A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 6, n. 7)
Baptism of the Lord, Year A – January 13, 2008
“Manifestation … Mission”
BIBLE READINGS
Is 42:1-4, 6-7 // Acts 10:34-38 // Mt 3:13-17
N.B. Series 6 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year A from the perspective of the First Reading. For another set of reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year A, please go to the PDDM Web Archives: WWW.PDDM.US and open Series 3.
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
Today’s Feast of the Lord’s Baptism ends the Christmas-Epiphany season and ushers us into the Ordinary Time, which allows us to focus more on the messianic mission of Jesus as Divine Master-Shepherd. The silent, intense and long preparation of Jesus for his messianic ministry culminated in his baptism at the Jordan, which was his public investiture as the Son-Servant of Yahweh.
The meaning of the Baptism of the Lord Jesus finds deeper meaning against the backdrop of this Sunday’s reading about the Servant of Yahweh (Is 42:1-4, 6-7). This Old Testament reading comes from the first of the four songs of the “Suffering Servant” found in the book of Isaiah (42:1-9; 49:1-7; 50:4-11 and 52:13-53:12). In its original context of the Babylonian captivity, the “Suffering Servant” was the people of Israel, conceived in terms of its ideal destiny. Jesus Christ, however, personified the mysterious figure and radically fulfilled the ideal of the “Suffering Servant”.
The biblical scholar Carroll Stuhlmueller explains: “The songs portray the ideal Servant of God, the perfect Israelite, whose consecration to the divine will, even in the midst of overwhelming suffering, takes away the sins of many (53:12). The Servant is Israel, alive in all of her great leaders and intercessors … But the collective interpretation leads to an individual Servant of Supreme holiness, greater than any single Israelite of the past … Pre-Christian Judaism gave a messianic interpretation to the Servant Songs, but it was Jesus himself who clearly identified himself as the Servant.”
The figure of the “Suffering Servant” in the book of Isaiah represented the finest qualities of Israel and her leaders; he was the “chosen one” – the messianic king, prophet, teacher and victim destined to bring forth justice to the nations in a nonviolent, non-aggressive way. He was meant to lead and console the people of God, restoring goodness and wholeness among them. Gently and quietly, the Servant of Yahweh was to carry out his saving mission, transforming the people from within and not by military prowess or by whipping them into conformity. By way of sacrificial love, the Servant of Yahweh was to accomplish the saving plan of the loving, compassionate God to reunite the people of God and achieve the true covenant. Yahweh’s beloved Servant was destined to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement and to release from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
The use of the Isaiah 42 text in this Sunday’s liturgy of the Lord’s Baptism underscores that Jesus is Yahweh’s beloved Servant consecrated and empowered by the Holy Spirit for his messianic vocation as healer, liberator and restorer of all nations. At his baptism in the Jordan was the Father’s avowal: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” and the Spirit’s empowerment of him for his messianic ministry in the world. Indeed, today’s feast celebrates Yahweh’s act of epiphany or manifestation of Jesus as the Messiah-Son of God. It also celebrates his public consecration and anointing by the Spirit of Yahweh for his mission as Suffering Servant-Messiah.
Immersed into the sacramental waters and the paschal destiny of the Suffering Servant-Son of God, the baptized Christians replicate in their lives the saving event of Christ’s “manifestation” and “mission”. Harold Buetow remarks: “Our baptism is different from the baptism of Jesus. But like Jesus’ baptism, ours also involves manifestation and mission. With respect to manifestation, in virtue of our baptism we are called to show forth that the beloved Son of the Father lives in our hearts and the presence of Jesus in our world. Our call to mission means that we are sent out in the power of the Spirit to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom and, with Jesus, to do good. Both manifestation and mission call us, as Jesus called us, to be God’s servants, to live in harmony with one another, to work together for the unity for which Jesus prayed, to bring God’s justice to the world. All of that requires humility similar to Jesus’ own; a gentleness, yet a persistence that will not permit us to cop out; a healing, yet a challenging.”
The following is a testimony of the imprisoned brothers at the penitentiary in Tehuacan, Puebla in Mexico (cf. “In Prison We Encountered Christ” in INQUIETUD NUEVA: Revista Catolica de Evangelizacion, Noviembre-Diciembre 2006, p. 75-77). Having experienced the epiphany or “manifestation” of God’s all-inclusive, unconditional love in their lives and having been liberated by Christ’s saving mission, they in turn became “manifestation” of God’s abiding love and “missionaries” of his living Word.
We are a group of prisoners who, despite the circumstances in which we are found, we have had the joy of listening to the word of God, which has been transforming our lives little by little. We wish to share our experiences to give testimony that God, infinitely merciful, is able to transform the heart of any man who lets himself get molded by him. I still remember those moments of anguish and desperation when I first entered the CERESCO (common name for this prison). Before knowing God it felt like time did not go by, rather the hours extended eternally. There were moments in which solitude would get hold of me and the Evil one would attack, tempting me to escape, commit suicide, or to look for revenge, for there are many here paying for crimes they never committed, while the true criminals are “free” committing more crimes. When one is deprived of his freedom, it’s possible to get easily depressed, and that sometimes leads us to seek shelter using drugs. Today, thanks to God, we have understood that nothing can bring us greater happiness than knowing Christ, our God and Savior. We do not need anything more, because he who has God has it all. When one enters prison, many of us think that we are going to encounter bad people who will make our lives impossible. But God, who knows every man’s fears, did not allow this to happen. On the contrary, he puts people around us who give us courage. During our free time, many imprisoned brothers use this time to work and earn at least something to live off. In addition, work helps us to feel that here time does not pass by slowly. Something that has changed our lives are the moments in which we have contact with the word of God, which is alive and effective, for its message is always destined to touch today’s humanity. Most of us have had the opportunity to rediscover God once again, especially when attending the penitentiary’s chapel. Some of us have even received some sacraments, such as First Communion. In a recent visit by the Bishop, we meditated on how God loves us so much that, even if we are imprisoned, he wanted to be with us to fill us with his blessings … We do not know if our mishandled cases will be solved or our sentences reduced, but our hope is in God, to whom we shall give an account of our lives one day. Many times they have told us, “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God” (Rom 8:28), words that pronounce a great truth, yet very difficult to accept when it is our time to suffer! Thanks to the evangelization we have received from the Missionaries Servants of the Word, we now come to the conclusion that perhaps, if we were not imprisoned, we would have never been interested in knowing Christ. Nevertheless, God took advantage of our failures to transform us into new men, thus confirming what Romans 8:28 says. Today, we know that we too are called to be holy, and in spite of our errors, we can still reach it. The day that God allows us to obtain our freedom, the first thing that we will do is to thank him and remain in his love, not looking for revenge, but living a straight life. Through this testimony, which has not been easy to explain, we want to invite everyone, specially young people who enjoy their physical freedom, to value the dignity of being children of God, and avoiding committing actions that go against this dignity enslaving you. We do not pay for our faults in one day, they mark us for life: even those we love end up paying for them
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
What are the qualities of the “Servant of Yahweh” described in the Book of Isaiah? How is the “Servant” a corporate representation of Israel and a type of the ultimate “Servant of Yahweh” Jesus Christ?
2 How did Jesus carry out the mission of the messianic “Servant”? Why is Jesus the “Servant” in whom the Father is well pleased? How is the baptism of Jesus an “epiphany” or manifestation of his being a “Servant-Son” as well as a consecration to his mission as Messiah? What is the role of the Holy Spirit in the baptism of Jesus?
3 What do we understand about the sacrament of baptism that we have received? What is its personal meaning and implication? Is our life as baptized Christians a “manifestation” of our deep participation in the life of Christ, the “Servant-Son” of Yahweh? Is our life a total consecration to Christ’s ministry and saving mission?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: Loving Father, as we celebrate today the feast of our Lord’s Baptism, we thank you for manifesting him to us as your beloved Son-Servant. Anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit for his messianic mission, you sent him to bring healing and wholeness to peoples and to unite all nations. As our saving Lord, he was destined to open the eyes of the blind, to give freedom to prisoners and to liberate those in dark, gloomy dungeons. In the sacramental waters of baptism, we have been immersed into his paschal destiny as “Suffering Servant” called to bring forth justice to the nations. Help us to be faithful to our baptismal consecration that we may truly be “epiphanies” of your compassionate love for the broken-hearted. Together with Jesus Christ, may we carry out our mission to proclaim the Gospel and radiate your goodness and healing to the “bruised reed” and “smoldering wick” of our suffering world. We ask this through Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns forever and ever.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am well pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit.” (Is 42:1)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Meditate on the meaning of Jesus’ baptism and its personal challenges and implications. By your commitment to alleviate the sufferings of the poor, the sick and the imprisoned, let the beauty of the Christian baptismal consecration shine in today’s world.
ACTION PLAN: To help us experience more deeply the saving mystery of the Lord’s Baptism, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR (Vol. 4, n. 7): A Weekly Pastoral Tool.
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
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