beloved children, the whole humanity, to become slaves to sin, His only begotten Son dies for them that they may be redeemed from such bondage. God's pleasure, happiness and joy was also in behalf of all humanity because the very purpose of Him sending the Son in the first place was for everyone to be saved and not to perish [see John 3:16]. This is the whole truth of the mystery of salvation [see John 12:27 and 18:37]. 

God's love for humanity is so great that when His only begotten Son accepted His will to die for its sake He became so happy and joyful, He was so well pleased. This is also the way to glorify the Father [see John 12: 28ff] for nothing more could glorify the Father than obedience and submission to His will.

Remember what obedience to God produces. Look at the example of Abraham whom God has tested by asking him to offer his son Isaac, the child of God's promise to him to become the father of all nations. He was called the Friend of God because of his obedience. He was also blessed by God because of his obedience that He not only relented from having the child offered to Him but also ensured Abraham's posterity by having a descendant of his, Joseph, to become the poster father of Jesus, God's Son, through whom Abraham had his countless children: the people who became disciples of Jesus and members of the Church He has instituted on earth! 

While the consequence of disobedience is so great take for example what happened to Moses when God instructed him to strike only once the rock at Meribah and Moses did it twice [see Numbers 20:11]: Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land though he had a very special relationship with God who spoke to him "face to face". The sin of Moses is that he did strike the rock twice. [According to one writer, that rock symbolized Jesus Christ. The first strike signified the salvation which Jesus Christ wrought by His death. By striking the rock which is Christ the second time, Moses made the mistake of signifying that Christ's sacrifice was not enough, that another sacrifice had to be offered.] 

But as it is written in Hebrews in comparison to the sacrifices made by the Levitical priests who had to make the sacrifices repeatedly, Jesus did it once and for all [Hebrews 7:27]. No repetition is necessary and no one else had to do it again. It is only through great devotion and zeal for the salvation of souls that holy men and women would sometimes hope that their lives would be an expiation for the sins of others but it is only the sacrifice of God the Son that could and have made God the Father so well pleased because He is the only worthy sacrifice for He alone is the Lamb of God [see Revelation 5:12 and John 1:29].

Now we see why God was so pleased with Jesus Christ our Lord: it is because of His obedience and humble submission to the will of the Father. And the Lord Himself has shown us that example concretely by extending His arms and letting them be nailed into the Cross. The next time we pray the Lord's Prayer, let us remember this especially when we mention that part which says, "Your will be done", and then apply them into our daily lives so that our heavenly Father would be pleased with us too.