Almighty ever-living God,
who, when Christ had been baptized in the River Jordan
and as the Holy Spirit descended upon him,
solemnly declared him your beloved Son,
grant that your children by adoption,
reborn of water and the Holy Spirit,
may always be well pleasing to you. (Roman Missal)
Have you ever thought about what your obituary will say? How will people remember you when you’re gone? I can tell you some things that your obituary will not say: “he went to work every day”; “she paid her taxes”; “he ate food.”
Ultimately, our lives will be judged—by others and by God—not by what we did because we had to do it but by what we didn’t have to do but did anyway. As usual, Jesus serves as our example. The baptism John was performing was a baptism of repentance: people went into the water to show sorrow for their sins. But Jesus was sinless and therefore had no need of such a baptism. Of his own free will he submitted to baptism by John as a sign that he was accepting the mission given to him by his Father. And for this reason, the Father was “well pleased.”
Even a perfect record of doing what we think we have to do--maintaining our health, honoring family obligations, keeping promises or vows, following civil and religious laws, even fulfilling God’s commandments—would not be much of a cause for a pat on the back from God. What really counts in the eyes of God, what really makes us outstanding human beings and children who are pleasing to our heavenly Father are all the other things we might do, things like visiting the new neighbors to make sure they feel welcome; providing shelter for the homeless; offering rides to elderly persons who cannot drive; speaking out against unjust public policies; and answering the call for more volunteers willing to share their time and talent with the parish.
At the end of our lives, will we look back and find that we have done only what we had to do? God would be pleased if we did more than just the minimum. But we don’t have to do it. The choice is always ours.