Luke 3:15-16, 21-22; Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7;Psalm 104 O Bless the Lord my soul; Isaiah 40:1-5,9-11
Today we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord which officially marks the end of the Christmas season.
How many of yo have kept the Christmas spirit alive up until this weekend?
How many you are taking down your trees this weekend to mark the end of the christmas season?
How many of you still have your nativity scenes up and continue to sing Christmas carols?
I direct you attention to the second reading. St. Paul tells us that "the grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age..."
We are different. We can no longer let society or modern culture dictate how we live. Our choices and habits can not be formed by the culture we live in but must be formed but Christ who lives in us.
How many of us conform? How many of us are shaped by the things we hear and see? How many of us are willing to be the ones who shape and form by the faith we profess?
This is what St. Paul insists on.
Hw do we train to reject godless ways? What kind of effort do we put forth? Godless means we think we know better than God. Godless suggest that we are too grown up to let God determine our path.
Our news years resolution should to train ourselves to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, devoutly in this age.
A quick look at the word choice by St. Paul:
temperately is also understood as sober and not just in regards to drink. But the greek has a sense of having a halter on oneself, that is being in control and command of one's heart, mind and soul. Giving direction to one's life according to the plan of God.
justly is a sense of being upright, standing erect. One who stands erect has no reason for shame; one who is upright is blameless because his life gives testimony to truth in love. A just and upright man is one who has found his identity in God.
Devout is one who has a practical awareness of God's presence in his life. In the practice of living God's presence is brought to the front by what one does and say. Embodied in this practice is reverence and awe for the blessings God has bestowed. A devout person is one who is conscious of walking in God's blessing: the psalm puts it best, "I shall walk in the presence of the lord in the land of the living."
The gospel for today begins with these words, "The people were filled with expectation..."
Think about that for a moment. What do you expect out of life? What do expect from your spouse or your children or your employers or employees?
How do you communicate those expectations to others?
How does those expectation change you and give direction to your life?
The people went out to John to be baptized because they let their expectations for something more and better to move them along.
They knew if they wanted a change in the world they must first let change happen in them. They knew if they wanted to defeat evil in the world they had to first face the evil within. They knew that f they expected the kingdom to unfold in and around them then the kingdom had to take root in them first.
The change they expected they needed it to change them.
Here we have Jesus identifying with the grey mass of sinners on the bank of the Jordan. He publicly stepped in the place of sinners. He identified himself with is so that our identity would be discovered in him.
Jesus takes all the people's expectations and makes them part of his life and journey and mission. So that in and through him now our deepest expectations are met. Jesus reveals to us what it means to be human and what we should really expect out of life, "this is my beloved son for whom I am well please."
There are a few things that we should notice about the gospel.
1)John speaks those words that we have heard many of time, "I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals..."
Now often times we equate that statement of John with humility. That even in the presence of one so great as Jesus he cannot fulfill even the task of the lowest slave, because of the distinction of persons and mission.
As good as John is and was, compared to Christ he isn't even in the same league. Jesus is in a league of his own.
But there is more to this simple statement about loosening thongs and sandals.
It reveals something of who Jesus is.
In the ancient world, when a male died before he was able to have a child with his wife, then the next surviving brother was to take his place and marry the window and perform the marital act so that a son could be conceived and carry on his brother's name and lineage.
It is known as the levirate law. Levir simple means husband's brother. If the brother refuses then the wife has a right to present the case to the elders for judgment. Dt 25:7-10 gives us an insight to this reality.
"But if the man does not want to marry his brother's wife, she shall go up to the elders at the gate and say, "My brother-in-law refuses to perpetuate his brother's name in ISrael and does not intend to perform his duty toward me." There upon the elders shall summon him and speak to him. If he persists in saying, "I do not want to marry her," his sister in law, in the presence of the elders, shall go up to him and strip his sandal from his foot and spit in his face, declaring, "This is how one should be treated who will not build up his brother's family!" And his name shall be called in Israel, "the house of the man stripped of his sandal."
Thus the one who keeps his sandal on is the bridegroom. John is not fit to remove the sandal because JEsus has chosen to step in and to fulfill his brother's duty. Where Adam and all the ancestors failed, Jesus will succeed. He will marry the bride Israel and the offspring of God shall come forth.
A new line, a new offspring, a new lineage of grace shall be issued forth.
This is why at Easter, when we bless the water used to baptize those coming into the church, the Easter candle is plunged in to the font to in a sense symbolic express the fecundity of Christ, the one who gift of self brings about a new creation as he breathes his spirit on his disciples.
The bridegroom has arrived. He will not shirk his duty.
Also, the symbol of the dove and JEsus coming out of the water points to the time of Noah. The dove brought back the olive branch to represent that the water had subsided and time had come for a new creation to occur and thus a new beginning.
This new creation comes through Christ. This beginning is made clear again by the words of St. Paul, "reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly..."
Lastly, we hear the words of Christ spoken as the heavens open and the dove descended, "You are my beloved son; with you I am well please."
Pope Benedict points out that the heaven opens above JEsus to symbolize that it is in Christ that the will of the Father is perfectly carried out. Where the will of God is carried forth there heaven is open. Jesus is the place where God's will is perfectly fulfilled.
As the words are echoed forth from the heavens, "You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased we are reminded of the ancient world.
In the ancient world, paternity was not determined biologically but rather socially and publicly. This pubic and social acceptance of child by the father is what gave the son legitimacy and appropriate social standing.
It is also obliged the father to be responsible for the child.
The words spoken from heaven assure us as listeners of the divine sonship of Jesus. He is legit.
His legitimacy makes us legit through the waters of baptism. Christ's title is given to us.
We are baptized not so much to be a good person but rather to carry out the Father's will. HEaven and the kingdom is now found where those who are united to Christ seek to fulfill God's plan. We carry heaven with us as we go for Christ the one for whom heaven is opened now lives in us.
No comments:
Post a Comment