THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD (B) Dear friends in Christ, with the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord, we bring to a close the celebration of the Season of Christmas. The fruits of this season must however remain with us all through the year. This celebration which is also one of the events of the life of Jesus celebrated in the Epiphany marks the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus thereby opening the door to the life giving mission of the Messiah. All the baptised are adopted into the community of the children of God which means that they must also imitate the life of God in all of their actions. Let us recall our own baptism and renew the promises we made or that were made on our behalf by our parents and God-parents and commit ourselves to living out those commitments. FIRST READING (ISAIAH 55:1-11) This very short passage comes from the very last chapter of the Second part of the Book of Isaiah, believed to have been written by a prophet who lived during the period of exile in Babylon, in the 6th Century BCE. The entire second part of Isaiah is called, ‘The Book of Consolation.’ (Chapters 40-55) The dominant theme of these chapters is, ‘God’s promise of consolation and His comforting actions towards his people.’ Chapter 40 sets the tone as it begins with “console my people, console them.’ The basis of the consolation is in the fact that God’s Word endures forever. Though in exile and in need, God assures the people of Divine providence. In a time of need brought about by famine or war, to find a supermarket with a sales person at the door inviting people to come in and get their groceries whether they have money or not will definitely create a chaos. Even on days of sales, when prices drop in the market, we know how people rush and push themselves aside, to get their goods at the discounted rate. Can this offer be for material water and food? “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come buy wine and milk without money and without price.” Can you believe that? The store will be emptied in a jiffy. While that expresses the providence of God, which is not based on merit, the next line and question is about human providence: “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not satisfy?” I will look at this question later on. God insists that listening to him is of great importance for, ‘Man does not live by bread alone.’ Inclining the ear to God, is what keeps the soul alive and that is the foundation of the everlasting covenant. “Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.” This is an invitation to shun junks and delight in the truth. In this passage God promises to make an everlasting covenant with His people if they listen and incline their ears out of his own merciful love for David to whom the Lord had promised to keep his sons on the throne. This new covenant is made in a person as hHe says, “I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.” The prophet then admonished the people to turn away from evil and seek that which is good, “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on him and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” The sacrament of baptism stands therefore as a foremost gift of God’s grace and mercy for the repentant sinner. SECOND READING (1 JOHN 5:1-9) John tells us in this passage, that believe in Jesus is victory over the world. The world here is used for earthly things and sin. To love God according to John translates to keeping his commandments which are not burdensome. Jesus is the one who leads us back home to the Father. The Father confirms this by bearing witness to Jesus as his Son. Today’s celebration of the Baptism of Jesus reminds us of that moment when the Father broke his silence and said, “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.” It is a celebration of the manifestation of the union of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit which opens humanity to restoration through Christ. Gospel (MARK 1: 7-11) There is a difference between the baptism of John and that of Jesus. The Baptism of John was meant primarily for repentance. It was to mark a break from the life of the past and to prepare for the appearance of the Messiah. The baptism of John therefore was meant for those who were not ashamed to publicly renounce their sinfulness and to begin to live a new life. That in fact may explain why the Pharisees and the Sadducees refused to participate in the baptism of John, because they could not see themselves as sinners. Rather, they considered themselves just and without sin [Mt 11:27ff]. This perhaps is also responsible for John’s initial refusal when Jesus approached him for Baptism. But for Jesus, he did not pass through the rite of Baptism because he wanted to publicly renounce his sin, but because he wanted to lead his brothers and sisters to repentance. So Jesus’ baptism is to ‘fulfil all that righteousness demand’. According to Benedict XVI, “The whole of righteousness must be fulfilled. In Jesus’ world, righteousness is man’s answer to the Torah, acceptance of the whole of God’s will, the bearing of the ‘yoke of God’s kingdom,’ as one formulation had it. There is no provision for John’s baptism in the Torah, but this reply of Jesus is his way of acknowledging it, as an expression of an unrestricted Yes to God’s will, as an obedient acceptance of his yoke….In a world marked by sin then, this Yes to the entire will of God also expresses solidarity with men, who have incurred guilt but yearn for righteousness.”(Jesus of Nazareth p.17) In the book of Exodus, Moses led the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt where they were slaves through the Red Sea, Jesus as the new Moses of the new covenant leads his people through the waters of baptism to eternal salvation. At the baptism of Jesus, we were told that three important things happened: 1. The “heavens opened”, this refers to a passage in the prophesy of Isaiah (63: 15-19). In the passage, the prophet asked God to open the heavens and to end the silence. God should once again come close to his people. The Evangelist uses the expression to tell us that the public ministry of Jesus ended a time of waiting for the Messiah and marked the beginning of immediate reconciliation between God and man. 2. The descent of the Spirit in the form of a dove often represents a new beginning in the God’s relationship with his creation. In Genesis Chapter 1:2, while everything was still a void and water covered the earth, the Spirit hovered. This “dove” also recalls what happened during the time of Noah after the flood. The dove that was bearing the olive branch was the sign that the land was firm enough to be inhabited once again and a sign of peace once again between God and humanity. The dove descended on Jesus as a sign of his consecration for a special mission. Just like Kings and priests are anointed for their ministry, Jesus was anointed and consecrated to take up a special ministry among the people as the servant of Yahweh who will lead the people to salvation. 3. The “voice from heaven”. For Matthew, at the baptism, God himself made a public presentation of Jesus to the people “this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased“. But in Mark’s own Gospel which we just heard, he makes this a personal experience of Jesus himself, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” This is more of God’s words of comfort for Jesus who was about to begin his public ministry which will lead him into confrontation with the authorities that be and ultimately to his death. My dear friends, today’s celebration of the baptism of the Lord, calls us to reflect again on our own baptism. Perhaps some of us received baptism while we were still very young, carried to the font by our parents and God-Parents. The Church teaches that, “Baptism is a sacrament, which cleanses us of original sin, makes us children of God and members of the church.” “It is a gift of participation in Jesus’ world -transforming struggle in the conversion of life that took place in his descent and ascent.” (Jesus of Nazareth p.20) The rite of baptism today...... According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua), and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: “Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water and in the word.”(CCC 1213) According to St Gregory of Nazianzus, “Baptism is God’s most beautiful and magnificent gift.... We call it gift, grace, anointing, enlightenment, garment of immortality, bath of rebirth, seal, and most precious gift. It is called ‘gift’ because it is conferred on those who bring nothing of their own; ‘grace’ since it is given even to the guilty; ‘Baptism’ because sin is buried in the water; ‘anointing’ for it is priestly and royal as are those who are anointed; ‘enlightenment’ because it radiates light; ‘clothing’ since it veils our shame; ‘bath’ because it washes; and ‘seal’ as it is our guard and the sign of God’s Lordship”(CCC 1216) The goal of baptism is to leave behind the life of sin and to start out a new life. According to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, “Immersion (Baptism) in the water is about purification, about liberation from the filth of the past that burdens and distorts life—it is about beginning again, and that means it is about death and resurrection, about starting life over again anew. So we could say that it is about rebirth.”(Jesus of Nazareth, p.16) “We are called to live out our Baptism day after day, as a current fact of our existence. If we succeed in following Jesus and remaining in the Church, even with our limits and our frailty, it is precisely because of the Sacrament in which we became new creatures and were re-clothed in Christ. It is by Baptism, indeed, that we are freed from sin and enter into Jesus relationship with God the Father, that we become bearers of new hope, that nothing and nobody may extinguish; the hope of taking the road to salvation; that we are able to forgive and love even those who offend us or harm us; and that we are able to recognise in the marginalised and the poor the face of the Lord who visits and draws close to us”. (Pope Francis, Audience January 8, 2014) As you go about your activities this week, there is the need to reflect again on this greatest gift of all and to ask yourself if you have lived up to the Lord’s expectation of you. Have you lived out your baptismal commitments? What more do you need to do to show that you are a Christian not just by word or the name you bear? Live right with God and with your fellow men and women. May the Lord bless your week and grant you a renewal of the baptismal grace you have received so that you can live out the commitments therein. Amen Have a blessed week.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 19:32:45 +0000
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