Gospel Reflection for Sunday January 9th, Feast of the Baptism of the Lord By Brian Maher OMI
Luke 3:15-16, 21-22
It is sometimes easier for us to imagine and pray to Jesus as God rather than as man.
Jesus as God can be processed by us in some way; ‘he is all powerful, knows what he is doing and how it will end. He is acting out of love for us, leaving us an example that we should follow ourselves.’
Thinking of, and praying to, Jesus as man is far more difficult and presents us with far more questions. ‘Did he know when it all began how it would end? Did he always know he was God? Did he really suffer?’ Every question leads to more questions and we can very easily become confused, frustrated and even annoyed at what we might think of as a lack of faith.
But because something is difficult does not mean we shouldn’t do it. I’m certain every parent reading this will have encouraged their own children not to give up when things get difficult. Staying with what is difficult, hanging-in, continuing to reflect and ponder is what brings results – even in spirituality!
St. Teresa of Avila, one of the great mystics of the Church, had a great devotion to the humanity of Christ. More than that, she said that neglecting Christ’s humanity was wrong.
For St. Teresa it was a “great privilege to be able to communicate with Jesus on an equal and intimate level.” Prayer, she says, “…is nothing more than an intimate sharing between friends.”
Isn’t that beautiful? Imagine being able to talk about Jesus as an ‘intimate friend’?
In this way St. Teresa gives us permission to look at the Gospels, not with our thinking minds, but “simply to put ourselves in Jesus’ presence, to speak with and delight in him, without wearing ourselves out with logic.”
And so, allow me, for a few moments, to look at today’s Gospel as if in the presence of Jesus, standing in the Jordan with him, ‘simply speaking to and delighting in him’.
In my mind I imagine Jesus as a friend and follower of John. Through the message and preaching of John, I can see Jesus clarify his own call and sense his own mission. Perhaps John and Jesus talked together many times, sharing their understanding of what God was saying to his people and their part in it.
I can imagine Jesus beginning to become restless, feeling within himself a wider call – a need to go out to others with the message of God’s forgiveness, his healing, and his infinite love for them. Over time I imagine this restlessness within Jesus grow as his understanding of his own call grows stronger and becomes more urgent.
Maybe, as he listens to Jesus, John, in his wisdom and humility, recognises that his own mission is coming to completion and, despite the expectation of the people, he is not the promised Messiah.
On that morning I can see Jesus coming into the Jordan to John, his friend, to ask for baptism, both to honour what John has done and to bid farewell to his mentor.
For John it must have been a moment of sadness – he was, after all, handing over to another the message to which he had dedicated his life. He had no guarantee, other than an internal conviction in faith, that he was doing the right thing.
Yet, he was able to hold Jesus in the waters of baptism and publicly point to him as the one to listen to.
For Jesus, too, it must have been a moment tinged with sadness. Probably after a lot of discernment he felt ready to set out on his own mission. He knew he must go to the towns and villages of Judea; he knew he carried within himself a message he had to share, a message which could not be kept silent. His Baptism was the moment he chose to begin, to bid his sad farewell to his friend and mentor, John. It must have been difficult. John was strong and popular, Jesus was, as yet, unknown, setting out alone, uncertain and tentative.
Having made his break with John he felt the very human need to spend some time alone, in prayer and solitude. It would have been a time to rest and regroup, to ask for courage and strength, a time to renew his own faith and conviction. It was also, the Gospels of Matthew, Luke and Mark, tell us, a time of temptation for him. How, during those days, he must have longed for, and prayed for, some affirmation and reassurance that he was doing the right thing.
And that is what God gave him. Was it an internal spiritual or mystical experience or was it an external miracle seen and heard by others? We do not know for sure, but the message delivered to Jesus was crystal clear: “You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you.”
In his time of need, in his time of doubt and temptation, the Holy Spirit touches him, telling him, reassuring him, that he is not alone; that he is truly doing God’s work and that he is the ‘Beloved’, the one chosen and sent.
Can you imagine the peace and joy that must have given Jesus? Immediately afterwards, with renewed strength and conviction he begins his mission of teaching, healing and showing God’s love for his people.
Does Jesus doubt again? Yes, he does. In the agony in the garden, on the cross, and probably on many other occasions Jesus, in his times of prayer and solitude, must have once again asked for reassurance and affirmation. The message Jesus received at the transfiguration in Matthew’s Gospel (17) is almost identical to today’s one, “This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”. At the time of the transfiguration Jesus was tired and he knows his suffering draws near. Is it too much to see in the transfiguration another moment of personal reassurance and support?
At the moment of our own Baptism the same Holy Spirit reaches from Heaven and touches us, saying to us, “You are my child, my Beloved; my favour rests on you.”
We may not hear it as dramatically as Jesus did, but the Gospels are crystal clear: We are God’s children, not servants, but friends to Jesus, and heirs to the Kingdom.
And just as God was there to reassure and affirm Jesus in his times of tiredness and doubt and uncertainty and temptation, so too, God is present to us, in our moments of tiredness and doubt and uncertainty and temptation, whispering to us, “You are my child, my beloved, I am with you.”
St. Teresa of Avila was right: We can learn so much, and grow so much closer to God, by pondering Christ’s humanity, acknowledging that he, like us, had human emotions, weaknesses, and temptations. St. Teresa says it so much better than I can:
“You should remain with Christ, such a good friend, as long as you can. If you grow accustomed to having him present at your side,… you will not be able, as they say, to get away from him. …You will find him everywhere.”
What a lovely prayer to have on this Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
“Today, Lord, allow me to remain with you, to feel you present at my side, to find you everywhere and in everyone. Amen”
Many thanks,
Brian
If you have any comments, questions or thoughts on this scripture reflection you would like to share, I would be delighted to hear from you – please feel free to email me at b.maher@oblates.ie
| Gospel Sunday January 9th |
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| Luke 3:15-16,21-22 © |
