ORDINARY TIME OF YEAR C
First
Sunday (Baptism of Our Lord) [Lk 3:15-16.21-22]
09.01.2022
Jesus’
Baptism: God’s Beloved Son Becoming His Servant
1. Theme in brief
Our mission to serve
2. Focus Statement
By baptism
we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to commit ourselves to a mission of service
to humanity and we become God’s beloved children by our faithfulness to this
mission.
3. Explanation of the text
Earlier Luke’s gospel had already spoken about crowds
of people who came to John the Baptist from various walks of life to be
baptized by him (3:7-14). In the present passage we notice those people
wondering whether John might be the Messiah (3:15). Denying that claim, he made a distinction between him and the Messiah, his baptism and the
Messiah’s baptism. He said that the One who was coming after him (Messiah) was
“more powerful” than him (3:16). He confessed his subordination to the Messiah by saying that he was even unworthy to
perform the role of a slave who untied the thongs or straps of his master’s
sandals (3:16). He baptized only with water (3:16) – a ritual to signify
‘repentance’ and ‘forgiveness of sins’ (3:3) – but the more ‘Powerful One’
would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (3:16) – an obvious reference to the descent of the
Spirit in the form of tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost symbolizing his
superior cleansing and purifying power (Acts 2:3).
In
modern terms, Jesus' baptism could be taken as a sort of ‘inauguration
ceremony’ of his public ministry. His Baptism was a turning point in his life, a
moment of final decision to launch his public ministry of service to humanity.
But before he could make a ‘final
commitment’ to the mission entrusted
to him by his Father, he wanted an assurance whether he had taken the right
step. The voice of the Father telling him, “You are my beloved Son, I am well
pleased with you” (3:22) was an assurance to him that he had taken the right decision. An inner voice must have urged or propelled him very powerfully to
commit himself firmly to God’s will. Jesus’ decision was endorsed by the opening of
heaven, the descent of the Holy Spirit, and the voice of approval from the
Father (3:21-22). Jesus set out for his public ministry of service with the
anointing and empowerment
of the Holy Spirit.
Unlike
other evangelists, Luke says that heaven opened not when Jesus was receiving
baptism, but when he was praying
after his baptism (3:21). Luke frequently portrays Jesus at prayer, especially
when he took important decisions or at various turning points
in his life (5:16; 6:12; 9:18; 11:1; etc.) He wants to give us the message that
Jesus' ministry was based
on and powered by
prayer. The opening of heaven symbolizes either the intervention of God or
receiving an answer from God for his prayer. Probably Luke wanted to tell believers that
God anointed Jesus with the power of the Hoy Spirit in answer to his prayer,
and his public ministry was empowered by the Holy Spirit.
A voice coming from heaven
(surely the voice of the Father), “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased,” (3:22) is
composed of two OT texts. The first part is from Psalm 2:7 – “You are my son;
today I have begotten you.” This was generally accepted as a description of the
Messianic King considered as God’s Son. The second
part is from Isaiah 42:1 – “Here is my servant… my chosen, in whom my soul
delights.” God’s
“chosen servant” is also called God’s Suffering Servant because of the suffering
he would undergo. Luke substitutes the words “Chosen Servant” with “Beloved
Son,” and identifies him with the Son of God, whose mission of service will
involve suffering and sacrifice. God is
well pleased with him precisely because of his willingness to do his will or to
be faithful to his role as servant of humanity
to the extent of suffering crucifixion. The Spirit of God descending like a dove on Jesus can mean either the creative spirit which hovered over the
waters when God created the heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1-2), or the One who
brings message of new life like
the dove at Noah’s time that brought a freshly plucked (green) olive leaf when
the mighty flood that drowned the whole earth receded after fourty days and
nights (Gen 8:11).
4. Application to life
Today we celebrate the feast of the Baptism of our Lord by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. Though sinless, by accepting baptism, Jesus shows his solidarity with sinful humanity. In baptism he takes our place so that by baptism we could take his place and become another Christ. Thus, his baptism serves as a model for our baptism. For us too, our baptism is like a new birth through which we begin not only a new life of grace but also a commission to continue Christ’s mission of service. Today’s feast invites us to make our baptism alive and dynamic, and not a ritual which took place long ago, perhaps for most of us when we were babies. It invites us not to take it for granted and become deeply conscious of its meaning and implication.
Though we are
baptized only once in our life-time, we are called to live by our baptismal promises
and mission throughout our life. We need to strive daily to be conformed to the
image of Christ and live up to our baptismal commitment till the end of our
life. First of all, this feast draws our attention to our own baptismal consecration
and vocation to live a life of holiness. To be consecrated means to be set apart,
or to be separated, for use by the Lord. It means to belong totally to
God (Ex 13:2) and not to the world. It also means offering of our whole being to
God and separating ourselves from anything that may contaminate or defile our relationship with a holy
God. Ultimately, it connotes our call to a life of sanctification or holiness, to be holy as God is holy. We
need to renew our baptismal consecration and holiness by deciding daily to
separate ourselves from the worldly contamination. We have to consciously
practice it by making a decision of our mind everyday to offer all our
works, relationships, activities, concerns and in fact our whole life as an offering to
God.
Our daily consecration
leads us to acquire this sort of attitudes: Whatever we have is his gift to us, and
whatever we give is our gift to him. Therefore, we lovingly and willingly
return to him whatever he has given us, without any reserve. Jesus prayed that
his disciples may be consecrated (sanctified or dedicated) in the truth of
God (Jn 17:17), because though they are in the world, they do not belong
to the world (Jn 17:11,1416). Though we live in the world, in order to live a
life worthy of our call, we should not agree with, imitate or
copy all the fashions and fads of the world, nor blindly ape all its
values. That is why we make promises to God to renounce the “pomp” of
Satan during our baptism, such as power-mongering, corrupt practices,
consumerism, name and fame, gaining popularity without practicing any
principles in personal conduct, etc.
Secondly, by baptism like Christ, we too are consecrated for a life of service. We too become God’s beloved
sons and daughters who are entrusted with a mission of service. Hence, this feast invites
us to show forth that we are really God’s beloved children by remaining faithful to our baptismal mission. We must be always attuned
to the inner voice of the Spirit
that moves us to become more and more sensitive to needs of the modern world and look for newer and
newer forms of service. We have to ask ourselves whether God is well pleased now with the type and quality of the service that we
render in our families, communities and workplaces. We should check and see, as
the world of technology advances year by year and the quality of our goods,
machinery and gadgets improves a lot, whether the quality of our service and
commitment to our mission increases. What we notice is more and more people not
finding time for any community service in spite of saving a lot of time due to
the use of modern means of communication and transport (like mobile phones and
vehicles).
What is
service then? It
mainly implies self–giving or giving one’s life for the
welfare of others. In other words, it implies a sharing of time, talents,
goods, knowledge, speech, and energies for the good of others. Jesus tells us that his mission is not to be served
but to serve to the point of giving (= sacrificing) his life as a ransom for many (Mk 10: 45). He
calls his sacrifice on the cross out of service for humankind a ‘baptism’ of
blood (Mk 10:38). For him, service was a sacrificial service which involves sometimes suffering or pain for ourselves. Based on today’s first reading and the interpretation of “Chosen
Servant” given by Luke, our service is a service that involves sacrifice and sometimes
even suffering. If our services do not go beyond the compulsive services we have to render for our
livelihood and self-maintenance, we can hardly be called his disciples. One of
the reasons why our discipleship remains to the minimal level could be our unwillingness to make sacrifices
or take pain for
common good or community service. Even in families, one of the most important services
parents, especially fathers, should render is sacrificing their time for guiding and directing their path in the paths
of God. Further, in our families we have to examine ourselves whether we expect
others to serve us at our beck and call, or equally contribute to the total welfare
of the family. Outside our homes, we have to examine and see whether we try to
escape from occasions to render service to the society or from involvement in
any community service, if there is no monitory or prestige reward.
To whom should service be rendered? When we read the gospels, we come to know, though service has to be
rendered to all, it has to be preferably rendered to the needy, the rejected, the suffering, the sick, the underprivileged, the
defenceless and outcasts and sinners, the least of our brethren, etc. Though
jobs are called “service’’ in the secular world, most people consider their
jobs as a means only for earning money,
not for the service of humanity or society or for nation building. Today’s
feast challenges those of us who have some authority in the Church and society
to see whether we use it for domination, lording it over, exploitation
and profit-making, or for guiding, serving, correcting, reconciling and for
public good. It also challenges us to see whether we waste a high portion of
free time in gossiping, loitering around, playing cards, surfing internet for
fun and watching TV for long hours, instead of using a part of it for service
of society. Let us implore the Creator Spirit who descended on Jesus at his
baptism and on us too at our Baptism and Confirmation to empower us so that we
become creative in our service and radiate the newness/ freshness of
life prefigured by Noah’s dove at the time of the Great Flood.
5. Response to God's Word
Do we live up to
our baptismal consecration by living a life different from the ways of the
world and refusing to compromise with the evil ways of the world? Is our baptism
meant only to get our name registered in the parish records and get a social
identity? Do we consider it as a call to a life of service to God and humanity?
What does our baptism and its promises (to renounce Satan and its pomp and to
believe in God) mean to us today? Now, is God well pleased
with the way we use or share our time, talents, knowledge and energy?
Do we render service only where there are personal benefits
such as eating and drinking, honour, prestige, power, money and profit, or do
we also occasionally render service where there are no such benefits?
6. A prayer
Heavenly Father, as we recall to mind your Son’s
baptism at
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