Commentary
Sunday, 1/13/2019, The Baptism of the Lord
Love, the Reason for the Sacrifice
First Reading Commentary: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
When our children misbehave, we become angry with them and punish them for their wrongdoing. But we do not stop loving them. It is because we love them that we take the time and effort to admonish them for their bad behavior. And after the incident is over, we take the time to let them know that we do love them.
We express our love in what we say and in what we do. We embrace our children and provide for their every need and often times; we spoil them by giving them what they want. We make sacrifices for our children in taking care of them and giving them what they want.
But the sacrifice does not matter. Oh, we might complain about it from time to time but we make the sacrifice willingly because they are our children. We want them to have better than we had and we want nothing but the best for them. In the end, we want our children to be happy—blessed.
Most children do not understand these things until they become parents themselves but this commentary is about what we parents do for our children. It is the same thing that God does for all of us and that is the message of today’s reading from Isaiah.
God was angry with the Children of Israel and punished them by making them wander in the desert for forty years. But ultimately, the punishment came to an end and the Children of Israel did enter into the promised land. This is what Isaiah meant by saying, “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end.”
But the Children of Israel are not the only children of God. We are all God’s children and we all sin and we all make God angry with us when we do. Nevertheless, God does not stop taking care of us and showing His love for us and He proved these things by sending the Son.
The second part of today’s prophecy from Isaiah is about John the Baptist heralding the coming of the Lord—God the Son. Jesus came to take care of us by making sure that all of God’s children were provided with everything needed to get home safely to the Promised Land of Heaven. Jesus came to spoil us by sacrificing Himself for us. He made this sacrifice so that we might have everything that we could ever want and much more than we could ever imagine—heaven itself—the greatest happiness and the greatest blessing of all.
The last part of Isaiah’s prophecy is about the awesome power of God. Isaiah tells us to herald the good news that God comes with power and rules with a strong arm. Indeed, Jesus did demonstrate His awesome power many times while here on earth through the works that He performed and Jesus Christ is the King of Kings.
The last part of Isaiah’s prophecy is also about God’s mercy and tenderness. Isaiah tells us that God comes with recompense meaning that God is forgiving. Through His tender mercy, God forgives us for all of our sins. All we have to do is admit to them and repent in the same way that the prodigal son did to the father in Luke 15:21.
God also shows His tenderness through the Son who is our Shepherd. Jesus feeds His flock through the Eucharist. Through the Church, Jesus gathers His lambs, carries them in His bosom and leads His ewes with care.
It is interesting that Isaiah said, “ewes” and not sheep. An ewe is a female sheep so the end of Isaiah’s prophecy points to the fact that each of us is an individual part of the Bride of Christ.
The Father loves His children enough to sacrifice His only begotten Son and the Son loves His bride enough to sacrifice Himself for us. Today’s prophecy from Isaiah is all about the reason why—love.
It Won’t Work Any Other Way
Second Reading Commentary: Titus 2:11-14, 3:4-722
Paul urges us to not rely on worldly ways and earthly possessions by reminding us that Christ came to teach us how to live our lives in a way which is pleasing to God. Paul tells us to live temperately, justly and devoutly.
We have all heard the expression, “Waste not, want not.” That is one of Paul’s messages when he tells us to live temperately. If we want enough to have waste, we want more than we need and we are being greedy. Then there will come a day when we will want to enter the Kingdom but the gates will be closed to us because of the deadly sin of greed. Paul is telling us to be happy with having what we need. If God blesses us with more, that blessing is ok but we should be happy with having what we need.
Living temperately also refers to attitude. Paul is telling us to remain calm. Those of us who care about what goes on in the world struggle with this one because it is truly tough to witness the terrible happenings around the world today without becoming upset. That does not mean that we should stop caring but it does mean that we should keep all things in their proper perspective.
There are two things to remember here. 1- What ever is happening in this world when we take our last breath will continue to happen long after we have taken our last breath. 2- When we die to this life, with God’s grace and blessing because we lived a good life, we will be with God in heaven and what happens here will not matter. Remember what Jesus taught us: Give unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give unto God what belongs to God. We should be good citizens but we should be living in preparation for our lives in heaven without being consumed with the troubles of this world.
I believe that Paul’s message in telling us to live justly is simple although not so easily done. Does the Second Greatest Commandment sound familiar? It is not possible to live our lives in a way that is just if we do not love God and love neighbor. That is one reason why the Holy Spirit gives us strength.
Living our lives devoutly means keeping the faith. Paul is big on this message and gives it to us in a variety of ways several times in his writings. We often hear a person being eulogized at their funeral with words like, “he fought the good fight” or “she finished the race.” With those kinds of statements, which refer to Paul’s writings, it is being said that the deceased lived a life of faith.
But it is important to note that Paul says that Christ gave Himself to cleanse us so that we would be eager to do what is good. Meditate on that for a moment. We often consider the fact that Christ came to save us and we should with all of the gratitude that we can muster. But how often do we add that fact that Jesus wants us to be eager to be with Him?
If we are eager to be with Christ, we will also be eager to do what is good. It will not work any other way. You cannot do one without the other. And, if we should slip up and commit a sin, and we all do, then we should show our appreciation for God’s mercy. We do that by confessing and repenting. Amen.
The Institution of the Sacrament of Baptism
Gospel Commentary: Luke 3:15-16, 22-22
Matthew, Mark and Luke all account for the Baptism of Jesus. Today’s gospel is from Luke.
John the Baptist proclaimed that he baptized people so that they might repent for their sins. He also proclaimed that there was One who was mightier than he who would come and baptize with the Spirit and fire and John knew that Jesus was the One who was also without sin. John therefore did not consider himself worthy to baptize Jesus but John’s reluctance was overcome when according to Matthew, Jesus said, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” The New American Bible footnote says, "To fulfill all righteousness is to submit to the plan of God for the salvation of the human race."
The baptism of Jesus, which is the First Luminous Mystery of the Rosary, was no less important to the Father’s plan than the birth of Jesus or the submission of Jesus to the cross for our salvation. Without baptism, Jesus could not complete His mission and there would be no salvation. As a result, Jesus allowing Himself to be baptized by John fulfills all righteousness.
It was therefore necessary that Jesus identify Himself with sinners through baptism. It is another sign that God does not ask us to do anything which He is not willing to do for us. But more importantly, because Jesus submitted Himself to baptism, He was able to take the sins of the world with Him and nail them to the cross. In a physical way, our sins are washed away in Baptism with water being used in the cleansing. In a spiritual way, our sins are washed away by the blood of Christ on the cross.
After Jesus was baptized, Luke tells us that Jesus prayed and that the Trinity was revealed. The heavens opened up and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove and the Father spoke saying, “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.” Matthew tells us that the Father said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Can you imagine yourself being present to witness the baptism of Jesus, being able to see the Spirit descend upon Him and hearing the Father speak? I am sure that everyone who was there, was overwhelmed with fear of the Lord and believed. We have to rely on faith. In a way, we are more fortunate because everything that God wants from us begins with our faith. Everything begins with our believing.
When we are baptized, original sin and any other sins which we may have committed up to the time of our baptism are washed away. The Holy Spirit descends upon us and showers us with His gifts. Baptism is one of the sacraments of initiation. The other two are Confirmation and the Eucharist. Baptism is the first sacrament because by being freed from sin and showered with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we are provided with what we need to begin our spiritual journey to heaven. And when we get there, the Father will say, “You are my beloved son” or “You are my beloved daughter, with you I am well pleased.”
