January 12th 2014 THE FEAST OF THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD

Gospel: Matthew 3: 13-17

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­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

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GOSPEL Matthew 3:13-17

Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. John tried to dissuade him. 'It is I who need baptism from you' he said 'and yet you come to me!' But Jesus replied, 'Leave it like this for the time being; it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that righteousness demands'. At this, John gave in to him.

As soon as Jesus was baptised he came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And a voice spoke from heaven, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him'.

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . The first reading from Isaiah is our key for interpreting this Gospel story of the baptism of Jesus. The servant of the Lord in Isaiah’s text has the onerous task of bringing complete justice to the earth. How is he to accomplish this extraordinary undertaking? The foundation of his mission is his radical relationship with God! The servant is someone chosen by God, loved by God, set apart by God, appointed by God, endowed by God. We see the exact same thing in the Gospel account from Matthew. John at first declines to baptize Jesus, saying that such an act would demean Jesus. But Jesus is not interested in being assigned a place in the human table of honour! He submits to the baptism and at this moment the foundation of his extraordinary mission of salvation is revealed. In a manifestation of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit descends on him and the voice of the Father is heard. “This is my son, the beloved, on whom my favour rests”. Woe to us if we do not see in this text the meaning of our own baptism! Our position in the church does not depend on systems of human honour, status or posturing. We belong to God by virtue of the fact that in baptism he has chosen us, he has set us apart so that we can be extraordinary, he has carried us away from our old selves and inserted us into the life of the Trinity. Our Christian life and mission are utterly founded on the fact of his unconditional love for us.

The first reading contains a canticle that illuminates the Gospel story of the baptism of Jesus

Every passage of Scripture is a treasure chest of inspiration that contains many different treads worthy of pursuing. This Sunday, as we reflect on the Gospel passage from St Matthew, we will allow ourselves to be guided by the first reading. The first reading on any Sunday usually contains a key that illuminates the Gospel. Chapter 42 of Isaiah is a beautiful canticle to the servant of the Lord. This canticle is quoted in a very economic fashion by Matthew when he recounts the story of the baptism of Jesus. Matthew, actually, gives a citation from Isaiah 42 which is mixed with a citation from Genesis 22, the story of Abraham being called to sacrifice his son to the Lord. The canticle from Isaiah begins as follows:

Here is my servant whom I uphold, 

my chosen one in whom my soul delights. 

I have endowed him with my spirit 

that he may bring true justice to the nations.

He does not cry out or shout aloud, 

or make his voice heard in the streets.

He does not break the crushed reed, 

nor quench the wavering flame.

Faithfully he brings true justice;

he will neither waver, nor be crushed 

until true justice is established on earth . .

And so it continues. Matthew’s account of the baptism of Jesus quotes just the beginning of this beautiful passage.

John tries to dissuade Jesus from Baptism, but Jesus refuses to be bound by this purely human pattern of reasoning

Jesus goes to the Jordan to request baptism of John. John realizes who he has before him and tries to impede Jesus, saying, “It is I who needs baptism from you!” Jesus insists however and the baptism goes ahead. As Jesus comes up from the water, the heavens open and the Spirit of God descends a dove on him. A voice speaks from heaven, “This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.” This scene is a complete manifestation of the Blessed Trinity. The terms “beloved” and “son” recalls the text of Genesis 22, but Isaiah reminds us that Jesus is also servant. And Isaiah’s emphasis on “servant” helps us to understand the meaning of the event recounted by Matthew. Isaiah’s servant comes to bring justice on earth. This justice is not some sort of legal accomplishment. It is the will of God coming to fruition. Injustice is brought about by the sin and deceit that are contrary to the will of God. Jesus is about to embark on his mission to bring justice to the world, but John tries to impede him, declining to baptize him. Here John is following perfect human logic, the same logic that all of us use. It seems perfectly right and just that Jesus be given a place of honour above everyone else. Therefore he should not have to submit to the baptism of John. Our lives are constructed using these bricks of human honour and protocol. But Jesus refuses to be allocated a position in this human table of honour. In order to fulfil his mission he must have a different foundation for his existence. And we see what this foundation is when the Holy Spirit descends on him.

The foundation of Jesus’ mission is revealed at the moment of his baptism. That foundation is his relationship with the Father

In the text of Isaiah the servant is called to do something extraordinary – to pursue his mission relentlessly until justice is established on the earth. He is to be the covenant to the peoples and light of the nations. And how will this servant, Jesus, accomplish such marvellous works? His foundation will be his relationship with God, not the respect accorded to him by humanity! Jesus will start from zero as far as human honours are concerned. His only interest is his relation with his father, and that is as beloved son. The text of Isaiah also conveys this intimate relationship between God and his chosen servant. The servant is my servant in whom my soul delights, the one whom I uphold, the one whom I have taken by the hand and formed. The “chosen” one in the original text is one who has been selected and called apart so that he might be extraordinary. All of these characteristics of the servant are the work of God. And we find the same thing in Matthew’s text. Jesus is the “beloved” - a passive term that refers to the action of the Father towards Jesus. He is the “one that my favour rests on”, the “one in whom my soul delights.” Jesus is the one who is held in the embrace of a tender loving Father.

Jesus’ baptism is the key by which we understand our own baptism

These are the foundations of Christian life and action. Woe to us if we do not learn from this feast of the Baptism of Our Lord and through it understand better the meaning of our own baptism! In the first place it is an encounter with the power of God, not with human honour. The church cannot be constructed on the basis of our system of honours that have little value in themselves. Just as Jesus refused to allow John the Baptist to put him in a place of honour, so we too should turn away from all such posturing and instead focus on the challenges we face as women and men, ministers of the Gospel, servants of the Lord, spouses, parents, friends and colleagues. We have serious need to begin our lives again from the basis of who we are in the eyes of God. This is more important than our talents, our capacities, the things we “do” for the Lord. In baptism, he has called us, elected us, set us apart, taken us away from our old selves and carried us to a new state of life, a life that is completely founded on his love for us.