At least for Roman Catholics in the United States, today is the formal end of the Christmas season. There are those who, as with the Holy See, keep Christmas going for the old school forty days, that is, until 2 February when the Church celebrates the Fast of the Presentation of the Lord. Traditionally known as "Candlemas," the Presentation most certainly marks the end of Christmas.
While I don't like observing Epiphany on the Second Sunday after our observance of the Lord's Nativity, preferring the 12 Day of Christmas, I like extending the liturgical season to the Feast of the Lord's Baptism. Unbeknownst to most Catholics, Christ's "Epiphany" has a threefold character: His manifestation to the magi, His Baptism by John in the Jordan, and the Miracle at the Wedding Feast of Cana. The latter two manifestations marking the beginning of Jesus' public ministry in the Synoptics and John respectively.
This connection is made beautifully explicit in the hymn "Songs of Thankfulness and Praise," composed by Christopher Wordsworth in 1862. "God in man made manifest" is a wonderfully pithy and condensed way of stating the profound truth of the Incarnation of God's Only Begotten Son! I have long pondered why the magi encountering the Lord as infant in Bethlehem wasn't made one of the Luminous mysteries, especially given the the third Luminous mystery- the Proclamation of the Kingdom- is arguably "contained" in the first- Jesus' Baptism by John in the Jordan
Our reading from the tenth chapter of Acts, taking place as it does in the house of the Roman centurion Cornelius, who had summoned Peter, is part of what is often called "the Pentecost of the Gentiles." It was immediately after Peter's proclamation of the kerygma that the Holy Spirit descended on the members of that Gentile household. As a result, they were all baptized. Much like the magi, who represent the goyim (i.e., "the nations"), this episode shows the Gospel is for everyone. Through Christ, the one covenant is extended to all.
Baptism of Christ, by David Zelenka, 2005
This being Year A of the Sunday Lectionary, the account of Jesus' baptism proclaimed today is from Matthew's Gospel. It is in this Gospel that John demurs at the thought of baptizing the Christ. Jumping forward to the end of Matthew, we find the Great Commission:
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age (Matthew 28:19-29)I spent most of yesterday teaching the deacon candidates for our diocese. At one point, we were discussing the fact that baptism, not orders, is the fundamental sacrament of Christian life. In fact, when clerics vest for Mass (or most any liturgical service) the first vestment we put on is the alb. The alb is a baptismal garment. The stole, the sign of ordination, goes on top of the alb, and then the chasuble or dalmatic.
I couldn't think of a better way to say than "Baptism is a big damn deal!" Thinking back, "It is a big salvific deal!" Confirmation is so closely related to baptism that it's easy to miss in today's Gospel (or any of the canonical accounts of the Lord's Baptism) that in addition to being baptized, Jesus is also confirmed. What is confirmed for Jesus is His divine sonship. When you were confirmed, what was confirmed was also your divine sonship/daughterhood. While Jesus Christ is the Father's Only Begotten Son, we are the Father's children by adoption through Christ. This happened by the power of the Holy Spirit when you were reborn through the waters of baptism. What a marevlous work!
Baptism makes explicit what is implicit. Hence, your baptism, too, is a revelation! Baptism changes the nature of our relationship with God, allowing us to call God "Our Father." This is pleasing to Him. Who doesn't want to share this good news?
No comments:
Post a Comment