Jesus goes through baptism not because He’s a sinner but to bear humanity’s transgressions

January 10, 2016

The Baptism of the Lord

Saints of the Day: Saint Leonie Aviat, Religious (1844-1914), Saint William of Bourges, Archbishop (1209), Blessed Maria Dolores Rodriguez Sopeña (1848-1918)

Reading 1

Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7M

1Thus says the LORD: Here is my Servant whom I uphold, my chosen One with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; He shall bring forth justice to the nations,[1] 2not crying out, not shouting, not making His voice heard in the street.

3a bruised reed He shall not break, and a smoldering wick He shall not quench,[2] 4until He establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for His teaching.[3]

6I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, 7to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

OR Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11

1Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. 2Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.[4]

3A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the LORD! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God![5] 4Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; the rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley.

5Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

9Go up on to a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings; cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news! Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God!

10Here comes with power the Lord GOD, who rules by a strong arm; here is His reward with Him, His recompense before Him. 11Like a shepherd He feeds His flock; in His arms He gathers the lambs, carrying them in His bosom, and leading the ewes with care.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10

R. (11b) The Lord will bless His people with peace.

1Give to the LORD, you sons of God, give to the LORD glory and praise, 2Give to the LORD the glory due His name; adore the LORD in holy attire.

R. The Lord will bless His people with peace.

3The voice of the LORD is over the waters, the LORD, over vast waters. 4The voice of the LORD is mighty; the voice of the LORD is majestic.

R. The Lord will bless His people with peace.

3The God of glory thunders, 9and in His temple all say, “Glory!” 10The LORD is enthroned above the flood; the LORD is enthroned as king forever.

R. The Lord will bless His people with peace.

OR Psalms 104:1b-2, 3-4, 24-25, 27-28, 29-30

R. (1) O bless the Lord, my soul.

1bO LORD, my God, you are great indeed! you are clothed with majesty and glory, 2robed in light as with a cloak. You have spread out the heavens like a tent-cloth;

R. O bless the Lord, my soul.

3You have constructed your palace upon the waters. You make the clouds your chariot; you travel on the wings of the wind. 4You make the winds your messengers, and flaming fire your ministers.

R. O bless the Lord, my soul.

24How manifold are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you have wrought them all - the earth is full of your creatures; 25the sea also, great and wide, in which are schools without number of living things both small and great.

R. O bless the Lord, my soul.

27They look to you to give them food in due time. 28When you give it to them, they gather it; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

R. O bless the Lord, my soul.

29If you take away their breath, they perish and return to the dust. 30When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.

R. O bless the Lord, my soul.

Reading 2

Acts 10:34-38

34Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered in the house of Cornelius, saying:  “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.[6] 35Rather, in every nation whoever fears Him and acts uprightly is acceptable to Him.[7]

36You know the word that He sent to the Israelites as He proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, 37what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, 38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”

OR Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7

2:11Beloved: The grace of God has appeared,[8] saving all 2:12and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, 2:13as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and savior Jesus Christ,[9] 2:14who gave Himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people as His own, eager to do what is good.

3:4When the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared, 3:5not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of His mercy, He saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 3:6whom He richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior, 3:7so that we might be justified by His grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.

Alleluia compare with Mark 9:7

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The heavens were opened and the voice of the Father thundered:

This is my beloved Son, listen to Him.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

OR Compare with Luke 3:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

John said: One mightier than I is coming; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel 

Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

15The people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts

whether John might be the Christ. 16John answered them all, saying,  “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”[10]

21After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying,  heaven was opened[11][12] 22and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove.  And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”[12][13]

  

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Notes on readings:

[1] Isaiah 42:1-4 - Servant: there are three other "Servant-of-the-Lord" oracles, 49:1-7; 50:4-11; 52:13 - 53:12. Many identifications have been proposed, that is historical Israel, ideal Israel, an Old Testament historical character before or during the lifetime of the prophet, the prophet himself. The New Testament and Christian tradition, however, have seen a fulfillment of these prophecies in Jesus Christ.

[2] Isaiah 42:3 - A reference to the mercy of Christ.

[3] Isaiah 42:4 - Coastlands: the lands of the Mediterranean. In the Old Testament the word often refers to the pagan lands of the west.

[4] Isaiah 40:2 - Service: servitude and exile.

[5] Isaiah 40:3-5 - The figurative language here describes the actual return of the exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem. It is the Lord who leads them; their road is made easy for them. Matthew 3:3 and parallels see in these verses a prophecy of the Baptizer and Christ.

[6] Acts 10:34-43 - Peter's speech to the household of Cornelius typifies early Christian preaching to Gentiles.

[7] Acts 10:34-35 - The revelation of God's choice of Israel to be the people of God did not mean  He withheld the divine favor from other people.

[8] Titus 2:11-15 - Underlying the admonitions for moral improvement in Titus 2:1-10 as the moving force is the constant appeal to God's revelation of salvation in Christ, with its demand for transformation of life.

[9] Titus 2:13 - The blessed hope, the appearance: literally, "the blessed hope and appearance," but the use of a single article in Greek strongly suggests an epexegetical, that is explanatory sense. Of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ: another possible translation is "of our great God and savior Jesus Christ."

[10] Luke 3:16 - He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire: in contrast to John's baptism with water, Jesus is said to baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. From the point of view of the early Christian community, the Spirit and fire must have been understood in the light of the fire symbolism of the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4); but as part of John's preaching, the Spirit and fire should be related to their purifying and refining characteristics (Ezekiel 36:25-27; Malachj 3:2-3). See the footnote on ⇒Matthew 3:11.

[11] Luke 3:21 - Was praying: Luke regularly presents Jesus at prayer at important points in His ministry: here at His baptism; at the choice of the Twelve (Luke 6:12); before Peter's confession (LUke 9:18); at the transfiguration (Luke 9:28); when He teaches His disciples to pray (Luke 11:1); at the Last Supper (Luke 22:32); on the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:41); on the cross (Luke 23:46).

[12] Luke 3:22 - You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased: this is the best attested reading in the Greek manuscripts. The Western reading, "You are my Son, this day I have begotten you," is derived from Psalm 2:7.

[13] Luke 3:21-22 - This episode in Luke focuses on the heavenly message identifying Jesus as Son and, through the allusion to Isaiah 42:1, as Servant of Yahweh. The relationship of Jesus to the Father has already been announced in the infancy narrative (Luke 1:32, 35; 2:49); it occurs here at the beginning of Jesus' Galilean ministry and will reappear in Luke 9:35 before another major section of Luke's gospel, the travel narrative (Luke 9:51 - 19:27). Elsewhere in Luke's writings (Luke 4:18; Acts 10:38, this incident will be interpreted as a type of anointing of Jesus.