The texts and psalm from the Roman Catholic Lectionary challenge us today, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, to conclude the Christmas Season with renewed commitment to love of God and neighbour.
The Book of the Prophet Isaiah presents The Servant, 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.
* [42:3] Bruised reed…: images to express the gentle manner of the servant’s mission.
* [42:4] Coastlands: for Israel, the world to the west: the islands and coastal nations of the Mediterranean. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 42 | USCCB, n.d.)
The text from the beginning of Deutero Isaiah declares God’s People Are Comforted.
* [40:3–5] A description of the return of the exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem (Zion). The language used here figuratively describes the way the exiles will take. The Lord leads them, so their way lies straight across the wilderness rather than along the well-watered routes usually followed from Mesopotamia to Israel. Mt 3:3 and gospel parallels adapt these verses to the witness of John the Baptizer to Jesus.
* [40:9] Herald of good news: i.e., of the imminent restoration of the people to their land. This theme of the proclamation of the good news occurs elsewhere in Second Isaiah; cf. also 41:27; 52:7. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 40 | USCCB, n.d.)
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. (Psalms, PSALM 29 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Gentiles Hear the Good News.
* [10:34–43] Peter’s speech to the household of Cornelius typifies early Christian preaching to Gentiles.
* [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.
* [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.
* [10:36] To the Israelites: Luke, in the words of Peter, speaks of the prominent position occupied by Israel in the history of salvation.
* [10:38] Jesus of Nazareth: God’s revelation of his plan for the destiny of humanity through Israel culminated in Jesus of Nazareth. Consequently, the ministry of Jesus is an integral part of God’s revelation. This viewpoint explains why the early Christian communities were interested in conserving the historical substance of the ministry of Jesus, a tradition leading to the production of the four gospels. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB, n.d.)
The reading from the Letter of Titus celebrates Transformation of Life.
* [2:11–15] Underlying the admonitions for moral improvement in Ti 2:1–10 as the moving force is the constant appeal to God’s revelation of salvation in Christ, with its demand for transformation of life.
* [2:13] The blessed hope, the appearance: literally, “the blessed hope and appearance,” but the use of a single article in Greek strongly suggests an epexegetical, i.e., explanatory sense. Of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ: another possible translation is “of our great God and savior Jesus Christ.”(Titus, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)
* [3:1–8] The list of Christian duties continues from Ti 2:9–10, undergirded again as in Ti 2:11–13 by appeal to what God in Christ has done (Ti 2:4–7; cf. Ti 2:11–14). The spiritual renewal of the Cretans, signified in God’s merciful gift of baptism (Ti 3:4–7), should be reflected in their improved attitude toward civil authority and in their Christian relationship with all (Ti 3:1–3). (Titus, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Gospel of Luke presents The Baptism of Jesus.
* [3:16] He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire: in contrast to John’s baptism with water, Jesus is said to baptize with the holy Spirit and with fire. From the point of view of the early Christian community, the Spirit and fire must have been understood in the light of the fire symbolism of the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4); but as part of John’s preaching, the Spirit and fire should be related to their purifying and refining characteristics (Ez 36:25–27; Mal 3:2–3). See note on Mt 3:11.
* [3:21–22] This episode in Luke focuses on the heavenly message identifying Jesus as Son and, through the allusion to Is 42:1, as Servant of Yahweh. The relationship of Jesus to the Father has already been announced in the infancy narrative (Lk 1:32, 35; 2:49); it occurs here at the beginning of Jesus’ Galilean ministry and will reappear in Lk 9:35 before another major section of Luke’s gospel, the travel narrative (Lk 9:51–19:27). Elsewhere in Luke’s writings (Lk 4:18; Acts 10:38), this incident will be interpreted as a type of anointing of Jesus.
* [3:21] Was praying: Luke regularly presents Jesus at prayer at important points in his ministry: here at his baptism; at the choice of the Twelve (Lk 6:12); before Peter’s confession (Lk 9:18); at the transfiguration (Lk 9:28); when he teaches his disciples to pray (Lk 11:1); at the Last Supper (Lk 22:32); on the Mount of Olives (Lk 22:41); on the cross (Lk 23:46).
* [3:22] You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased: this is the best attested reading in the Greek manuscripts. The Western reading, “You are my Son, this day I have begotten you,” is derived from Ps 2:7. (Luke, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB, n.d.)
George Butterfield comments that someone else baptizes us. Yet, they do it simply as Jesus’ representative on earth. He is actually the one who baptizes us “with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Think also of how our baptism is like Jesus’ baptism. The Son goes into the water, the Holy Spirit descends, and the Father speaks. With us, a son or daughter goes into the water, the Spirit descends, and the Father still speaks: “You are my beloved Son (or Daughter); with you I am well pleased.” (Butterfield, n.d.)
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) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 3:15-16, 21-22 comments that, as Pope Benedict XVI explained in his book Jesus of Nazareth, “Jesus inaugurated his public activity by stepping into the place of sinners.” By accepting baptism, Jesus accepted his coming death for the sins of all mankind. He anticipated his submission to his Father’s will during the agony in the garden, and he pointed us toward his suffering and death on the cross. Just as he would in those more painful moments, Jesus began his ministry by saying yes to his mission as the Savior of the world.
And what a Savior he is! He didn’t hold himself aloof from us or save us from a position of power and glory. He emptied and humbled himself and submitted to a baptism he didn’t need in order to bring us the salvation we did need. And by doing so, he sanctified the waters of our Baptism. Because of his humility, our sins can be washed away, and we can receive the grace to live as children of God.
So don’t just put away your Christmas decorations today. Make sure you celebrate your salvation as well!
“Thank you, Jesus, for embracing my humanity!” (Meditation on Luke 3:15-16, 21-22, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on one of the songs of the Suffering Servant and the promise made to the exiles in Babylon from Deutero Isaiah. The declaration of all things being clean is accompanied by the baptism of Cornelius in the text from Acts. Friar Jude reminds us of our invitation into the Life of the Spirit as we contemplate the descent of the dove of love in the account of Jesus Baptism.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, describes why role models and personal examples often inspire change more effectively than right ideas and beliefs.
I believe the gospel itself, and the Franciscan vision of the gospel, is primarily communicated by richly symbolic human lives that operate as prime attractors and exemplars: through actions visibly done in love; by a nonviolent, humble, simple, liberated lifestyle; by a happy identification with poor and excluded people; by obvious happiness itself; and by concrete and visible people who “give others reasons for spiritual joy”—as Francis said when he rubbed two sticks together to play an imaginary violin and as Pope Francis did when he washed the feet of prisoners, women, and Muslims. When such people then speak or act, their words burn, and their actions convict!
Surely this is what Jesus meant when he told us to be “a light on a lampstand” or to be “leaven” and “salt” (Matthew 5:13–15, 13:33). He knew that holiness is passed on through contagion. (Rohr, n.d.)
We reflect on our Baptismal Anointing and seek the guidance of the Spirit to bring love into our environment as priest, prophet, and leader.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 12, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/10?34
Butterfield, G. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. Creighton University's Online Ministries. Retrieved January 12, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/011225.htm
Isaiah, CHAPTER 40 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 12, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/40?1
Isaiah, CHAPTER 42 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 12, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/42?1
Luke, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 12, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/3?15
Meditation on Luke 3:15-16, 21-22. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved January 12, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/01/12/1178196/
Psalms, PSALM 29 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 12, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/29?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Following Those Who Inspire Us. Retrieved January 12, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/following-those-who-inspire-us/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved January 12, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=jan12
Titus, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 12, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/titus/2
Titus, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 12, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/titus/3
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