Residents in Garcia Hernandez town in Bohol celebrated “Bunyagan Festival,” the re-enactment of the baptism of Christ by Saint John the Baptist.
Garcia Hernandez is celebrating on Monday, June 24, the feast of their patron saint John the Baptist.
“Bunyagan” is annual re-enactment of the first baptism initiated by the teachers and students of Saint John The Baptist Academy.
Before Jesus began his earthly ministry, John the Baptist was God’s appointed messenger.
He had been traveling around, announcing the coming of the Messiah to the people throughout the regions of Jerusalem and Judea.
John called people to prepare for Messiah’s coming and to repent, turn from their sins, and be baptized. He was pointing the way to Jesus Christ.
Until this time, Jesus had spent most of his earthly life in quiet obscurity. Suddenly, he appeared on the scene, walking up to John in the River Jordan. He came to John to be baptized, but John told him, “I need to be baptized by you.” Like most of us, John wondered why Jesus had asked to be baptized.
Jesus replied: “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” While the meaning of this statement is somewhat unclear, it caused John to consented to baptize Jesus. Nevertheless, it confirms that Jesus’ baptism was necessary to accomplish God’s will.
After Jesus was baptized, as he came up from the water, the heavens opened and he saw the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. God spoke from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
