The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the message in the images and sounds of Jesus Baptism as we journey with Him in life.
Baptism into Life
The reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah describes the Suffering Servant as 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
Psalm 29 praises the Voice of God in a Great Storm.
[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 how Gentiles hear the Good News from Peter.
* [10:36–43] These words are more directed to Luke’s Christian readers than to the household of Cornelius, as indicated by the opening words, “You know.” They trace the continuity between the preaching and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth and the proclamation of Jesus by the early community. The emphasis on this divinely ordained continuity (Acts 10:41) is meant to assure Luke’s readers of the fidelity of Christian tradition to the words and deeds of Jesus.3
The Gospel of Mark shares the events of the Baptism of Jesus.
* [1:10–11] He saw the heavens…and the Spirit…upon him: indicating divine intervention in fulfillment of promise. Here the descent of the Spirit on Jesus is meant, anointing him for his ministry; cf. Is 11:2; 42:1; 61:1; 63:9. A voice…with you I am well pleased: God’s acknowledgment of Jesus as his unique Son, the object of his love. His approval of Jesus is the assurance that Jesus will fulfill his messianic mission of salvation.4
Rev. Richard Gabuzda comments that Jesus manifests himself as one “anointed with the Holy Spirit and power.” Yet this manifestation of power does not call attention to itself, but rather shows him “doing good and healing all those oppressed by the Devil . . ..” And with this anointing he will appear in the form of a servant to the end, manifesting the immense power of divine love, by his death on a cross.
How important it is that we fix our attention on the manner of his appearance. At times, people of our day, much like the people of Jesus’ own day, seem to hope for a different kind of appearing, one that “fixes things” efficiently and quickly, that manifests power as we know it on earth: forceful, loud, sometimes even crushing and violent. We want our wrongs righted, one way or another! But not this Servant, this Lord. And so, we have a choice to make: Will we have the courage and the humility to right this world’s wrongs with him, his way? Or will we choose the ways that seem more “expedient, effective, productive”? Let us walk in this new year, choosing him, choosing his way, so that we may be his instruments at work in the world.5
Don Schwager quotes “The divine - human reconciliation,” attributed to Hippolytus, 170-236 A.D.
"Do you see, beloved, how many and how great blessings we would have lost if the Lord had yielded to the exhortation of John and declined baptism? For the heavens had been shut before this. The region above was inaccessible. We might descend to the lower parts, but not ascend to the upper. So it happened not only that the Lord was being baptized - he also was making new the old creation. He was bringing the alienated under the scepter of adoption (Romans 8:15). For straightway 'the heavens were opened to him.' A reconciliation took place between the visible and the invisible. The celestial orders were filled with joy, the diseases of earth were healed, secret things made known, those at enmity restored to amity. For you have heard the word of the Evangelist, saying, 'The heavens were opened to him,' on account of three wonders [appearance of the eternal Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together at the baptism]. At the baptism of Christ the Bridegroom, it was fitting that the heavenly chamber should open its glorious gates. So when the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove, and the Father's voice spread everywhere, it was fitting that 'the gates of heaven should be lifted up.'" (excerpt from THE DISCOURSE ON THE HOLY THEOPHANY 6)6
The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 1:7-11 urges that we let God tell us how he loves us, how he is pleased with us. Then go and do the same for our neighbour.
The people in your life need it as well—and some of them need it from you. It’s not about saying something just to make them feel good. It’s being alert to opportunities—especially unexpected ones—to point out something that you appreciate about them: their efforts to lead a Bible study. Their patient response to an unkind sibling. Their generosity and kindness. Tell them you are glad they are your brother or sister in Christ. Every time you do, you shine a light on the bigger picture of their lives.7
Friar Jude Winkler notes the passage from Deutero-Isaiah from the time of the Babylonian exile promises the Suffering Servant for the nations, including pagans. In Acts, Peter, in Cornelius home, receives a vision to accept everything, including pagans, to be pure. The Holy Spirit guides the action of the Church. Friar Jude reminds us of being invited into the Trinity Love affair at Baptism.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, suggests if there’s no storyline, no integrating images that define who we are or that give our lives meaning or direction, we just won’t be happy. It was probably Carl Jung (1875‒1961) and Joseph Campbell (1904‒1987) who most developed this idea for his generation of Western rationalists. Many of us had thought that myth meant “not true,” when in fact the older meaning of myth is precisely “always true”!
Jung goes so far as to say that transformation only happens in the presence of story, myth, and image, not primarily through rational arguments. What fits (or does not fit) into your preexisting storyline? For Christians, the map of Jesus’ life is the map of humanity: birth, everyday life, betrayal, abandonment, death, resurrection, and new life. In the end, it all comes full circle; we return where we started, though now transformed. Jung saw this basic pattern repeated in every human life, and he called it the Christ Archetype, an image “as good as perfect” that maps the whole journey of human transformation. [2] Jung’s notion of an Archetype or Ruling Image helps us understand the “Universal Stand-In” that Jesus was meant to be. Sadly, for most Christians Jesus ended up being an exclusive Savior for us to worship instead of an inclusive Savior with whom we are already joined at the hip.8
Our reflection on how the pattern of Jesus' life is mirrored in our experience draws us to a closer relationship with the Trinity and Creation.
References
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