Baptism of the Lord, Year A

Is 42:1-4, 6-7; Acts 10:34-38;  Mt 3:13-17

In the desert of Judea, John the Baptist preached a baptism of repentance, preparing the people for the coming of the kingdom of God through the Messiah. John’s baptism was only with water, not for the forgiveness of sin. In order to ratify John’ work and his mission, Jesus asked to be baptized by John. By submitting to baptism, Jesus wanted to show us the importance and necessity of the future sacrament of baptism. Later on, he said: No one can enter the Kingdom of God without being begotten of water and spirit (Jn 3:5).

Jesus' baptism marked his public ministry as servant, preacher and healer. That is why when Jesus walked out of the water, a voice was heard from the sky: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased (Mt 3:17). This voice from heaven in the Gospel of Mathew is almost identical with the word of Isaiah chosen for today’s mass: Here is my servant whom I uphold; my chosen one with whom I am pleased (Is 42:1). Who is the servant whom Isaiah means? After much study and discussion, most Jewish scholars identified the servant of Yahweh as the Israelites. In the Greek version of the Gospel of Matthew, the Greek word for servant is pais meaning either son or servant. This point helps to identify the suffering servant of Yahweh in Isaiah as the Son of God in Matthew’s Gospel. The Servant of Yahweh is identified as Jesus in the Acts of Apostles (Acts 3:13; 3:26; 4:27; 4:30).

By submitting himself to John’s baptism, Jesus made the mission of the Servant his own. On the Passion Sunday liturgy, we see Jesus’ image in the Suffering Servant of Yahweh in Isaiah, when the Servant said: My face I did not shield from buffets and spitting...knowing that I shall not be put to shame (Is 50:6c,7d). On Monday of the Holy week liturgy, we hear God speak about his Servant Son as follows: He will not cry out, nor make his voice heard in the street (Is 42:2).

On Tuesday of the Holy week liturgy, God said to his Servant Son: I will make you a light to the nations that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth (Is 49:6). On Wednesday of the Holy week liturgy, the Servant Son said of himself: I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard (Is 50: 6).

The Good Friday liturgy tells us about the Servant Son: He himself was wounded for our sins (Is 53:5).  As a servant does his master’s will, Jesus as the suffering servant also came to do the will of the Father. He committed himself to the work of redemption: to preach and teach God’s way, to suffer and die for sinful humankind and to heal the sins of humankind. The Suffering Servant was willing to accept suffering and death on the cross in order to take away the sins of the world.

Through baptism, we are called to be suffering servants in corporation with the work of salvation of Jesus. If the Israelites recognized themselves in the suffering servant of Yahweh in Isaiah, then should we, Christians recognize ourselves in the suffering servant of God with Christ? If we are to suffer, remember Jesus’ words: If you find that the world hates you, know it has hated me before you (Jn 15:18). That is what Jesus said: If a man wishes to come after me, he must deny his very self, take up his cross, and begin to follow in my footsteps (Mt 16:24). In another place, Saint Paul said: Are you not aware that we, who were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into his death (Rom 6:3)?

The Christian suffers with Christ does not mean we accept suffering as a dead end without escape. The Christian suffers and carries his cross for the love of God as to participate in the suffering with Christ and to share in Jesus’ glory. To suffer here is to suffer in body or spirit due to disease or circumstance or what is caused by others. The Christian should not seek or embrace suffering for the sake of suffering. Therefore when suffering in body or spirit, we need to seek healing. As long as we still carry within ourselves suffering in body or spirit, we need to find meaning for suffering and cross and ask for patience as to suffer for the love of God and for atonement for sins. To suffer and carry the cross that way, suffering and cross will become salvific, bringing salvation to soul.

Prayer for living according to the way of the Lord:

Oh Lord Jesus Christ!

You came to identify yourself

with the suffering servant in the book of Isaiah.

May I come to realize your way is the way of the cross and suffering

before the glorious resurrection.

May I also come to realize that

to be your disciple, I have to carry my cross

and follow in your footsteps according to your teaching. Amen.

 John Tran Binh Trong