The Baptism of the Lord, January 10, 2021

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Gospel: Mark 1:7–11

Theme: Jesus is God’s beloved; we have been initiated into Jesus’ life and mission through baptism

Mark 1:7–11

And this is what John the Baptist proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the holy Spirit.”

It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Music Meditations

Opening Prayer

From the Mass for the feast of the Baptism of Jesus:

Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan did proclaim him your beloved Son and anoint him with the Holy Spirit, grant that all who are baptized into his name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior.

Companions for the Journey

From “First Impressions”, a service of the southern Dominican Province, written by Jude Siciliano, O.P.:

Mark makes sure we don’t miss Jesus’ importance and the significance of the event. Immediately after John baptizes him, the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus and he hears the voice from heaven affirming his identity. If this were a movie there would be a blast of trumpets; if it were a play, a spotlight would suddenly shine on Jesus. Mark does a similar thing—he turns a “spotlight” on Jesus with the voice from heaven. Later in the gospel Mark will introduce a similar voice at another dramatic moment, on the mountain of Transfiguration. At Jesus’ crucifixion, a Roman soldier speaks the message, “Truly this man was the Son of God.”

At Jesus’ baptism there are two familiar biblical images—water and the Spirit. We recognize in these biblical themes that go through the Old Testament, all the way back to the opening lines of Genesis—where there was also water and the hovering Spirit. Mark is suggesting that, through Jesus, a new creation is about to take place. What was destroyed by sin and disobedience is about to be restored by the coming hoped-for Messiah who brings the Holy Spirit with him.

On the first Sunday of Advent we heard the lament from Isaiah that became our prayer of longing, “Rend the heavens and come down”. Today, Mark tells us, God is doing just that, answering our prayer and coming to our aid: the heavens are “torn open” and the same Spirit present at the creation of the world, has again come upon the face of the earth. Besides human misery there is so much beauty at every turn in the world. But this beautiful earth itself is damaged by our sinful excesses. Is it the smog over the city below that makes the sky color so? We need to be washed in the same Holy Spirit that descended upon Jesus at his baptism.

Today’s scriptures and feast assure us that our Advent prayer is answered; God has torn open the heavens and come upon us and also on the waiting earth. Mark makes it clear that the rending of the heavens, the descent of the Spirit and the voice itself, were personal experiences for Jesus. (”On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn and the Spirit, like a dove descending on him. And a voice came from the heavens, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’”) Jesus is being commissioned; he will now begin his life of public ministry. From this point on his ministry will manifest the power the Baptist anticipated. Yet, Jesus will meet resistance from powerful forces that will eventually crush him. The confirmation Jesus received at his baptism will be a strength for him as he faces rejection from religious leaders and even abandonment by his disciples.

I didn’t hear any voices at my baptism—I was an infant. I dare say neither did those baptized as adults. But we have heard that voice many times since our baptisms, haven’t we? Whenever we were faced with choices: the easy way out or the way of integrity; the truth or a lie; an opportunity to help someone, or move on; an effort to correct a wrong or turn a blind eye—didn’t we hear an interior voice reminding us who we are by our baptism? “You are my beloved child with you I am well pleased.” Didn’t we pray for guidance to make the right choices and strength to follow through on our decisions? At those decisive and testing moments did we turn to God for help? Were we strengthened by that same Spirit the Baptist promised Jesus would baptize us with; a Spirit that is powerful in us, recreates us and forms us into, what Genesis describes as, God’s image and likeness? Those who are called to give witness to the God of love, compassion and justice are not left on their own by God. The Spirit is given them to do their work—God’s work. We can look it up: the gift of God’s Spirit is right there in every book of the bible, starting in Genesis and now present at the beginning of Mark’s gospel—and Jesus freely anoints us with that Spirit that was with him and now is with us. John the Baptist promised that Jesus would baptize us with the Spirit. Baptism inaugurated Jesus’ mission and Mark was reminding the early Christians, as he does today for us, that through their baptism they too were sent on mission. We are not baptized into a stay-at-home community to enjoy our gatherings, sing our hymns and say our prayers. There is too much need in the world. But, if Jesus’ life with the Spirit is any clue, we too will face resistance, suffering and possibly death, as Jesus did.

There is a lot in my life that awaits me and will challenge my commitment to Christ. How will I respond? On my own—“forget about it.” But today Mark reminds us again that we are not on our own. We have been baptized into the Spirit of Jesus, a Spirit of power expressed in service that may require much personal sacrifice. That Spirit is more than enough to finish the work God has begun in Jesus and continues in us.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • Can you recall a time when you were affirmed by someone in your life?
  • Has there ever been a time in your life when you felt that you started anew?
  • What is special about you?
  • Do you believe that you have been sealed with God’s seal?
  • Can you think of any people who lived out their baptismal call?
    Was there a price to be paid?
  • In my academic or business world, in my social world, in my personal relationships, in my moral landscape generally:
    What are my baptismal privileges?
    What are my baptismal expectations?
    What are my baptismal obligations?
  • Which is more important: baptism or ordination?

  • By Barbara Reid, O.P., in America, the national Jesuit weekly magazine:

    Recall a time in which you were aware of God’s great delight in you.
    Am I aware that baptism means more than membership in a church?

    As you savor that experience in prayer, how are you empowered to share that love?
    Pray for the openness to regard all others as beloved daughters and sons of God who “shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34).

  • By Fr. Paul Gallagher, in “First Impressions”:

    Of what significance to you is your baptism?
    Why did your parents have you baptized?
    Why does the church baptize?

    Do you think your parents were proud of you?
    Can you recall a specific time when your parents let you know that they were proud of you?
    What effect did that have on you?

    Do you know people who lived much of their life without one of their parents?
    Did that affect them?

    Do you think that Jesus had sense that God approved of the way he was living his life?
    How do you think it affected him?

    Do you think that God is proud of you?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Adapted from a homily by Fr. William Bausch:

At one time, in the first three centuries of the Church, Baptism was a scary, life-changing event. It signified that the person being baptized was going to have to play the game of life by a different and counter-cultural set of rules. Baptismal sponsors were those who walked with the one seeking initiation into the Church, mentoring her, supporting him. At one’s baptism, those same sponsors were present throughout the various rites to testify that the initiate lived a life that exemplified the principles upon which Christianity was based.

Then, in about the fourth century, Church membership (as ratified by baptism) became the politically correct thing to do in order to succeed in a Christian society which emanated from the Emperor or king down. Baptism gradually became an assent to a series of theological precepts and ideas rather than an entre into a moral landscape which required certain behaviors and precluded others. Baptism became an entrance into a “club” rather than a challenge to live a certain way. The rise of infant baptisms intensified those changes, and godparents and the congregations alike asserted creedal beliefs which they were required to pass on to the newborn. Gradually, baptism became a private family celebration rather than one participated in by the entire community. The RCIA program for adults wishing to become Catholic has tried to revive some of the original meaning of the early sacrament, but it is sometimes a hard sell, even among the clergy.

Has my own personal upbringing emphasized my initiation into a life of service, modeling Christ? Do I see any connection between this story of Jesus’ baptism and my own baptismal call? Do I ever think of myself as sealed with God’s seal? What does that mean to me? If I have been a godparent, has this been a purely ceremonial experience, or have I actively been involved in the religious and moral formation of the one for whom I have acted as godparent? What do I need to change in my understanding of the meaning of my baptism?

Poetic Reflection:

Father Michael Kennedy, S.J. thinks about Jesus’ reaction to his own baptism:

“Thank You Dad”

(Baptism of the Lord)

It really is quite
Amazing how seldom
We praise our children
Or friends or even the
One closest to being
Our true heart mate
For it seems we are
Troubled by some
Dismaying anxiety
That if a nice word is
Even whispered the
Beneficiary will have
A head that explodes
From arrogance

But the gracious Lord
Who made us will have
None of this stupid worry
For he gives praise every
Single time he calls each
And every one of us one
Of His beloved children
And he does this every
Second of our lives
So it is like a never
Ending encore of
His pledging love
Again and again
And yet again

So perhaps
Instead of rejecting
The pledge of love
We need to seize a
Cue from this mentor
Who as he completed
Baptism by John was
Said to have heard the
Father say that he was
His beloved child and
Is it not likely that in
His heart the newly
Baptized one
Said simply
Thank you
Dad

—from Musings by Michael

Poetic Reflection:

This poem, by Mary Oliver, can be used to discuss: a) the sense of obligation Jesus must have felt to his relatives to continue in the family trade and to follow their wishes instead of the wishes of his heavenly Father; and b) the obstacles we sometimes need to overcome in order to do what we are called to do:

“The Journey”

One day you finally knew
what you had to do and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice—
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
around your ankles.
”Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do—
determined to save
the only life you could save.