Sinless-sinful Jesus?

How come Jesus submitted Himself to John’s baptism of repentance? Was Jesus a sinner who needed conversion? John himself insisted that he simply baptized with water, whereas the sinless, divine Jesus would baptize with no less than the Holy Spirit! “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (From today’s Gospel reading, Mk. 1: 7-11). In other words, John simply initiated the process of conversion, so that those he had baptized could then turn to Jesus for their lifelong discipleship and journey with God toward eternal bliss.

What, then, is the meaning of Jesus being baptized by John? My faith tells me that the divine Jesus came to be One-with-us, from birth until death, so that in turn, we can be one-with-Him. This means a lifelong journey of unconditional love and an ongoing conversion to be sinless like Him. He showed us the way to be fully-human, because to be fully-human is to be divine. To love and be loved unconditionally is to be fully-human, and thus be like Him, be like God. And He showed us that this was indeed doable, by the way He lived and loved. Jesus, the Professional Lover.

How exactly did Jesus live and love? The most historical, inspiring, and challenging biography of Jesus I know of are the two books of Fr. Albert Nolan, O.P., namely: Jesus Before Christianity and Jesus Today. The first book focuses on the man Jesus “before he became enshrined in doctrine, dogma, and ritual, a man deeply involved with the real problems of his time which are the real problems of our time as well.” The second book captures the spirituality of Jesus, which is radical freedom, not of the ego, but radical freedom from the ego.

In the person of Jesus, as Nolan points out, love and justice were the two sides of the same coin. Unconditional love cannot but involve a deep passion for justice, especially toward the poor, the oppressed, the downtrodden. At the heart of it all is compassion. Jesus was first and foremost, the Compassionate One. He healed the sick. He fed the hungry. He consoled the suffering. Not only that. He forgave sinners, once there was a sign of repentance on their part. He taught in parables, which He incarnated in His own life. In other words, He walked His talk. The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10: 29-37). The Parable of the Prodigal Son or should we say the Parable of the Forgiving Father (Lk. 15: 11-32), and many others. Indeed, Jesus was the Forgiving One beyond compare.

But there must be true repentance. Otherwise, as Jesus Himself said: “But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish...(Lk. 13: 3,5). This is not because Jesus is a punitive God, but because of man’s choice to be unloving, uncompassionate, and unjust. The lack or absence of repentance.

In this context, many of our people have been baptized with water, but resist or even refuse to be baptized by the Holy Spirit, because this will mean a 180-degree turn-around in their life and lifestyle. Thus, we are Christian in name as a Filipino nation, but many of our so-called baptized Christians are, in reality, anti-Christ. Widespread corruption in governance and business; nationwide moral injustices against the poor; ever-increasing sexual immoralities, and what-have-you.

But we must never lose hope, lest we become spiritually paralyzed. With total faith in God, accompanied by our dedicated human efforts and actions, He will intervene, in His own way and time, as He did at Edsa I and again at Edsa II. We have an increasing number of NGOs, coalitions of organizations, and programs that are actively advocating love and justice among our people and our leaders.

Just to single out one of them: The Bantay Lansangan (Road Watch). This is a “partnership among government, private, and civil society stakeholders in the national road sector for the delivery of quality road services that are responsive to users’ needs, through the efficient and transparent use of public resources.” Bantay Lansangan “seeks to increase transparency and access to information on the one hand, as well as monitor the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) performance in delivering national road services.” As a result of their efforts, they’ll expect to reduce transaction costs for road construction and maintenance, improve the response time for maintenance, increase road user satisfaction, and improve the public perception of the DPWH.” The World Bank is ready to loan the Phil. government no less than $232 million, but with the proper safeguards.

With Transparency and Accountability Network (TAN) as coordinator, the members of Bantay Lansangan include:

Road Users, like the Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines, and others.

Governance Advocates, like the Ateneo School of Government, and others.

Road Service Providers, like the Philippine Contractors Association, and others.

National Road Asset Managers, namely, the DPWH.

Regulators and Enforcers, namely, the Land Transportation Office.

Government Partners, namely, the Office of the Ombudsman; and the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission.

Development Partners, namely, the World Bank, and possibly others.

Media, namely, the Catholic Media Network.