The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, provide an opportunity to ponder those spiritual resonances in our lives that confirm our heritage as children of God.
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| Resonance with Life |
The passage from the Book of Isaiah describes the Servant of God who is a Light to the Nations.
* [42:1–4] Servant: three other passages have been popularly called “servant of the Lord” poems: 49:1–7; 50:4–11; 52:13–53:12. Whether the servant is an individual or a collectivity is not clear (e.g., contrast 49:3 with 49:5). More important is the description of the mission of the servant. In the early Church and throughout Christian tradition, these poems have been applied to Christ; cf. Mt 12:18–21.1
In Psalm 29, the Voice of God in a Great Storm invites the members of the heavenly court to acknowledge God’s supremacy.
* [Psalm 29] The hymn invites the members of the heavenly court to acknowledge God’s supremacy by ascribing glory and might to God alone (Ps 29:1–2a, 9b). Divine glory and might are dramatically visible in the storm (Ps 29:3–9a). The storm apparently comes from the Mediterranean onto the coast of Syria-Palestine and then moves inland. In Ps 29:10 the divine beings acclaim God’s eternal kingship. The Psalm concludes with a prayer that God will impart the power just displayed to the Israelite king and through the king to Israel.2
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes Peter’s explanation of how Gentiles hear the Good News.
* [10:34–35] The revelation of God’s choice of Israel to be the people of God did not mean he withheld the divine favor from other people.3
The Baptism of Jesus is a resonant event of an experience of the Trinity in the Gospel of Matthew.
* [3:13–17] The baptism of Jesus is the occasion on which he is equipped for his ministry by the holy Spirit and proclaimed to be the Son of God.4
Jeanne Schuler finds that old expectations are stubborn. They do not surrender easily. Surely salvation is earned. Don’t we compete for God like we compete for all goods? Isn’t more and more the goal? Only freeloaders get a pass. Doesn’t God grade our achievements to divvy up glory?
John was uncomfortable. By the river was Jesus, feet sunk in the mud like the throng awaiting the waters. John was just a messenger. To baptize the holy one was not proper, not just. Jesus reassured him: treat me the same. He came to share in our humanity. He came to serve sinners, not to rule from above.
Jesus emerged joyous from the water to the divine chorus. In accepting our humanity, we find God’s embrace. “Here is my beloved. I am well pleased.”5
Don Schwager quotes “Jesus came to be baptized by John,” by Chromatius (died 406 AD).
"John's baptism was looking toward repentance. Its purpose was to bring hearers to the point of experiencing conviction for their offenses. John, however, did not want anyone to draw the conclusion that Jesus himself also came to the Jordan to repent of his sins. So he sets this point straight from the outset by calling him both Lamb and Redeemer of all the sin that is in the world. He who is able to take away the sins of the whole world was himself without sin. "Jesus therefore descended to fulfill all the observances of the law, and in this context he was baptized by John in Galilee at the Jordan. But John, recognizing the Lord as his God through the Holy Spirit, declared that he was unworthy to bear his sandals. He excused himself from doing what he was directed to do, because he could not conceive that baptism was necessary for the One whom he knew had come to blot out the sins of the world. He rather pleaded that he himself ought to be baptized by Christ, saying, 'It is I who should be baptized by you, and do you come to me?' It is as if he were saying, 'I am a man. You are God. I am a sinner because I am a man. You are sinless because you are God. Why do you want to be baptized by me? I do not refuse the respect you pay me, but I am ignorant of the mystery. I baptize sinners in repentance. But you have no taint of sin. So why do you want to be baptized? Why do you want to be baptized as a sinner, who came to forgive sins?' This is what John in effect was saying to the Lord." (excerpt from TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 12:1)6
The Word Among Us Meditation on Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 asserts that ever since the day of his baptism, Jesus has been going out into the world. First he did it himself. Then he sent out Peter and Paul and the other apostles. And now he is sending us.
But don’t worry; he’s not sending you out alone. You are part of the “world” that Jesus is going out to minister to. Today and every day, he comes to fill you with the same Spirit that filled him at his baptism. So place yourself in today’s readings. You are God’s child, and he is pleased with you. He is asking you to “bring forth justice” to the little corner of “the nations” where you live—and he is with you to help you do it.7
Bishop Robert Barron comments that Matthew’s account of Jesus’ Baptism points to the significance of this foundational sacrament. In which we experience that Jesus said, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you.” Baptism is the sacramental ratification of that choice.
Matthew’s account of Jesus’ Baptism points to the significance of this foundational sacrament.— Bishop Robert Barron (@BishopBarron) January 12, 2020
Jesus said, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you.” Baptism is the sacramental ratification of that choice.https://t.co/p5ghmbkFTM pic.twitter.com/cOYNddhDRe
Friar Jude Winkler reviews the songs of the suffering servant in Deutero Isaiah that are applied to Jesus. Peter learns that the Gentiles are not unclean as he shares Jesus story with Cornelius. The Plan of God is foreseen in the Baptism of Jesus. Friar Jude reminds us that the dove is the symbol of Love in most biblical representations.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, met many activists who were doing excellent social analysis and advocating for crucial justice issues, but they were not working from an energy of love except in their own minds. They were still living out of their false self with the need to win, to look good, to defeat the other side, and to maintain a superior self-image.They might have had the answer, but they were not themselves the answer. In fact, they were usually part of the problem. Most revolutions fail.
Too many reformers self-destruct from within. For that very reason, I believe, Jesus and other great spiritual teachers first emphasize transformation of consciousness and awakening of the soul. Unless that happens, there is no lasting or grounded reform or revolution. When a subjugated people rise to power, they often become as controlling and dominating as their oppressors because they have not yet faced the shadow side of power. We actually need fewer reformations and more transformations.8
Spiritual insight is sometimes a resonant phenomena where the unexpected erupts engendering awe and calling us deeper into the mystery of our lives.
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