Deacon Tom Anthony

The Baptism of the Lord
Lectionary: 21

Reading 1 Is 42:1-4, 6-7

Thus says the LORD:
Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
upon whom I have put my spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
a bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait for his teaching.

I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

or Is  40:1-5, 9-11

Comfort, give comfort to my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her service is at an end,
her guilt is expiated;
indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.

A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
the rugged land shall be made a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.

Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Go up on to a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
and say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!
Here comes with power
the Lord GOD,
who rules by a strong arm;
here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10.

R. (11b)  The Lord will bless his people with peace.
Give to the LORD, you sons of God,
give to the LORD glory and praise,
Give to the LORD the glory due his name;
adore the LORD in holy attire.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters,
the LORD, over vast waters.
The voice of the LORD is mighty;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The God of glory thunders,
and in his temple all say, "Glory!"
The LORD is enthroned above the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as king forever.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
 

or Ps 104:1b-2, 3-4, 24-25, 27-28, 29-30

R. (1)  O bless the Lord, my soul.
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
you are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak.
You have spread out the heavens like a tent-cloth;
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
You have constructed your palace upon the waters.
You make the clouds your chariot;
you travel on the wings of the wind.
You make the winds your messengers,
and flaming fire your ministers.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
How manifold are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you have wrought them all--
the earth is full of your creatures;
the sea also, great and wide,
in which are schools without number
of living things both small and great.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
They look to you to give them food in due time.
When you give it to them, they gather it;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
If you take away their breath, they perish and return to the dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.

Reading 2 Acts 10:34-38

Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered
in the house of Cornelius, saying:
"In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly
is acceptable to him.
You know the word that he sent to the Israelites
as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all,
what has happened all over Judea,
beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached,
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good
and healing all those oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him."

or Ti 2:11-14; 3:4-7

Beloved:
The grace of God has appeared, saving all
and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires
and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age,
as we await the blessed hope,
the appearance of the glory of our great God
and savior Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness
and to cleanse for himself a people as his own,
eager to do what is good.

When the kindness and generous love
of God our savior appeared,
not because of any righteous deeds we had done
but because of his mercy,
He saved us through the bath of rebirth
and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom he richly poured out on us
through Jesus Christ our savior,
so that we might be justified by his grace
and become heirs in hope of eternal life.

Alleluia Cf. Mk 9:7

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The heavens were opened and the voice of the Father thundered:
This is my beloved Son, listen to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Or  Cf. Lk 3:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
John said: One mightier than I is coming;
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Lk 3:15-16, 21-22

The people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying,
"I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."

After all the people had been baptized
and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying,
heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him
in bodily form like a dove.
And a voice came from heaven,
"You are my beloved Son;
with you I am well pleased."

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 Through the Baptism of the Lord the full Revelation of the Holy Trinity was presented to the world. Many people bore witness to this event and testified to it in Sacred Scripture. It is today that we celebrate who Jesus Christ is and His relationship to The Trinity. It becomes a statement of our faith and a testament of who we are as Christians. Jesus did not have to be baptized by John but did it to serve as an example for all of us to follow. This example becomes all the more important when taken into context with Jesus Christ being the Son of God and part of the Holy Trinity. He has given us instruction and a model to follow in our lives.

John the Baptist was professing a Baptism of Repentance. He was heralding the Coming of Jesus Christ and instructing the people of Judah to repent, change their hearts, and commit themselves to God. What he told them is a message that carries the same importance to us today in our lives and the models the way we should conduct it being professed Christians and followers of Jesus Christ. We should see ourselves in a constant state of preparation with a willingness to better ourselves. This should not present itself as a challenge but more as an opportunity to live a transformative experience with Jesus Christ. It is through the revelation of Jesus Christ as the Son of God that there is encouragement that our lives will be more fulfilling by living it in reaction to this fact. It should be the defining factor in all of our thoughts and actions if we are to experience His love completely.

The Prophet Isaiah speaks of a particular tenderness that comes from Jesus Christ alone. Like a mother who consoles her child, in much the same way is the relationship that Jesus wants with us. He wants to comfort us and heal us from the wounds of sin which we have brought upon ourselves. He wants us to believe that, through Him, everything is going to be alright regardless of the circumstances that we find ourselves in. The only way for what Jesus wants to be achieved is for us to accept what He is offering to us. Through the vision of Isaiah He is at first presented as a great victor but then through His humility the love and tenderness is revealed like a shepherd who leads his flock. He is our shepherd, our guide, and our protector. We are encouraged by first recognizing His greatness but then by embracing His lowliness which reflects our own vulnerabilities. It is through these perceived weaknesses that He is strong, making us as strong through our faith and our relationship with Him.

The Apostle Paul tells us that the grace of God, meaning Jesus Christ, appeared to everyone out of mercy and saved everyone. Salvation came first followed by instruction. It is up to us to accept this instruction so as to better ourselves and benefit from what He is offering. There are no preconditions but an offer for a transformative experience. Jesus Christ has already made and fulfilled all of the promises necessary for us to be redeemed. The Revelation of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the presence of the Holy Trinity can be seen as the moment that Christ claimed us as His own in the fullness of His glory. By revealing who He was defined us eternally as His children. To be a Christian means that we have recognized this kinship and revel in it. It is guaranteed that the more we experience this relationship the deeper we will be willing to delve into it and be more open to it. The instruction never ends and the closeness that comes with it has no limitations.

God declaring Jesus as His beloved Son defines the relationship that God has with Jesus. The relationship achieves perfection with the presence of the Holy Spirit which is God’s love. One of the reasons why this relationship was revealed is because it was an invitation for us to share in the relationship with us being God’s children. The love that the Father has for the Son is same that is present within us and that we have the capability of experiencing and sharing by reacting to that love. The Baptism of the Lord was an event that was perpetuated for us and still has as much meaning and implications today as it had back then if we want it to.

Deacon Tom