THIS IS MY SON, THE BELOVED

THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD - Matthew 3:13-17

The feast of the baptism of the Lord is part of the great solemnity of Epiphany. In this feast, we are invited to reflect on Jesus’ baptism and our own baptism. Jesus’ baptism reveals the mystery of the Messiah and sets forth the profound significance of our own baptism. 

Speaking of baptism, we must realise that we were not baptised with John’s baptism. He came to baptise in water as a sign of repentance (Mt 3:11; Jn 1:26). We were baptised in Jesus Christ with the baptism of the Spirit. Jesus explained to Nicodemus that to enter the Kingdom of God, we must be “born of water and the Spirit” (Jn 3:5).

According to the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), the baptism of Jesus was followed by a great theophany that revealed Jesus as the Son of God, being anointed by the Holy Spirit to carry out the Father’s plan of salvation. Jesus is the beloved Son who came into this world, taking on our human nature to reconcile us with the Father, making it possible for us to be children of God.

The second reading presents Jesus as the anointed one, that is, the Messiah or the Christ. All Jews were waiting for the coming of the Messiah. Their expectations were high: they thought of the Messiah as a king and a liberator who would overpower and defeat all those who had oppressed the people of Israel. The Messiah should have a political role, establishing a kingdom of justice and peace. They ignored or put aside the prophecies that announced a suffering servant who would carry our sins and be overburdened by our pains. In his baptism, Jesus accepts his mission and is invested in his ministry. And he will do it as the servant of the Lord announced by the prophet Isaiah.

Following Jesus’ path, in our baptism, we were anointed with the Holy Spirit, and the Father spoke over us, saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.” In baptism, we were born from above as children of God. 

Today, let us give thanks for our baptism, renewing our commitment to be faithful to Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth and the life.

THE NATIONS COME TO YOUR LIGHT

 THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD - Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6

The Epiphany, being older than Christmas, is among the oldest feasts in the Christian calendar. On this feast, we celebrate the manifestation of Jesus as Son of God and Saviour of the world. In the Western Churches, the feast focuses on the Magi who came to Jesus and recognised him as divine. Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan and his first miracle at Cana are celebrated as an integral part of Epiphany, that is, Jesus’ manifestation to the world. In the Eastern Churches, the Epiphany focuses mainly on the baptism, in which Jesus is anointed by the Holy Spirit and recognised as the Son by the Father.

Tradition has considered the Magi to be kings, giving them names: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. Speaking of the Magi, Matthew tells us only that they came from the East. Were they kings? Probably not. For sure, we know that they were foreigners, that is, Gentiles. And those Gentiles were ready to go through great difficulties to find the Messiah and pay homage to him. And Matthew stresses the contrast between those Gentiles and the people of Jerusalem who felt threatened by a humble child. Herod was ready to deceive, hiding his murderous plan to get rid of the Child.

The Magi stand for the Gentiles – that is, for all of us who are not Jews. In this feast, Jesus is affirmed as the light of the world, who disperses the darkness of this world and overcomes the slavery of sin. Jesus came to be the Saviour of the World. And we celebrate that with a joyful heart full of thanksgiving. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul summarises the mystery celebrated in the feast of Epiphany:

“It means that pagans now share the same inheritance, that they are parts of the same body, and that the same promise has been made to them, in Jesus Christ, through the gospel.” (Ep 3:6)

With the psalmist, let us sing the praises of the Lord:

“All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.”

God sent his Son, born of a woman

MARY, THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD - Galatians 4:4-7

We begin the New Year in good company, with the Virgin Mary, proclaimed as the Mother of God. We may be surprised and even puzzled by such a title attributed to Mary. And we may be accused of blasphemy. The title 'Mother of God’ is not understood as meaning that Mary existed before God and gave birth to a god that did not exist before. The title is a proclamation of faith in her son, Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. Saint Paul affirmed it very clearly when he wrote to the Galatians, “God sent his Son, born of a woman” (Gal 4:4). In the Council of Ephesus (431), Nestorius was condemned, and the title of ‘Theotokos' was approved, thus affirming that in Jesus Christ, there is only one person, the person of the Son of God, who assumed human nature.

Thus, we begin the New Year in the company of Mary and with a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. Indeed, Mary is the most blessed and full of grace. She is the highly favoured one. In her favour, she leads us to Christ, who is the Prince of Peace. We entrust the New Year to the Virgin Mary so that she may present us to Christ, who is the way, the truth and the life.

Happy New Year to all of you.

OVER ALL THESE, PUT ON LOVE

THE HOLY FAMILY - Matthew 2:13-15,19-23

On the Sunday after Christmas, we celebrate the Holy Family, which is Jesus' family. We know nearly nothing about his extended family, as we find no more than a few references to his relatives in the gospels. However, we do know his nuclear family, composed of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus himself. 

The nuclear family is the basis of any human society and, as such, it must be protected and strengthened. In a family, life is nurtured by the fire of love, but in our time, the family is being threatened and attacked. There are ideologies and groups that promote them, which despise and devalue the family and its importance in society and in the upbringing of children. Many families willingly abdicate their responsibility in favour of a form of the State that overlooks and overrides everything. They take the children away from their families and impose a form of education that ignores their parents ' concerns. 

A married couple forms the beginning of a new family and is called to be at the service of life. Indeed, every child that comes into this world has the right to be welcomed and loved by its parents. A couple dominated by selfishness will not fulfill its calling. Their mission is to nurture life and be at its service. That is only possible with love. Only love provides the strength, patience, persistence , and resilience to live for the children. Only love makes it possible to find joy and peace in the love of their children. We can see that in the Holy Family. Joseph took good care of Mary and Jesus. He accepted that responsibility without questioning or complaining and acted upon it when it took them to Egypt and then brought them back to Nazareth. When Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, Joseph and Mary became very worried and looked for Jesus tirelessly. Later, during Jesus' public ministry, Mary was never far away. She accompanied Jesus to Jerusalem and then to Calvary, sharing his joy and pain. 

The first reading emphasizes the love, full of respect and care, that children must have for their parents. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul speaks of relationships based on love between parents and then between them and their children. 

As a summary, let us meditate on Paul's words: “You are God’s chosen race, his saints; 

he loves you, 

and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, 

in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. 

Bear with one another; 

forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. 

The Lord has forgiven you; 

now you must do the same. 

Over all these clothes, 

to keep them together 

and complete them, 

put on love. 

And may the peace of Christ 

reign in your hearts, 

because it is for this that you were called together 

as parts of one body. 

Always be thankful.” (Colossians 3:12-21).

A CHILD BORN FOR US

 CHRISTMAS DAY - Isaiah 9:1-7

Let us celebrate this Child born for us.

He is the source of our hope,

In Him and through Him

We find peace, giving glory to God.

THE PROMISE IS FULFILLED

IV SUNDAY OF ADVENT - Matthew 1:18-24

Reading the Old Testament and paying attention mainly to the prophets, we notice that the People of Israel was guided by the promises along the centuries of their history. In their darkest times, they were strengthened by the hope that was rooted in the promises, mainly the biggest of all, that the Messiah was coming to establish the Kingdom of God, a kingdom of justice, freedom and peace.

This Sunday’s first reading, presents a text from Isaiah, which has been read and understood  as the Promise of the Messiah, who comes to us as being “God-is-with-us”. To the king, Isaiah promised the birth of a son who would be the heir to his throne: “the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son”. (Is 7:10-14).  Later, the Septuagint, the first Greek translation of the Old Testament, understood the passage as referring to the Messiah, stressing the divine character of that child that will be conceived by a virgin: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel”, as we read in Matthew’s gospel.

Guided by the gospel of Matthew, we are invited to contemplate the fulfilment of the Promise. Matthews stresses the role of Joseph whom God chose to be the guardian both of the Virgin and of the child born from her. Through Joseph, Jesus belongs to the family of David and he came to claim the royal throne of a universal kingdom. In Matthew’s gospel, the annunciation of Jesus’ birth was made to Joseph who was ordered to accept Mary as his spouse and protect her, because through her the Promise was going to be fulfilled and the Redeemer was going to be born: “She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.” His power to save comes from his divine status. Indeed, “they will call him Emmanuel, a name which means ‘God-is-with-us’”.

At the beginning of his letter to the Romans, Paul reflects upon the mystery of Incarnation and presents us with the crux of what we celebrate at Christmas: Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who, taking human nature,“was a descendant of David”. We are called to “the obedience of faith”, being sure that through him we receive grace and salvation (Ro 1::1-7).

COME, LORD, AND SAVE US

III SUNDAY OF ADVENT - Matthew 11:2-11

On this third Sunday of Advent, we are invited to have a good look at John the Baptist, whom Jesus exalted as the greatest of “the children born of women”. He was an upright man who did not swerve right or left according to the convenience of the moment. He remained faithful to his calling and paid for it with his life. In his preaching, he was straightforward, speaking plainly and addressing the issues with clarity. His life, lived in the desert under harsh conditions, was a protest against the status quo, which he considered a betrayal of the covenant. To the people who came to him, he spoke as he lived, calling them to repentance and conversion. He was aware of the mission entrusted to him: to be a voice in the desert, calling out to prepare the ways of the Lord. At Jesus’ baptism, John recognised him to be the Messiah. However, despite his sincerity and honesty, John was carried away by the common ideas about the Messiah, whom he expected to come with power to judge and inflict punishment on all those who refused to repent and convert. He announced that the Messiah would come with an axe in his hands to cut down the trees that produce no fruit of justice and faithfulness. Jesus did not fit into that picture. He did not show forth the wrath of God, but his mercy and love. Before this unexpected turn, John had his misgivings. Maybe he was mistaken; maybe they should wait for another to be the Messiah. Jesus answered John with reassuring words, telling him and all of us, “Happy is the man who does not lose faith in me.”

John was great, but he remained at the threshold of the New Testament. He belonged to and completed the line of prophets who guided people on the way of righteousness and strengthened them with God’s promises of a Redeemer.

In the first reading, Isaiah reaffirms the Promise: 

Look, your God is coming,

vengeance is coming,

the retribution of God;

he is coming to save you.’

And with the psalm we pray, “Come, Lord, and save us.”

This assurance of the Lord’s coming gives us strength to go on walking along the path to salvation:

Strengthen all weary hands,

steady all trembling knees

and say to all faint hearts,

‘Courage! Do not be afraid. (Is 35:1-6, 10)

We are invited to rejoice, because we “shall see the glory of the Lord, the splendour of our God.”

In the second reading, taken from James, we are invited to be patient:

“Be patient, brothers, until the Lord’s coming.” (James 5:7-10)