Baptism of the Lord

My Dear People,

Using expressive imagery, John announces Christian Baptism, proclaiming that he is not the Messiah; he, who is on his way, will come with the authority of supreme Judge that belongs to God, and with the dignity of the Messiah, who has no human equal.

In Christ’s Baptism we can find a reflection of the way the Sacrament of Baptism affects a person. Christ’s Baptism was the exemplar of our own. In it the mystery of the Blessed Trinity was revealed: the faithful, on receiving Baptism, are consecrated by the invocation of and by the power of the Blessed Trinity. Similarly, heaven opening signifies that the power, the effectiveness of this Sacrament comes from above, from God, and that the baptized have the road to heaven opened up for them, a road which original sin had closed. Jesus’ prayer after his baptism teaches us that “after Baptism man needs to pray continually in order to enter heaven; for though sins are remitted through Baptism, there still remains the inclination to sin which assails us from within, and also the flesh and the devil which assails us from without.” (St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae 3 q 39,a5)

Isaiah in chapter 40 and onward speaks of a voice crying out in the wilderness, that is John the Baptist. These chapters make up the second part of the book of Isaiah, also known as “Second Isaiah” “Deutoro-Isaiah.” Almost everything here refers to a period of history one or two centuries later that of the “First Isaiah.” The oppressor is no longer Assyria but Babylon, which conquered Jerusalem in 587-586 BC, and then began a series of deportations that sent the upper classed of Jerusalem and Judah into exile, Many years later (359 BC), Cyrus, king of the Persians, conquered the Babylonians and issued a decree allowing those deportees who so wished to return home. These events are echoed in Second Isaiah’s oracles, songs, lamentations and denunciations, and in the prophetic visions of the final, enduring deliverance and restoration of the chosen people and the city of Zion.

The section begins on a formal note with an anonymous voice proclaiming the Lord’s consolation (vv1-5). The same voice calls on the prophet himself to proclaim that the word of God and his message of salvation will endure forever (vv. 6-11)”

The voice commands that a way be opened for the Word of God, the path smoothed, and all obstacles removed: when our God comes, he will be able to walk without hindrance. Prepare the way of the Lord: this means to preach the gospel and to offer consolation to his people, with the desire that the salvation of God embrace all mankind.

In the second part of the oracle, the anonymous voice asks the prophet to speak in the name of the Lord. Mere human plans can only go so far: but the word of God stands forever. In the things that the voice says there must be an allusion to the might of Babylon, which withers like the “flower in the field” when the “the breath of the Lord blows upon it,” because it challenged the goodness of God. The message to be given to the people speaks of trusting in the power of God who comes not to lay waste but to protect and recompense those in his care (vv. 9-11). Here we find for the first time the simile of the “flock” being applied to the people of God, one of several figures of speech used in Holy Scripture to describe God’s tender care of his people.  And which Christian tradition uses to explain the mystery of the Church: “The church is a sheepfold whose one and indispensable door is Christ. It is a flock of which God himself foretold he would be the shepherd, and whose sheep, although ruled by human shepherds, are nevertheless continuously led and nourished by Christ himself, the Good Shepherd and prince of shepherds, who gave his life for the sheep.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Vincent Clemente

 

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