FEAST OF THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD Texts: Is. 42:1-4, 6-7 - TopicsExpress



          

FEAST OF THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD Texts: Is. 42:1-4, 6-7 Acts 10:34-38 Mk. 1:7-11 REFLECTION Welcome my dear sisters and brothers in Christ to the celebration of the Eucharist. We celebrate today the Baptism of the Lord. The Baptism of the Lord is a manifestation of Jesus as the Savior of the world. Let us give thanks to God for the gift of salvation. Let us reflect the messages of the readings today. In the first reading, we heard from the prophet Isaiah about the promise of God’s offer of salvation to Israel through the suffering servant. Isaiah prophesied, “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he bring forth justice to the nations” (Is. 42:1). Isaiah presented a suffering servant who would save the people of Israel. This suffering servant is an ideal figure that represents Israel; thus he is a corporate personality. This servant would be endowed with the Spirit of God in order that he might be able to exercise fully his mission to lead the people of Israel to liberation. Through this servant, God would re-create the people into his own possession and would make them a New Israel, a holy nation, a light to all nations. In the Christian context, the servant is applied to Jesus who saved us from sin and death. Jesus is the messiah of God who brings salvation to human race. The servant could also be an ideal figure that represents all of the believers in Christ. The servant could be the church, which is called to become instrument of God’s offer of liberation to all people in the world today. The servant could be anybody who is willing to deny oneself and take up the challenge of being a prophet. In our own little way, God makes use of us as his catalysts for the transformation of the society and the renewal of people in our contemporary world. Thus to become a servant of God is to be willing to give oneself in the service of God and his kingdom. In fact, this is really what we are. We are the servants of God by virtue of our Christian Baptism. The presence of the Spirit of God in us empowers us to live our prophetic mission today. This is our Christian challenge. Are you willing to take up this challenge? In the second reading, we heard about Peter who proclaimed the message of salvation. Peter explained to the community that God’s gift of salvation was offered to both the Jews and the Gentiles. He stressed that salvation is for all people who live in the fear of the Lord and who are doing what is just and good. Peter said, “I understand that God shows no partiality; but in every nation that fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34-35). The proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ has brought transformation to all those who believed in Jesus. Faith in the God of Jesus is a requirement to accept the offer of salvation in Jesus. Cornelius exemplified this unconditional offer of salvation in Jesus. Like Cornelius, the people who lived in righteousness and in the fear of the Lord are justified and acceptable to God. Thus one does not necessarily need to become a Jew or to undergo circumcision in order to be saved. The presence of the Spirit of God to all those who believed will enable them to live concretely their faith. This is the consequence of the gift of salvation that the community had received from God in Jesus. As Christians, we have been blessed to receive the gift of salvation from God in Jesus. The Holy Spirit who is dwelling in us enables us to proclaim prophetically this gift to others. We are called to proclaim the mystery of our faith in the God who saves us through the death and the resurrection of Jesus. Since the gift of salvation was offered without favoritism, therefore everyone has the right to claim this gift. Let us then strive to live fully the salvation that we received from God. Are you willing to be used by God being his instrument for the salvation of other people? In the gospel, we heard about the baptism of Jesus at the Jordan. John intended not to baptize Jesus. But Jesus told him to baptize him in order to do the will of God. When John baptized Jesus, he saw the Holy Spirit who descended to Jesus like a dove. The voice from heaven was heard saying, “You are my Son, my beloved, with you, I am well pleased” (Mk. 1:11). Mark presented simply the event of the baptism of Jesus. After the baptism of Jesus, Mark stressed that it was only Jesus who received the revelation of the Father. Thus he presented the words of the Father being directed only to Jesus. The symbolism of the dove refers to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God empowers Jesus to live his prophetic mission. The Spirit of God is responsible for the establishment of a new people of God. The Holy Spirit then is meant for God’s people. Therefore, the presence of the Holy Spirit reflects the re-creation of the community of believers into the likeness of God. The words “my beloved Son” refer to the declaration of the Father to Jesus that Jesus is indeed his beloved son who comes to redeem the world from sin. Thus in Jesus, God has established a definitive salvation for his new people. In the context of our Christian faith, the new people are the church. The church is the people of God that is built in faith in Jesus. Furthermore, the baptism of Jesus is a mystery of light. Jesus revealed himself as the light of the world. By his baptism, the world regained its light. Jesus was baptized in order to fulfill the prophecy concerning him that he would be the servant of God who would bring salvation to all people. He was baptized to do the will of the Father and that through him the kingdom of God would be definitely established in the world. The baptism of Jesus was also a manifestation of his humanity. Jesus is also human like us. His baptism is an act of solidarity with our humanity. By his baptism, human beings were taught to live fully their humanity. By exercising the will of the Father and his plan for us and the world in the context of life that we are in, we as human beings are able to live fully our Christian mission. This mission is to establish the kingdom of God on earth. Finally, the baptism of Jesus was a revelation of himself as the lord of history and the savior of the world. He is indeed the God from whom the Father’s favor rests. Yes, the Spirit of God truly rests in Jesus. As people of God, we were baptized in the name of Jesus. When we were born, we were given a name to signify our humanity. But when we were baptized in the name of Jesus, we were given a Christian name. This name signifies who we are, our personality and our mission in life. Our essence being human is mostly signified in our Christian baptism. Thus for Christians, to live fully a human life is to live genuinely a Christian life. To be fully human is to be truly Christian. This is actually what we are. In Baptism, we received the three-fold missions in life as Christians. The first one is the priestly mission. We are called to be “priests” of God in holiness of life, in prayers, in our relationship with God and with one another. In fact, we are the priestly people of God. Secondly, we are given the kingly mission. We are called to be “kings” in the service of our fellow human beings especially the poor and the sufferings among us. By our dedication and commitment for total human development and our loving service to the community and the society, we are able to give a radical witness to our Christian call. Yes, this is the way on how to live being a kingly people of God today. Thirdly, we received the prophetic mission. We are called to be “prophets” in the proclamation of the good news of the kingdom of God. Through our personal witnessing to the truth, justice, mercy and love of God for all people especially the poor and the oppressed, we are able to live fully our prophetic call. Our lifestyle of self-giving in Christ in the areas of our works and relationships must trigger in the world the reality of the mysterious presence of God. We can be truly called as prophetic people of God in this way. Moreover, our identity and mission as Christians in this world are fruits of the presence of the Holy Spirit in us. This is the consequence of our baptism. The Spirit of God animates us in our personal relationship and in our mission in life. The Holy Spirit is not our own personal possession. The Holy Spirit is for the church, for the whole people of faith in this world. Thus to be animated by the Holy Spirit in our lives is to let go selflessly of his divine presence so that the other people of faith may also experience his marvelous movement in the life of the world today. The gifts, the favors, the blessings, the self-disclosure of God to us in baptism are meant for the world and for all humanity. By doing the Christian challenges of our baptism, we are able to give witness to our Christian identity as a new people of God in this contemporary world. Do you live your priestly, kingly and prophetic missions in life? Are you really Christian in words and in deeds? Being a priest, it is always my joy to be able to celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism to children. I felt the grace of God whenever I baptized children. I became aware of my own joy as well as the joy of the parents and the people who witnessed the baptismal event. For me, Christian Baptism is really the most marvelous event in the life of the baptized children and the Christian community. Reflecting on this, I come to appreciate more the grace of my own Christian Baptism. I am really grateful to my parents, to my godparents and to all those who have witnessed during my baptism. I believed that since from the beginning of my existence up to now, the grace of my baptism is really the most fundamental source of my blessings and everything that is good in me. I thank God for this amazing grace. I am resolved to really give my life in the service of the kingdom and to become a living witness of the baptism of the Lord. The first reading is about the servant who was filled with the Spirit of the Lord. The second reading is about the favors of the Lord for all people who do what is right and just. The gospel is about the baptism of the Lord. Today, I am resolved to be possessed by the word of God and by the Eucharist so that I may become a genuine witness of the life-saving gift of Christian Baptism today. The Eucharist is a celebration of the mystery of light. It is a tangible presence of God in the world today. As human beings, oftentimes we commit mistakes and fall into sin. The Eucharist is a grace moment when we are able to see the light of Christ again. In fact, the celebration of the Holy Eucharist is a marvelous revelation of Christ as the light of the world. We, who celebrate the Eucharist, are also called to shine our light to other people. This light is the presence of the Holy Spirit in us. Thus to celebrate the Eucharist is to share in the mystery of God in us. To receive Jesus in the Eucharist is to receive the life of the Holy Spirit. To eat the body of Christ in the Eucharist is to become the concrete love and providence of God for other people. To drink the blood of Christ in the Eucharist is to become a kingdom of justice, peace and love in the world today. Therefore in this Eucharist, we pray that Jesus Christ may renew us with his life-giving Spirit so that we may be able to renew the face of the earth through our self-giving in love. Let the grace that we received in the Eucharist empower us to live more fully our baptismal commitment and our mission in this world. Yes, we pray that our Eucharistic celebration today may become a prophetic proclamation of the mystery of our salvation and the whole world. The God of Light blesses us all.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 03:41:33 +0000

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