 |
| ” Baptism of Christ in the by Jacob de Wit, 1716 |
Reading 1: Zephaniah 3:14-18a
Shout for joy, O daughter Zion
Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all
your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem
The LORD has removed the
judgment against you
he has turned away your
enemies;
the King of Israel, the LORD,
is in your midst,
you have no further
misfortune to fear.
On that day, it shall be said
to Jerusalem
Fear not, O Zion, be not
discouraged!
The LORD, your God, is in
your midst,
a mighty savior;
he will rejoice over you with
gladness,
and renew you in his love,
he will sing joyfully because
of you,
as one sings at festivals.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Zep
3:14-18a
The Prophet Zephaniah
begins this passage with an exaltation to praise to God. His invitation sounds in the present tense
but then we hear; “On that day,
it shall be said to Jerusalem
We hear the expectation of
the Messiah; “The King of Israel, the
Lord, is in your midst”. In this case the effects of the Messiah on the
people are the focus.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6
R. (6) Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel
God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is
the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.
R. Cry out with joy and
gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel
Give thanks to the LORD,
acclaim his name;
among the nations make known
his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his
name.
R. Cry out with joy and
gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel
Sing praise to the LORD for
his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout
all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city
of Zion
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!
R. Cry out with joy and
gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Is 12:2-3,
4, 5-6
This hymn of praise is a profession of faith; “My strength and my
courage is the Lord, and he has been my savior.” It also does
something interesting in that it challenges those who profess that faith to
proclaim it in the world; “…among the nations make known his deeds, proclaim how exalted is his
name.”
This canticle emphasizes the
peace and confidence of his servant in the salvation of God. He sings his
praise to God and exhorts all of Israel to praise Him as they see his constant
presence among them in his blessings upon them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading II: Philippians 4:4-7
Brothers and sisters:
Rejoice in the Lord always.
I shall say it again: rejoice!
Your kindness should be known
to all.
The Lord is near.
Have no anxiety at all, but
in everything,
by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving,
make your requests known to
God.
Then the peace of God that
surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Phil
4:4-7
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 3:10-18
The crowds asked John the
Baptist,
“What should we do?”
He said to them in reply,
“Whoever has two cloaks
should share with the person
who has none.
And whoever has food should
do likewise.”
Even tax collectors came to
be baptized and they said to him,
“Teacher, what should we do?”
He answered them,
“Stop collecting more than
what is prescribed.”
Soldiers also asked him,
“And what is it that we
should do?”
He told them,
“Do not practice extortion,
do not falsely accuse anyone,
and be satisfied with your
wages.”
Now the people were filled
with expectation,
and all were asking in their
hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all,
saying,
“I am baptizing you with
water,
but one mightier than I is
coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the
thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his
hand to clear his threshing floor
and to gather the wheat into
his barn,
but the chaff he will burn
with unquenchable fire.”
Exhorting them in many other
ways,
he preached good news to the
people.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Lk 3:10-18
The passage
continues with the messianic vision of what will come. St.
John
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
Today, before we consider the
joys of this day, let us pray for the souls of those innocent victims of
violence in Newtown, Connecticut. As the psalmist says “Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones.”(Psalm 116:15).
We pray today for the souls of those who have departed and for those who
grieve at the wrenching loss felt, especially by the parents of the children who
now journey to the Lord.
Today’s scripture
ironically tells us we should put balloons and streamers in the space we create
in our hearts; ironically because the commercial interests have been saying the
same thing only in a physical sense.
First in Zephaniah, then from Isaiah and lastly in St. Paul’s letter to
the Philippians we are told we should be rejoicing in this coming event that
will change the world for all time, and the tone is immanent
The very air
grows thick with expectation now as we hear (or imagine) John the Baptist’s
booming voice calling out to us across two thousand years; “I am not the
Messiah, if you think I’m holy and wise, wait, there is one coming after me who
will astound you.” We rejoice in our
expectation – when good things come it’s always that way. Waiting in expectation for the best things is
always a great part of the experience.
We think about
our younger years. When we were told by
our parents we were going to do something very special, perhaps go on a special
vacation or perhaps get a special possession like a boat or a camper, do you
remember the giddy expectation (my children would say they tickled
inside). Perhaps most appropriately we
remember the night before Christmas as children when we could not get to sleep,
knowing that Santa Claus would soon arrive and the presents would be there,
under the tree.
What is it we
expect now? Is it not a celebration of
the Nativity of the Lord – the greatest gift we have ever and will ever
receive? Can we put away the panic of
the secularization of this holiday and embrace the warmth of that space we
create in our hearts and rejoice in it?
It is why we take a month to prepare ourselves in the Advent Season, to
rekindle the childlike flames of expectation and ready ourselves for the coming
of the Prince of Peace.
Pax
[2]
The picture is ” Baptism of Christ in the Jordan ” by Jacob de Wit, 1716
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
No comments:
Post a Comment