Skip to main content

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, 2015

By
For the Western Church, the Christmas Season officially comes to an end this Sunday with  our celebration of the Baptism of the Lord.  The celebration of the Nativity is behind us and the new year stretches before us, so what better way to transition from Christmas to Ordinary Time than by celebrating the Lord’s Baptism.  Baptism marks a new beginning…  a rebirth.  For Jesus, this marks the beginning of his ministry, and serves as an excellent transition from the infancy narratives to the story of his life and ministry.  So this week we begin a new journey…

The Word for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
Isaiah 55:1-11
Psalm 12:2-3, 5-6
1 John 5:1-9
Mark 1:7-11

Our first reading is the famous “banquet invitation” which concludes 2nd Isaiah.  This song from Isaiah is a fitting end to his prophecy on Israel’s liberation from Exile in Babylon.  It sings of the goodness that God provides his people and welcomes them back into covenant with him.  The imagery draws us in and we can feel God’s love and forgiveness.  At the same time, however, we are reminded that we too have a role in this covenant, reminding us that the scoundrel should forsake his way.  He continues to remind us, in that very popular passage, that “my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways.”  As mere mortals it may be difficult for us to agree with what God is asking of us, but like a parent to a child, we should trust that God knows what’s best.

Our response comes not from Psalms, but from again from the Prophet Isaiah, in this case, 1st Isaiah where we proclaim that God is indeed our savior, and we should “draw water joyfully from the spring of salvation.”  As a complement to our first reading, our trust in God, even when we would rather follow our own path, leads to joy and salvation.

Our second reading comes from the 1st Letter of John.  Here John presents us with two important messages.  First, in a passage that compliments what we heard in our first reading and our response, in that following the Lord leads to salvation.  Here John exhorts us to “keep his commandments” while reminding us that doing so is not burdensome, and will in fact lead us to victory.  John takes this one step further, however, reminding us that Jesus himself, in following the Lord, was the victor over the world (through his death and resurrection).  He then goes on to remind us that Jesus, who came through water (at his Baptism) and blood (at his crucifixion) can attest, through the Spirit, that God’s promise of victory is true.  John’s oratory in this letter is both poetic and layered with insight.  In it you can hear John developing a style he will employ more fully in his Gospel.

This takes us to our Gospel, which in honor of the feast day we hear Mark’s account of the Baptism of Jesus.  Typical of Mark, the story is short and to the point.  Jesus has traveled from Nazareth down to John at the Jordon.  While the distance Jesus had to travel was pretty significant, it’s not nearly as significant as what happens after he emerges from the water.  As Mark describes it, the heavens are “torn open” and the Spirit, like a dove, descends on him, and we hear a voice from heaven proclaim “you are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”  It’s an extraordinary moment, and marks the beginning of Jesus’ mission.

Final Thoughts:
The story of Jesus’ Baptism is a Catholic favorite because for us it is the premier example of a “Sacramental moment.”  When we think of Baptism or Confirmation or any of the Sacraments, it’s these images that we think of most… and rightly so.  Unfortunately, it’s also the reason why that when we receive our own sacraments, we can feel a little let down...  because the heavens didn’t open up… no doves descended… you don’t really feel any different than before. 

We build up these expectations only to be disappointed when something miraculous doesn’t happen right at that moment.  But that’s only because we’re not looking at these moments the right way.  It’s not the moment of the sacramental act that is the miracle, but the grace we receive from it over time as we live out that sacrament.  It changes us in ways that we don’t immediately see, but over time, when embraced and practiced to the fullest, we can see how it has changed and formed our lives in ways we could never imagine.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

6th Sunday of Easter - Cycle A

By
If you want to have some fun, ask a Catholic (or any Christian) about the Holy Spirit.  The answers you get will likely be as varied as the people you ask.  Our faith is based on a “Trinitarian” view of God:  God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.  As a Church we do quite well teaching about God the Father, and we do an excellent job teaching about God the Son (Jesus), but when it comes to the Holy Spirit we tend to treat the subject like a “third wheel” or “odd man out.”  We spend so much time learning about God the Father and God the Son that we end up with little time to spend on the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps our readings for this week can help us to better understand the Spirit: The Word for the 6th Sunday of Easter Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 Psalm 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20 1 Peter 3:15-18 John 14:15-21 For this 6th Sunday of Easter we open with a story from Acts of the Apostles where we hear how Philip has had great success in bringing the Gospel to the p...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Ascension of the Lord - Cycle C

By
Following the traditional calendar, the Solemnity of the Ascension falls on a Thursday, 40 days after the Resurrection, and 10 days before Pentecost.  But since the Ascension is such an important moment for us as Church, many dioceses, including our own, have moved this celebration to this coming Sunday (in place of the 7th Sunday of Easter). The Word for the Ascension of the Lord Acts 1:1-11 Psalm 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9 Ephesians 1:17-23 or Hebrews 9:24-28, 10:19-23 Luke 24:46-53 Our first reading is from the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles.  While it might be more appropriate that this reading should follow our Gospel reading for today (as it naturally follows after Luke’s Gospel), the book-end effect of these two readings remains intact, reminding us how this was a pivotal moment for the Church.  Like most sequels, our reading opens with a recap of where we left off at the end of Luke’s Gospel with the Ascension of Jesus.  Also like most sequels, this “recap” of t...
Post a Comment
Read more

24th Sunday od Ordinary Time

By
Last week our readings spoke of a conversion of heart, learning that we not only must love one another but that we have a duty to each other – a duty that demands that we speak out when we see injustice, personally at first, and publicly as needed.  But in order for love to survive, take root, and grow, we also need to learn to forgive. The Word for the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time Sirach 27:30-28:7 Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12 Romans 14:7-9 Mathew 18:21-35 We open with a reading from the book of Sirach, also referred to as the “Wisdom of Ben Sira” in honor of its author (Yeshua [Jesus or Joshua = chosen of God], son of Elezar, son of Sira).  The prophet wrote during the post Exilic period, completing his work around 175 BCE, with his grandson preparing the Greek translation around 117 BCE.  The book is also referred to as “Ecclesiasticus”, which translates to “Church Book” because it was commonly used in the preparation of catechumens, like an early catechism for post...
Post a Comment
Read more