Breaking Open the Word
The Baptism of the Lord
Introduction
Today’s reading from Isaiah is also used on the Second Sunday of Advent during Cycle B. In the Advent season, this passage speaks of preparing the way for the coming of the Lord. We hear it then as a call to conversion, making the rough ways smooth for his coming.
The use of this reading again today reminds us that today’s feast is part of Christmas and celebrates the coming of Christ in to the world. At times in our history, the baptism of Christ was celebrated as one of the themes of Epiphany because it is a moment when Christ is manifested to the world.
He comes as a savior for both Jerusalem and all the world. The second part of this passage urges us to “go tell it on the mountain” to proclaim the good news from the mountaintops. At both the beginning and end of the passage, the text proclaims God’s mercy on Jerusalem. Written during the Babylonian exile, when the Jewish nation had been destroyed and the people taken as slaves to Babylon, it is a word of hope addressed to people in distress.
The prophet recognizes that the exile is a result of Jerusalem’s sins, but he proclaims that her punishment has been completed and that God is now ready to restore Jerusalem. The prophet proclaims a new exodus through the desert, when God’s glory will be recognized by all the world. God will come as a triumphant king who is also the gentle shepherd of God’s people.
The second reading is from Paul’s letter to Titus. Like today’s first reading, this selection is a reminder to us that the feast of the Lord’s baptism is a part of the celebration of Christmas. As he was manifested at his birth to the shepherds and later to the magi, so his baptism reveals his presence in the world and the mission he embraces. Titus was a Gentile who converted to Christianity and worked closely with Paul. At one point Paul sent Titus to Corinth to take up a collection for the Christian community at Jerusalem. Later Paul sent Titus to lead the Christian community on Crete, an island in the Mediterranean Sea. Paul’s letter advises Titus on how to lead and strengthen the church at Crete.
Paul reminds us that Christian baptism is both a celebration of and participation in salvation. Therefore, those who have been baptized must turn away from sin and lead virtuous lives. God helps Christians live in a new and holy way by filling them with his holy Spirit.
Christians draw strength to persevere in their new way of life by remembering how they were saved. God didn’t have to save them from evil and death, but chose to because of his generous love. Such undeserved love, a love that has given them eternal life, inspires believers to become eager to do what is good.
Gospel Explained
Every year, we hear a different description of the baptism of Jesus. Luke makes several clear changes from Mark’s version, on which his account is based. The primary effect of the changes is to minimize the role of John the Baptist in this event. For Luke, John was not the beginning of the new age but the last prophet of the previous era. The line between the two ages comes between the two sections of this reading.
Luke tells us that John prepares the way for Jesus’ ministry by the baptism he preaches. That baptism not only marks the beginning of Christ’s ministry, but it also marks the dawn of a new era in human history. Our eyes are drawn from one figure to another. In John the Baptist, we see the promise, in Jesus we see the fulfillment. As Luke records events, John will soon fade out of the picture entirely. He is “water” compared to “fire”. He is herald compared to the one he proclaimed. He preached a promise and it would come true. As John prepared the way for the Lord, so must we in our own lives. As we were given a new birth in the Holy Spirit with our own baptism, we must hear and obey God’s word in our lives every day.
Today's Theme
Baptism for our future
Neither John nor Jesus invented baptism. It had been practiced for centuries among the Jews as a ritual equivalent to our confession. Until the fall of the Temple in 70 AD, it was common for Jewish people to use a special pool called a Mikveh, literally a “collection of water” – as a means of spiritual cleansing, to remove spiritual impurity and sin. Men took this bath weekly on the eve of the Sabbath; women, monthly. Converts were also expected to take this bath before entering Judaism. The Orthodox Jews still retain the rite. John preached that such a bath was a necessary preparation for the cataclysm that would be wrought by the coming of Jesus the Messiah.
Theme in our Life Today
So, why do we get baptized? The baptism of Jesus reminds us of our identity. It reminds us of who we are and that we are children of God. By baptism, we become sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus, members of his Church, and heirs of heaven. Jesus’ baptism reminds us also of our mission: to experience the presence of God within us, to acknowledge our own dignity as God’s children, and to appreciate the divine presence in others by honoring them, loving them and serving them in all humility. To live as the children of God in thought, word and action and to lead holy and Christian lives and not to desecrate our bodies by impurity, injustice, intolerance, jealousy or hatred. To accept the good and bad experiences of life as the gifts of a heavenly father for our growth in holiness and growth in intimacy with God by personal and family prayers, by meditative reading of the word of God, by participating in the Holy Mass, and by frequenting the sacrament of reconciliation. Baptism brings us into the divine life of the Trinity through sanctifying grace, the grace of justification which incorporates one into Christ and into his Church.
Prepare for Sunday
To Prepare for this Sunday’s Liturgy of the Word, consider the following:
1. John the Baptist prepared the way for the Lord. How do you “prepare the way for the Lord” in your own life and in the lives of others?
2. In our personal lives, how can we imitate John the Baptist as we proclaim the Good News?
3. Baptism prepared Jesus for his mission and life’s works. What has your Baptism ask you to do? How have you responded?
4. Think of a time when you experienced a new beginning.
PRAYER
God,
the all-powerful Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you have given us a new birth by water and
the Holy Spirit and forgiven all our sins.
May we who have been enlightened by Christ always walk as children of the light
and keep the flame of faith alive in our hearts.
When the Lord comes in glory,
send us out to meet him
with all the saints in your heavenly kingdom where you reign for ever and ever. Amen.