Word to the Wise
Sunday, January 12, 2025 - Sunday after Epiphany: The Baptism of the Lord - ABC
[Isa 42:1-4, 6-7; Acts 10:34-38; Matt 3:13-17,79]The people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ. John 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." [Luke]
SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 2025 THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD
[Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; Titus 2:11-14, 3:4-7; Luke 3:15-16, 21-22. Note: These are the scriptures for Cycle C. Cycle A also can be used.]
All four of the gospels make a point of subordinating John the Baptist to Jesus. But it also seems that Jesus was, for a time, a "disciple" of John the Baptist. Scripture scholars and theologians write big books about the significance of Jesus' baptism by John. The Gospel According to Luke makes it clear that the baptism done by John was not what the Christian community adopted as THE sacrament of initiation into discipleship of Jesus. Ritual washings for cultic purity were part of Jewish observance and there were special baths built for them that allowed for total immersion. What John the Baptist was doing was different from those as well. The gospels refer to it as a baptism of "repentance." It was assumed that the participants were already believers in the God of Israel. When the Christian community adopted a similar practice, it was (and still is) meant to mean faith in Jesus, not just repentance. Jesus is identified at the time of his baptism by John as "the Beloved Son." For the Gentiles who would begin to come to faith, the ceremony would have a significance closer to our own, divorced from the Jewish context. St. Paul and the earliest disciples of Jesus were clearly practicing baptism in this way. [cf. Acts 8:35-38]
Baptism has come to mean a number of things, all of which are true, but the emphasis has varied. The doctrine of original sin took awhile to develop, but came to be prominent in Christian thought. The Second Vatican Council shifted the emphasis and made a point of baptism as inclusion in the Body of Christ, the People of God. Pope Francis has made a point of the effect of baptism as one being made a "Missionary Disciple." I suspect there are a variety of meanings in the participants present at every baptism . Water, words, oils, fire, white garment - all of these strike the senses. What seems to connect it all to the "baptism of Jesus" is that it is the beginning of a life of faith and mission. For an infant, the "seminary" for this is the family. For an adult, it is definitely a great moment of faith, which we can witness at the Easter Vigil ceremony on Holy Saturday. At baptism, Jesus' message becomes OUR message: "the Kingdom of heaven is at hand! Repent and believe in the gospel." [Mark 1:15] AMEN