Jan.

10, 2010 Baptism of the Lord

(Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7; Lk. 3:15-16, 21-22)

Appropriately the season of Christmas ends with the baptism

of Jesus. In just a few short weeks we have gone through the
conception and birth of Jesus and other events which began to
establish his identity. With the baptism we arrive at an important
transition in Luke’s Gospel. John exits stage left and Jesus will
take center stage.
Some of this gospel passage is still ringing in our ears as the
gospel for the Third Sunday of Advent which was used liturgically
to change the direction of the Advent readings in order to prepare
for the birth of Jesus by clearing John off the stage. It is used here
to do the same thing as we prepare to reenter Ordinary Time in
concentrating on the words and deeds of Jesus.
The baptism of Jesus establishes in a different way what
Luke’s infancy narrative had also done, determining who Jesus
really was. All of the Christmas readings had in various ways
established that he was God’s Son. The shepherds were told by an
angel that the Messiah had been born in the city of David. He was
also identified as Savior and Lord. John’s Gospel had informed us
that “in the beginning was the word and the word was with God
and the word was God.” On the feast of the Epiphany the Magi
came to pay homage to the one born king of the Jews.
Now as an adult apparently having come to John the Baptist,
Jesus is baptized (presumably by John but Luke never actually says
that) and was praying. Luke, more than any of the other Gospels,
presents Jesus at prayer. As he prayed Luke reports Jesus having a
personal revelation. There were no reported witnesses to the event.
The text simply says the sky was opened up, which could be
interpreted as a public event as some argue. But the voice that is
heard is directed solely and personally to Jesus in the second
person singular. Any voice coming from heaven biblically is a way
of saying “God said.” What God said seems to have been taken
from the Ps.2:7 and from Isaiah the prophet.
 Ps.2:7 reads “You are my son, this day I have begotten you.”
Isaiah 42:1 speaks of “my servant...my chosen one with whom I
am pleased.” The use of Psalm 2:7, called an “enthronement
psalm” because of its use on the occasion of a new king’s
enthronement in ancient Israel, was interpreted by early Christians
as a “messianic psalm” or one which Christians regarded as a
prophetic reference to the hoped for Messiah promised by God.
That being the case, this voice and these words at the baptism
suggest that Jesus is God’s Son, Messiah and promised successor
to David and one who acts as the Servant of the Lord, inspired by
Is.42:1.
With the presence of the Holy Spirit “upon him” in bodily
form like a dove, Jesus will now begin his public ministry in
Galilee. There he will preach, teach and heal as he announces the
coming of the Kingdom of God. He does so with divine approval
symbolized by the heavenly voice and the active presence of the
Spirit.
This will begin in next week’s Gospel with the snippet from
John’s Gospel about the wedding at Cana. So now all the pieces
are in place. His credentials have been established repeatedly
during these days of Christmas and now we begin again to see how
extraordinary Ordinary Time is as we turn again to uncover the
meaning of the heavenly voice: “You are my beloved Son; with
you I am well pleased.”

Fr. Hummer Pastor, St. Mary’s Church, Chillicothe