Commentary: The first reading today from Isaiah takes us back to the time of the Exile in Israel’s history. The Israelites were conquered and taken into captivity by the Babylonians. This was a low point in the Old Testament narrative of the history of Israel. Yet, today’s reading offers great hope. We hear in this passage the promise of the coming of the Lord. The people are called to “prepare the way” for His coming. God is coming to rescue His people and reign among them. This passage has dual meanings. First, in its original context, it refers to God saving His people from their exile and captivity and restoring them to the land of Israel with its great Temple in Jerusalem. Second, it points to the coming of Jesus Christ, when God would come to dwell with His people in the flesh. In particular, this passage is associated with John the Baptist. He is the one who cries out: “In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!” He does so to set the scene for the ministry of Jesus, which begins with the Baptism of Jesus by John in the Jordan that today’s feast celebrates.
Commentary: Jesus came into the world in order to save us from our sins. The salvation that He won for us by His death on the cross and His resurrection is imparted to us primarily through the sacraments. The seven sacraments are defined, according to the Catechism, as “efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us” (CCC 1131). In other words, sacraments are the means that Christ set up and gave to the Church for God to impart His grace to us so that we may experience forgiveness of sins. The word “efficacious” means effective. The sacraments “effect what they signify.” In baptism, for example, the water that is poured signifies cleansing. But baptism is not merely taking a bath. The water (which is the visible sign) points to the invisible reality going on when the sacrament is celebrated. At baptism, our souls are washed clean of all sin. As today’s second reading tells us, we experience “the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” This cleansing of sin is a gift from God—“not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy.” But baptism is just the beginning of the Christian life. We are then called to live out our baptism each and every day by being faithful to God.
Commentary: Today we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which brings the Christmas season to a close. The Baptism of Jesus marks the beginning of His public ministry. John, the forerunner, was preparing the way for Jesus by preaching repentance and baptizing people in the Jordan as they confessed their sins. John also proclaimed that one greater than he would come and “baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” In the other gospels we learn more details about the baptism of Jesus than we do in today’s reading from Luke. For example, when Jesus asked to be baptized, John at first resisted, saying he was not worthy and that Jesus should baptize him instead. Why, then, did Jesus request to be baptized? Why would He submit to John in this way? There are a number of reasons worthy of exploration. First, Jesus certainly was NOT baptized for the forgiveness of sins, since He was sinless. There was no need for Him to repent. Still, in this act, He showed His solidarity with sinful humanity and gave indication of His role as Savior. Second, this event expresses Christ’s anointing as the Messiah. It also reveals His identity as the Son of God through the voice coming from Heaven proclaiming, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” This also reveals the Trinity through the visible action of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit seen at the baptism. Finally, Jesus’ baptism prefigures the Sacrament of Baptism that He would institute, in which we receive the Holy Spirit and are adopted as children of God, while also being cleansed of our sins. In fact, we could say that at Jesus baptism it was not Him who was cleansed by the water, but the water was cleansed by Him in preparation for the cleansing effect water would have in the Sacrament of Baptism. Thus, in Jesus’ baptism, we see the importances of this great sacrament.
Taking it Home:
Since most of us were baptized as infants, we do not remember the event. Yet, no matter what age you were baptized, it still has the same effects: cleansing of sin, imparting of grace, giving of the Holy Spirit, adoption as a child of God, and incorporation into the Church. Take time today to thank God for the gift of baptism and reflect on the importance of your baptism in your life.
Come learn more about the Sacrament of Baptism and how to live out your baptism today at the Wine & Wisdom session this Tuesday. See the back side for the details.