Today we celebrate the baptism of our Lord. When the Lord was baptised by John, Jesus received three missions to fulfil on earth. The first is priesthood. The second is kingship. The third is the prophetic mission.
The duty of the priest is to pray for the people of God. When the priest says mass, he collects the prayers of the people and offers them at the table of the Lord. Jesus is the High Priest. Often, he would leave his company of disciples and pray alone. He prays not only for himself, but for his faithful followers. Oftentimes, he prayed for his apostles, for the sick and the dying.
Baptism made us all priests of God. You may not preside over the Eucharist to do that, but every time you pray for others, for your friends, for the Church, you are already fulfilling the mission of God. When you teach your children, you never teach them just to pray for themselves. You teach them to pray for others. At bedtime, children pray for their parents, for their brothers and sisters, and even for their favourite pets.
Kingship is servant-leadership. Jesus led his disciples. He decided were to go, were to preach, were to eat and sleep. When the merchants turned the temple into a marketplace, Jesus showed his ire and shooed them away. There he proved that he owned the temple and that he had to administer it. Then he washed the feet of his disciples to show them that leadership means nothing else than service.
Baptism made us all kings of the Kingdom. And as kings, we act like stewards of the Kingdom. We co-own the kingdom. We are all sons and therefore inheritors of kingdom of God. When you exercise your leadership in your family, giving your children proper guidance and protection, you already fulfil the mission of God. When you perform well your profession as teachers, managers, at the workplace, you already fulfil the mission of God. It is sad that the Makati businessmen have declared that there is bankruptcy of leadership in the country. Well, we know how true this is. Our political leaders do not treat our country as their country at all. Instead of cleansing our country of thieves, they have organized themselves into corporate thieves. This is a blatant betrayal of the mission of God.
We teach our children how to take care of themselves, how to manage their own time, and how to fix their own rooms. These are examples of exercising the kingship of Christ. Other children are taught how to entertain visitors or how to receive telephone calls. And when they learn to well, they’ll soon take care of the whole household. Home Alone!
Prophets are not fortune-tellers! They are those that bring the word of God to the people. Jesus is the Prophet of prophets. He is the Word of God Himself. He is the Word Incarnate. When he preached the beatitudes, he was performing his prophetic mission.
When we tell people about our faith experiences, we are already performing the prophetic mission of God. When you teach your children what is right and wrong, what is good and bad, you are already doing the work of God. Every time we show good examples to others, we are more effectively preaching the word of God. And every time we speak the truth, we fulfil our prophetic mission.
Children hardly tell lies. They are lovers of the truth. By doing so, they already fulfil that mission of God. They may not yet be able to recite a scriptural passage or confidently preach the word of God. But every time they listen to your bedtime stories about Jesus, these children become enrolled at the school of the prophets.
Priest, king and prophet. These are our identity as Christians. These are our duties as children of God.
