1st Reading Isaiah 40:1-5. 9-11
Psalm 104: 1b-2. 3-4. 24-25. 27-28. 29-30 (R. 1)
R:// "Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, how great you are!"
2nd Reading Titus 2: 11-14; 3: 4-7
Gospel Luke 3: 15-16.21-22
BEYOND EXPECTATIONS
Beloved, today is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. This feast also marks the end of the season of Christmas. What it means is that Jesus will no longer be viewed as an infant but as a mature man who will begin his public ministry. We shall begin the Ordinary Time from tomorrow. We should be reading passages about Jesus' ministry from tomorrow. However, let us say a few things about the Word of God for today, especially focusing on the Gospel passage from Luke.
The Gospel passage from Luke 3: 15-16, 21-22 is just made up of four verses, but very dense. It is Luke's presentation of Jesus' Baptism. We can divide that text into three parts: The expectation that John the Baptist was the Christ, John the Baptist's report about his relationship with the Christ, and Heaven's affirmation of Jesus as the Christ.
The first part concerns the expectation of the Christ and the thought that John was the Christ they were expecting (v. 15). I would like to emphasize the word "Expectation". The Greek word is προσδοκάω (prosdokaō). This word could mean "to look for," "to watch for," or even "to be on the alert for." What the people were doing was to be on the alert for a trigger to see who the Messiah was. They were looking for a confirmation report or detail. They needed this confirmation or clarification because they were wondering (dialogizomai) in their hearts. They were engaged in a mental process involving the back-and-forth movement of ideas. The problem was that this wondering, as a result of their expectation or search, nearly led them to acclaim the wrong figure as the Christ. That is the danger to look out for or to be very critical about when hoping or searching for something. We need to be careful in order not to attribute to the wrong figure the qualities of the real figure. Assess and reassess everything.
The second part is John's report about the identity of the Christ and his relationship to that Christ. He makes very profound statements. He said that he is not fit or worthy (Grk: "hikanos", sufficient) to untie the straps of Jesus' sandals. That is a powerful image. The sandals would represent one's lowly state simply because it is meant to protect the feet from dirt and animal dropping as one walks on a typical Jewish path or way and on any road. The sandals attract that, and the feet get only a little of the dust and dirt. The one who washes off that dirt in any Jewish home is the Servant or the Slave. Ideally, the Slave will untie the straps of the sandals and wash his or her master's feet.
What John the Baptist is saying invariably is that he does not count himself worthy enough even to be a servant of this Christ they are expecting. He is doing the surface work by baptising with water. That Christ will baptise with the Holy Spirit and fire. The implication for us will be that we need to be ready enough to accept our insufficiency in doing certain things. It is not everything that is within our domain. There are people, simple as they may look, beyond us. There are people superior to us. To achieve greatness, you need to accept your insufficiency before them and learn from them.
The third and final part is that Heaven's affirmation of Jesus as the Christ. This divine affirmation will also be seen at the transfiguration (Lk. 9:35). We need to begin to see this Heavenly affirmation from the immediate and mediate points of view. Luke has a beautiful way of putting forward missionary work. He starts off by speaking about prayer before work. From the immediate point of view, Jesus is about to commence his missionary work, his public ministry. After his baptism, he is seen praying. The Holy Spirit upon him like a dove. In Acts 1: 14, Luke's sequel, the community of believers, devoted themselves to prayer.
Before the election of Matthias to replace Judas, the apostles prayed (Acts 1: 24). They were in the Upper Room praying when the Holy Spirit came up them and they set out for mission (Acts 2: 1-13). That should be the disposition of every believer who hopes to embark on any journey, sacred or not. It will be by prayer and the help of the Holy Spirit that we are able to discern the right choice among options as it happened in the election of Matthias. Prayer and the right direction of the Holy Spirit enable us to focus on the actual Christ and not what seems like him.
Pax et Bonum
Comments
Post a Comment