The Baptism of the Lord – Jan. 12, 2025
Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7; Luke 3:15-16, 21-22
Theme: Jesus is the Messiah, God’s Beloved Son
Last
Sunday, we celebrated the feast of the Epiphany, the manifestation of Jesus'
divine nature. The early Church identified three specific
events that reveal Jesus’ divine nature. The modern Lectionary and liturgical
calendar maintain them together in three celebrations. The first celebration is
the visit of the Magi, which we celebrated last Sunday. The second is the
Baptism of the Lord, which we celebrate today. The third celebration will be on
Sunday that follows the Baptism of the Lord (the second Sunday in Ordinary
Time), which always has either a Gospel passage of the Wedding at Cana (John
2:1-11, Year C) or John the Baptist’s testimony about Jesus (the section that
comes right before the Wedding at Cana: Jn 1:29-34, Year A, and John 1:35-42,
Year B), which reveals Jesus’ divine identity. Today’s first reading is Isaiah’s prophecy to the
people of Israel when they were in Babylonian exile. Isaiah prophesizes the end
of their exile by foretelling the coming of the Lord God with the power to feed
and gather his flock like a shepherd. The tradition identifies the fulfillment
of this prophecy with Jesus. The Lord God who comes to end the servitude of the
people of Israel is Jesus. In our Gospel, John the Baptist and the Father’s
voice reveal Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. Jesus accepts to be baptized,
not because he needs repentance (he is sinless), but to give us an example and sympathize
with us. We are saved through baptism and renewal by the Holy Spirit, as Saint
Paul exhorts us in the second reading. What we need now is to reject godless
ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this
age.
The
first part of our Gospel (3:15-16) is taken from the section about John the
Baptist’s preaching of repentance, which prepared the people for the beginning
of Jesus’ public ministry (3:1-18). The second part (3:21-22) is Jesus’ baptism
by John the Baptist. Between these two parts, Luke recounts the story regarding
the arrestation of John the Baptist (3:19-20) (which chronologically and
logically occurred after Jesus’ baptism) to serve his understanding of the
periods of salvation history. Israel’s period, which is the time of promise, ends
with John the Baptist’s arrestation; Jesus’ period, the time of fulfillment, commences
with Jesus’ baptism and the descent of the Spirit upon him.[1] Luke
recounts Jesus’ baptism not in the context of repentance (Jesus does not need
repentance since he is sinless) but as an occasion to demonstrate, before
Jesus’ public ministry, that Jesus is the Messiah, Son of God, and equipped
with the Holy Spirit. Immediately after our Gospel episode, Luke recounts the
genealogy of Jesus (3:23-38), in which he again stresses Jesus’ divine sonship.
Our
Gospel passage is a narrative story structured in two parts. Vv. 15-16 discuss
John the Baptist’s testimony regarding his identity and that of Jesus. Vv.
21-22 narrate the story of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist.
The
first part of our Gospel (Vv. 15-16) is John the Baptist’s testimony about
Jesus. When Luke wrote this passage, there was tension and misunderstanding in
Luke’s community regarding the identities of John the Baptist and Jesus. John
the Baptist’s followers claimed their master to be the Messiah. Luke expresses
this misunderstanding in v. 15: “Now the people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah.” In v.
16, he clarifies that John the Baptist is not a Messiah but a precursor; the
Messiah is Jesus. He uses two arguments. The first argument is that John’s
baptism is with water (the ritual bath called mikvah), and Jesus’ baptism is
with the Holy Spirit and fire. While in the Acts of the Apostles, the Spirit
and fire symbolize the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts
2:1-4), here in John the Baptist’s context, the Spirit and fire are related to
their purifying and refining characteristics.[2] The
second argument is John the Baptist’s testimony, in which he says that Jesus is
mightier than he is and that he is unworthy to untie the thongs of Jesus’
sandals. Unfastening the strap of some’s sandals was the work of slaves (see
Acts 13:25.) Here, John the Baptist confirms that, in comparison with Jesus, he
is not even fit to perform the work of a slave. Therefore, Jesus is the Messiah,
and John the Baptist is the precursor.
This
first part of our Gospel teaches us two lessons. The first lesson is John the
Baptist revealing that Jesus is the Messiah, foretold by the Old Testament
prophets. This means Jesus is the “Lord God” of whom the prophet Isaiah speaks
in our first reading: “Here comes with power the Lord God, who rules by
his strong arm; here is his reward with him, his recompense before him. Like a
shepherd, he feeds his flock; he gathers the lambs in his arms, carrying them
in his bosom, leading the ewes with care.” (NABRE, Is 40:10-11.) Jesus’ mission
is to free us from the slavery of sin and grant us eternal life. So, like John
the Baptist and Isaiah, let us continue to reveal Jesus and his mission to our
brothers and sisters wherever we live. Isaiah teaches us how we should do that.
He asks us to “Go up onto a high mountain, Zion, herald of good news! Cry out
at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news! Cry out, do not fear!
Say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God!” (NABRE, Is 40:9.) Here, Isaiah
calls us to reveal Jesus and his mission through preaching and providing a good
example of our faith to the people where we live. We should do that with no
fear or shame.
The second lesson we learn from the first part
of our Gospel is the virtue of humility. While the people considered John the
Baptist the Messiah, he humbled himself and spoke of Jesus as the Messiah, not
him. He humbly affirmed that Jesus was mightier than he was and that he was not
worthy of untying the thongs of Jesus’ sandals. We are called to humble
ourselves and recognize the merits of others. In our second reading, Saint Paul
exhorts us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately,
justly, and devoutly in this age (Titus 2:12).
In the second part of our Gospel story (vv.
21-22), Luke reports three events of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist. (1) Jesus
was praying when he was baptized. Luke presents Jesus in prayer at
essential moments of his ministry, for instance, here at his baptism, before he
chose his Twelve disciples (6:12), before Peter’s confession (9:18), at the
transfiguration (9:28), when he teaches his disciples to pray (11:1), on the
Mount of Olives (22:41), and the cross (23:46).[3] (2)
The heaven was open, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in bodily form
like a dove. Here, Luke intends to tell his readers that Jesus was equipped
with the Holy Spirit in his public ministry. (3) The heavenly message in which
God identifies Jesus as his Son. Here, Luke informs his audience that Jesus is
the Son of God. Unlike Luke and Mark, where the Father’s voice addresses
directly to Jesus: “You are my beloved Son,” in Matthew, God’s voice addresses to
John the Baptist (eventually also to the people present there): “This is my
beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Mt 3:17). Matthew switches
“You are” to “This is” to reflect Is 42:1.
With the
three events reported in the second part of our Gospel, Luke reminds us of
three things: Prayer must be the center of our lives; we received the Holy
Spirit in our baptism; and God claimed us his sons and daughters with whom he
is well pleased. In our second reading, Saint Paul tells us that in our baptism
and renewal by the Holy Spirit, God justified us, through Jesus, not because of
our righteous deeds but because of his grace and mercy (Titus 3:4-7). Then, as
the children of God, Saint Paul exhorts us to reject godless ways and worldly
desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age (Titus
2:11-12).
May the
liturgy of this Eucharist enable us to reveal Jesus to our brothers and sisters
through our Christian lives. Amen.
Rev. Leon Ngandu, SVD
Pastor at Holy Family Catholic Church in Jackson, MS
SVD USS Biblical Apostolate Coordinator
No comments:
Post a Comment