Word to the Wise
Sunday, January 9, 2022 - Sunday after Epiphany: The Baptism of the Lord - ABC
[Isa 42:1-4, 6-7; Titus 2:11-14;3:4-7; Luke 3:15-16, 21-22]After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and 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." [Luke]
SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022 THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD - C
[Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7; Luke 3:15-16, 21-22]
The commemoration of the baptism of the Lord by John the Baptist brings to an end the liturgical season of Christmas/Epiphany. There is no more Baby Jesus and "infancy narratives." We are presented now with an adult male Jesus, about 30 years of age, who seems to be a disciple of John the Baptist. (There is no mention of the familial kind - cousin - that the infancy narrative speaks of in Luke 1:36.) And, if we remember that the infancy narratives were written in the light of the rest of the gospels, the presence of the Holy Spirit at this event is not a new presence as might be implied from the angel Gabriel's message, Luke 1:35, but a continuing one as will be seen when Jesus goes into the desert to be tempted. The presence of the Holy Spirit is a major theme in the Gospel According to Luke. The apostles themselves will be "baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire" at Pentecost. In today's gospel passage, Jesus celebrates his "debut" on the public stage in a new "epiphany" when the voice from heaven speaks, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."
The early Christian community transformed the "baptism of repentance" practiced by John the Baptist into a new expression of identification with Jesus' death and resurrection. [cf. Matthew 28:19; Acts 19:2; Romans 6:3-4]. With baptism (and confirmation), we receive that same Holy Spirit. [cf. Romans 5:5]. Baptism is not an event of our past but a continuing force in our life of faith, with the Holy Spirit accompanying us in our own deserts of temptation and in our efforts to preach the gospel in word and deed. AMEN