This is my beloved son

Today is the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus. This is Year A and we have Matthew's version of the story. In Matthew's story, we have a section about John's reluctance to baptize Jesus which is not found in Mark. The Baptist's disciples were most probably recruited among the Jews and the Baptist Movement did not survive in history. We have only some meagre records found in the Gospels and Acts. They posed a particular embarrassment among the early Jewish Christians because of the fact that Jesus was baptized by John. That probably explains why Matthew has this unique section of the story to defend the superior Christian position over that of the Baptist's.
Jesus told John to proceed in order "to fulfil all righteousness πληρῶσαι πᾶσαν δικαιοσύνην"  (Matthew 3:15). The term 'righteousness' appears 7 times in Matthew. Some are ethical in nature and in this particular passage, it is not. It is best understood as 'the will of God'. Therefore, sinless Jesus also received his baptism from John in total obedience to the will of God, just like his total submission to God's will to die on the cross for all men. Thus, God said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). Contrast Mark's story in which God said. "You are my beloved Son ... " (Mark 1:11) which sounds more like a private revelation to Jesus alone. Matthew's is definitely a public proclamation, to the Baptist's disciples in particular.

Nowadays in Hong Kong, relationship between many fathers and their sons may be a stormy one. Men are rather reticent, in particular are afraid to reveal their feelings. Probably, due to their upbringing, men have difficulty in articulating their feelings. They are taught to be tough, to shed blood but not tears. Sons have to pick up cues to learn from their fathers who seldom speak to them and teach them face to face.
On my part, I pick up diligence, loyalty and piety from my father, a very hardworking man before his retirement. Before he left for work, he offered incense sticks to ancestors and the Bodhisattva. He had served only two employers in his entire shopkeeper career. In his earlier career, he had to work for more than 12 hours a day. There was a time in my primary schooling when he returned home after I went to bed and I had to leave for school before he rose. We were unable to speak to each other, not to mention teaching me to read and write. His working hours shortened only after he had suffered from high-blood pressure. My mum told me that when I was a toddler, he used to carry me in his arms on nightly strolls to listen to the chimes of trams. I feel sad not to be able to remember his holding my hand, walking me in a nearby football pitch in Wanchai in the evenings.
The other day, I was talking with him on the phone. I could not hold my tears back. Suddenly I realized that my father is aging.

Dear father, I am your beloved son. I love you.