Sinless as he was, Christ chose to be baptized by John so that he could be one with us, and in return, so that we could likewise choose to be one with him in a lifelong journey toward the Father. This is the meaning of today’s Gospel reading (Mt. 3: 13-17).Throughout his life, the human-divine Christ thus showed us the way to gradually and progressively move from human to divine. All this is to be done through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. “He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” (From today’s Second Reading, Acts 10: 34-38).
Strikingly enough, the very passage on Christ’s baptism by John is followed by the triple temptation of Jesus by the devil. (Mt. 4: 1-11). And through it all, Christ resisted giving in to the temptations, showing us that it can be done, as long as we invoke the Holy Spirit to work in us. Of course, this is easier said than done, since we are not fully human-divine as Christ was. It is a lifelong journey and struggle for us, but well worth it as the meaning of our choice to be one with Christ. This calls for a total attachment to God and God’s will, which means a total detachment from the self, the ego. When everything is said and done, as we have previously expressed, God is the only absolute in this life. Everything else is relative. This calls for our humble surrender to God’s will. Humility is the key. Indeed, the ego is the greatest enemy of the human person.
It is in this context that St. Ignatius, through his own spiritual journey, was able to hand down to us what he calls the Three Degrees of Humility. (# 165-168 of the Spiritual Exercises). For the benefit of all, let us quote it here:
“The First Degree of Humility. This is necessary for salvation. It consists in this, that as far as possible I so subject and humble myself as to obey the law of God our Lord in all things, so that not even were I made lord of all creation, or to save my life here on earth, would I consent to violate a commandment, whether divine or human, that binds me under pain of mortal sin. (# 165).
“The Second Degree of Humility. This is more perfect than the first. I possess it if my attitude of mind is such that I neither desire nor am I inclined to have riches rather than poverty, to seek honor rather than dishonor, to desire a long life rather than a short life, provided only in either alternative I would promote equally the service of God our Lord and the salvation of my soul. Besides this indifference this second kind of humility supposes that not for all creation, nor to save my life, would I consent to commit a venial sin. (# 166).
“The Third Degree of Humility. This is the most perfect kind of humility. It consists in this. If we suppose the first and the second kind attained, then whenever the praise and glory of the Divine Majesty would be equally served, in order to imitate and be in reality more like Christ our Lord, I desire and choose poverty with Christ poor, rather than riches; insults with Christ loaded with them, rather than honors; I desire to be accounted as worthless and a fool for Christ, rather than be esteemed as wise and prudent in this world. So Christ was treated before me.” (# 167).
For ordinary Christians like you and me, the first degree of humility is difficult enough, as we all know. Human and imperfect as we are, even with the best of intentions, we still fail every now and then. How much more with the second degree of humility! This means spiritual detachment of the highest degree, habitually affirming my radical poverty before God, my creatureliness, my total disponibility before God. St. Ignatius insists that it is not only possible but realistic and doable for those who genuinely choose the way of Christ.
Not only that. He insists that even the third degree of humility is possible for those who really choose the “magis” — the more. Magis Deo. More for God. As a Jesuit Priest for more than forty-five years, this continues to be my human struggle. And I know in my moments of deep awareness that the greatest obstacle is nothing more and nothing less than intellectual arrogance. Not necessarily obvious, but subtle. Some form of independence that suggests rather than states that I am my own boss. A subconscious self-centeredness and power-struggle with God. And so the baptism of repentance that John the Baptist originally did must be repeated over and over again. Thanks be to our ever-loving, ever-forgiving human-divine Christ, who continually inspires us never to give up, till the last moment of our life. “And know that I am with you always, until the end of the world.” (Mt. 28: 20)