Descending Like a Dove

January 13, 2008

Baptism of Christ

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, S.J.

I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness. Isaiah 42:5-7

Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, "In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him. Acts 10:34-35

John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him. Matthew 3:14-15

Piety

Help Me Live Your Kingdom

Lord, give me the grace to labor with you

without seeking myself –

to live the Kingdom

in its full reality

-- John Futrekk, SJ

(From Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits, edited by Michael Harter, SJ. Chicago: Jesuit Way, an imprint of Loyola Press, 2005)

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/011308.shtml

Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7

This theme of the suffering servant reveals the destiny of Christ. Jesus is being told his destiny. We all have a destiny. We are created in the image and likeness of Christ. To realize our Christian destiny is to accept ourselves fully. “Am I really willing to be who Christ would be if he had been lucky enough to be me?” We can say “no” to our destiny. That is what freedom is.

God’s awareness of the free choices we will make is part of his plan for the human race. God has picked the world where terrible things could happen by our free choice. The providence of God orders our world without making our destiny an order or robbing us of our freedom.

Parallels with Lord of the Rings: It was Frodo’s destiny to destroy the ring. He could have said no, but... Things are not always black and white. We may have to choose between evil and less evil or good and a greater good. Frodo (Christ) realized that the old prophecies applied to him.

Acts 10:34-38

God shows no partiality. He has appointed people from every nation to do good and to heal those possessed by the devil. We have God with us to do something about the evil that is in our world. God is open to all those who will accept his son. Jesus shows us how it is done in his doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil. As God was with Christ, he is with us when we are with Christ. What we do, we must do in the name of Christ. Our Apostolic action is planned and done with Christ as the energy of our heart’s love.

Matthew 3:13-17

The baptizer is less than the baptizee. John took Christ’s injunction to baptize Christ as a command. He knew he had to follow what Christ was asking of him whether or not he saw his destiny linked with Christ. Martin Luther King felt a kinship with Christ in his baptism. He felt the need to go and act, even though he knew he would be killed. He knew he had to be a leader. Many of us know we’re called to be leaders, though we shrink from our risks. We need to be listening to our hearts if we are to discern the path God has laid out for us.

Action

We look at Christ in our prayer. Events we are involved in will come up and they are not distractions. What comes into our prayer is blessed by being there. Pay attention to the distractions – maybe it is the Lord talking. The prayer of simple regard is thinking about what you’ll do that day. Anything you think of during the time of prayer, is blessed.

Are you willing to be yourself before the Lord? You have the opportunity to do small things (smile) and to thus bless people.

Our job during the day is to be available to what the Lord wants us to do, even in all the trivial things. Then we too will hear what Christ heard from the Father at the end of our journey. “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” It can only give us Christ if we are willing to take up our cross – accept the inconveniences of the day as God’s invitation. We don’t expect things to be easy or smooth – we accept the daily chaos as a good thing when we work in the name of Christ.

Behold the Lamb of God (John says this at Jesus’ baptism. The Glorious lamb, suffering lamb is foretold in Isaiah). This pointing out the destiny of Jesus, tying together the old prophecies and the future, is the work of the prophet. Three times in the Luke Gospel Jesus speaks of having to go to Jerusalem to suffer. He is conscious of His anointing as the Lamb. He is baptized into a destiny but has the freedom to choose and accept it.

If I go against my destiny, I am free to make this choice. Does happiness comes from fulfilling one’s destiny? There are moments that the destiny breaks through. But are there unaccepted graces stored away in heaven that are part of who we are in being part of who we could have been?