Pope: Mission means proposing, witnessing and sharing the faith

Jesus teaches us "the attitude of simplicity, respect, moderation and concealment, required even today of the Lord's disciples".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Mission  means proposing, witnessing and sharing the faith, said Pope Francis again today in his reflections addressed to the 20 thousand people present in St. Peter's Square for the recitation of the Angelus.

First of all he spoke of this morning's baptism of 32 children and invited everyone to pray for them and their families. "The liturgy of this year - he said then - offers us the event of the baptism of Jesus according to the story of the Gospel of Matthew (cf 3,13-17).  The evangelist describes the dialogue between Jesus, who asks for baptism, and John the Baptist, who wants to refuse and observes: "It is I who need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?" (V. 14).  This decision of Jesus surprises the Baptist: in fact, the Messiah does not need to be purified;  it is He who purifies. "

“But God is the Holy One, His ways are not ours, and Jesus is the Way of God, an unpredictable way.  Remember that God is the god of surprises.  John had declared that there was an abysmal, unbridgeable distance between him and Jesus.  "I am not worthy to carry your sandals" (Mt 3:11), he said.  But the Son of God came precisely to bridge the distance between man and God. If Jesus is completley on God's side, he is also completley on mankind's side, and brings together what was divided.  For this reason he replies to John: "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness" (v. 15).  The Messiah asks to be baptized, so that all justice can be done, that is, the Father's plan that passes through the way of filial obedience and solidarity with the fragile and sinful man.  It is the way of humility and full closeness of God to his children.  Even the prophet Isaiah announces the justice of the Servant of God, who carries out his mission in the world with a style contrary to the worldly spirit: "he shall bring forth justice to the nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. a bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench."(42,2-3).  It is the attitude of gentleness, it is what Jesus teaches us, it is the attitude of simplicity, respect, moderation and concealment, required even today of the Lord's disciples ".

"In missionary action - he continued - the Christian community is called to meet others always proposing and not imposing, giving witness, sharing the concrete life of the people.  As soon as Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove, while a voice rang out from above saying: "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."(Mt 3:17).  On the feast of the Baptism of Jesus we rediscover our Baptism.  As Jesus is the beloved Son of the Father, we too born of water and the Holy Spirit know that we are loved children, the Father loves us all, the object of God's complacency, brothers of many other brothers, invested with a great mission to witness and proclaim the boundless love of the Father for all peoples".

Francis went on to say that "this feast reminds us of our baptism, we are born again, the Spirit has come" and has returned to invite us to know the date of our baptism and celebrate it.