Sunday January 9

Feast of the Lord’s Baptism

You Are My Beloved Son

            When Jesus asked John the Baptist to baptize him in the Jordan, just as John had baptized other people, Jesus saw that his task was to save people from their sins. He himself was without sin, but he made himself one with the people in their weakness. And then God confirmed him in his task by saying: “This is my beloved Son.” When we were baptized, we expressed, through our parents and godparents, that we had become one with Jesus. Since that day we share with Jesus in his task of serving and saving people. If we do so, then God can tell us too: “you are my beloved son or daughter.”

It is recommended to use today the rite of sprinkling with holy water. See the Sacramentary.

 

First Reading : Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11

Comfort, oh comfort my people,”
    says your God.
“Speak softly and tenderly to Jerusalem,
    but also make it very clear
That she has served her sentence,
    that her sin is taken care of—forgiven!
She’s been punished enough and more than enough,
    and now it’s over and done with.”

3-5 Thunder in the desert!
    “Prepare for God’s arrival!
Make the road straight and smooth,
    a highway fit for our God.
Fill in the valleys,
    level off the hills,
Smooth out the ruts,
    clear out the rocks.
Then God’s bright glory will shine
    and everyone will see it.
    Yes. Just as God has said.”

Climb a high mountain, Zion.
    You’re the preacher of good news.
Raise your voice. Make it good and loud, Jerusalem.
    You’re the preacher of good news.
    Speak loud and clear. Don’t be timid!
Tell the cities of Judah,
    “Look! Your God!”
Look at him! God, the Master, comes in power,
    ready to go into action.
He is going to pay back his enemies
    and reward those who have loved him.
Like a shepherd, he will care for his flock,
    gathering the lambs in his arms,
Hugging them as he carries them,
    leading the nursing ewes to good pasture.

 

Second Reading : Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7

God’s readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation’s available for everyone! We’re being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. He offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness. It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, easy marks for sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God’s gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there’s more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this.

8-11 I want you to put your foot down. Take a firm stand on these matters so that those who have put their trust in God will concentrate on the essentials that are good for everyone. Stay away from mindless, pointless quarreling over genealogies and fine print in the law code. That gets you nowhere. Warn a quarrelsome person once or twice, but then be done with him. It’s obvious that such a person is out of line, rebellious against God. By persisting in divisiveness he cuts himself off.

 

Gospel – Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

The interest of the people by now was building. They were all beginning to wonder, “Could this John be the Messiah?”

16-17 But John intervened: “I’m baptizing you here in the river. The main character in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. He’s going to clean house—make a clean sweep of your lives. He’ll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he’ll put out with the trash to be burned.” After all the people were baptized, Jesus was baptized. As he was praying, the sky opened up and the Holy Spirit, like a dove descending, came down on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life.”

 

Prayer
Lord, our loving God,
pour out on us the Holy Spirit
who came down on Jesus
when he was baptized in the Jordan
and who guided Jesus in his life and death.
Let the Spirit breathe on us
freedom from fear and hatred,
the fire of his love, fervor in prayer.
May he bring harmony in our communities
and lead us in our mission
of making all people your sons and daughters,
that all may praise and thank you
through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

 

Reflection:

Doors of Heaven are open, because God the Son is out with people!

On this Sunday we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus. Last Sunday, we reflected on the manifestation – the “Epiphany of the Lord.” But this Epiphany did not end with the story of the Magi; instead, that was only the beginning of God’s manifestations. At the time of his baptism, heaven opened, and the Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus, and the voice of the Father attested to the identity of the Son: “You are my beloved son; with you, I am well pleased.” It is God’s revelation or manifestation of himself, and therefore, today we are celebrating yet another Epiphany.

Why did God decide to become a human? Precisely, to show himself to us. With his baptism, Jesus began his walk with his people – like God walking with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He walked on the streets of Palestine, he went through the various towns, taught in their synagogues – through all these, he showed himself to the world – the Epiphany of the face of God.

“The people were in expectation,” thus begins today’s Gospel. What were their expectations? the slaves expected freedom; the poor, a better condition of life; the exploited longed for justice, the sick wanted healing, and the humiliated desired for the recovery of dignity. Everyone aspired for a new world.

The Israelites expected a God who destroyed sinners and rewarded those faithful to him. But this was a faulty image of God. Jesus, the Son of God, desired to mingle with sinners. He did not attack sinners; instead, he sat down to dinner with them; he did not condemn the adulteress but defended her against those who judged and despised her; he did not drive away from the sinful woman but let her caress and kiss him. Jesus got into the waters of the Jordan together with many people, mingling with the sinners.

The Gospel speaks of three images to describe the event of the baptism of Jesus. First, the ‘Heaven opened,’ then, ‘the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove,’ and finally, ’a voice came from heaven, You are my beloved Son, with you, I am well pleased.’

“The heaven opened.” It means that heaven was once closed. What does this image mean? In the Old Testament period, Israel was always guided by prophets, kings and judges who acted on behalf of God. But many centuries before the birth of Jesus, there were no more prophets, and the people began to feel that heaven was closed, and God had abandoned his people.

With Jesus taking the human form, God the Father has let heaven open. The doors of the Father’s house will eternally remain open because the Son has left his home and decided to live with us, humans. He will accommodate every child who wants to enter, even if someone comes home very late.

 

Video available on Youtube: Doors of Heaven are open, because God the Son is out with people!