 |
| “Baptism of Christ” by Alessandro Rosi, c. 1670 |
Thus says the Lord:
Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
upon whom I have put my 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,
until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
I, the Lord, have called you for the victory of
justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Is
42:1-4, 6-7
This passage begins what is known
as the “First Song of the Servant of the Lord”. There are three more passages
considered by some to be parts of one poem (Isaiah 49:1-6; Isaiah 50:4-7; and Isaiah 52:13—53:12). While
there is some scholarly debate about the original intent of these poems, the
prophetic view sees these songs a reference to the coming Messiah.
In this first song, Isaiah’s
prediction brings us almost the exact words spoken by God as Jesus walks out of
the Jordan following his baptism “Here
is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased,”.
The image of God infusing his spirit is fulfilled as the Holy Spirit descends
in the form of a dove at Jesus’ Baptism (Matthew 16:12; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22) He goes on in vv.
2-4 to describe the compassionate and loving character of the Messiah.
In the vv. 6-7 Isaiah focuses on
the new covenant established with the people. “The expression ‘light to the nations’ (v.6) seems to find an echo in what
Jesus says about his being ‘the
light of the world’ (John
8:12; 9:5) and also in the Benedictus of Zechariah (Luke 1:78-79). There is an
evocation of v.7 in Jesus’ reply to the messengers from John the Baptist who
ask him whether he is ‘he who is to come’ (cf. Matthew 11:4-6; Luke 7:18-22); […] And so St
Justin will say commenting on vv. 6-7: ‘Every thing that is said here, my
friends, refers to Christ and to the peoples who have been enlightened by his
presence.’ (Dialogus cum
Tryphone, 122, 2)” [4]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10
R.
(11b) The Lord will bless his people
with peace.
Give to the Lord, you
sons of God,
give to the Lord glory
and praise,
Give to the Lord the
glory due his name;
adore the Lord in holy
attire.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The voice of the Lord is
over the waters,
the Lord, over vast
waters.
The voice of the Lord is
mighty;
the voice of the Lord is
majestic.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The God of glory
thunders,
and in his temple all
say, “Glory!”
The Lord is enthroned
above the flood;
the Lord is enthroned as
king forever.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps
29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10
Psalm 29 is a hymn extolling the power of God. In these strophes the immense power of God in
nature is attributed. His majesty encompasses the earth (“enthroned above the flood”) and his kingship is
established over all the earth forever.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading
II: Acts
10:34-38
Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered
in the house of Cornelius, saying:
“In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts
uprightly
is acceptable to him.
You know the word that he sent to the Israelites
as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is
Lord of all,
what has happened all over Judea ,
beginning in Galilee
after the baptism
that John preached,
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good
and healing all those oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Acts
10:34-38
In this selection from Acts, Peter is speaking in
the house of Cornelius following the vision he was given showing him that
nothing God created should be considered profane. This was pondered by Peter because it
challenged the precepts of Jewish dietary laws and laws forbidding contact with
Gentiles at certain times; saying that God is for every one not just the
Israelites. He then launches into the Good News which he starts with a
description of the Baptism of the Lord and how the Holy Spirit
descended, following that with his mission to reveal God’s love in his healing
ministry.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17
Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan
to be baptized by him.
John tried to prevent him, saying,
“I need to be baptized by you,
and yet you are coming to me?”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us
to fulfill all righteousness.”
Then he allowed him.
After Jesus was baptized,
he came up from the water and behold,
the heavens were opened for him,
and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and coming upon him.
And a voice came from the heavens, saying,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well
pleased.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt
3:13-17
The story of the Baptism of Jesus from St.
Matthew’s Gospel, while short, is the most complete account of the interaction
between Jesus and St. John
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homily
The Baptism of Jesus, like
our own baptisms, marks a beginning and an end. For the Lord, it is the end of
his preparation. He was born to a task. His self-imposed incarnation was for a
purpose; he was to reveal God to all creation. All that we have been talking
and hearing about since the Nativity of the Lord a few short weeks ago has been
pointed at this moment.
The stories we have heard;
first about the Lord’s humble but miraculous birth to a virgin in Bethlehem
In scripture, during those
days immediately following the angelic proclamation that the Prince of Peace
had come to us, we heard how his father, St. Joseph listened to those heavenly
messengers and fled to Egypt with Mary, the Mother of God, and their new son
and how Herod’s plot to stop God’s plan was foiled through the cries of the
first martyrs, the Holy Innocents.
Those early years of the
Lord’s life were not shared with us. He comes to the Baptismal bath now as a
man of thirty, prepared to take up the mantle of the Messiah. He submits to the
symbolic bath of St. John
For us too, the gift of new
life in Baptism was both an end and a beginning. We were given as a gift of new
life to our parents. If we were baptized, as most of us were, as infants, our
parents stood up in front of the faith community to which they belonged and
promised, as our proxies, in our place, that the faith we share would be the
faith of their child.
We were brought to that bath
as human children and came out of it changed- altered in essence. Like a piece
of steel that is tempered in fire, in its raw form we cannot see a difference
between it and the finished product. But when tested, there is strength in that
tempered steel not found in it before it passed through the fire. When we
received that baptism the heart that beat within us was strengthened with the
Holy Spirit. Just as Christ welcomed the Spirit at his baptism we were given
that same gift.
Something else happens as
well. There is a drowning – Sin is washed away, again, like the impurities of
metal are removed during the fabricating process, the soul is washed clean. The
sins no longer exist something new rises out of that water freed from the
nature that allowed Adam and Eve to be deceived by Satan, free from that fallen
nature of disobedience to the Father. The old self dies in that bath, drown in the
love of God for his children.
Once transformed in the
waters of Baptism, we were anointed with Holy Chrism, upon our crowns was
placed that sacred oil which set us aside now as something holy, something of
God. Changed in character we were now offered as a gift to the Son who saved
us.
We are then presented with
the Light of Christ from the New Fire of the Easter Candle and clothed in a
white garment making us as new creations, now in Christ.
For those of us baptized as
infants we do not remember the event that opened the gates of heaven for us.
For those of us lucky enough to have been “made
new” later in life, those effects were no doubt felt as they occurred.
Whether we were old or young, when we passed through that holy bath we were set
upon a new course. Like Jesus, that mission was placed before us and we are
called to follow his example.
Today as we celebrate the
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord we are reminded of our own call to holiness.
In Jesus life, this event marked a new beginning. We now embark upon our own
continued journey. As we reflect upon our lives to this point, we are called
once more to ask ourselves if we have done what God has called us to do. We are
called, as a holy people, set aside for Christ, to take up the message given by
the angels at the Lord’s birth. We are called, as the adopted sons and
daughters of God to bring that message of love and peace to all we meet. That
is what the journey upon which the Lord embarks is about, that is our mission
as well.
Pax
[1]
ALTRE
[2]
The picture is “Baptism of Christ” by Alessandro Rosi, c. 1670
[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.
[4]
The Navarre Bible, “Gospels
and Acts”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton ,
NJ
[5]
CCC
249-256
No comments:
Post a Comment