First reading: Is. 42: 1-4, 6-7
“Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I
am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the
nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the
street. A bruised reed he shall not
break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice
on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching. 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.”
Second reading: Acts 10: 34-38
“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. You know the word [that] he sent to the
Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all,
what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that
John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the holy Spirit and
power. He went about doing good and healing
all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.’”
Gospel reading: Mt. 3: 13-17
“Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be
baptized by him. 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. After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the
water and behold, the heavens were opened [for him], and he saw the Spirit of
God descending like a dove [and] coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying,
‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’”
Introductory theme summary:
The theme common to all three readings is the Holy
Spirit. In the first reading we have the
declaration of its being put on the Messiah; with the second reading conveying
the testimony that it had been given to Jesus and the works that confirmed it
having been so; and the gospel reading giving not only a physical description,
the dove, but also a contextual one.
Reflection:
Most significantly . . . , the gospel gives us the Father’s
declaration that Jesus is his “Beloved Son”, as the context for the image of
the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus in the form of a dove, which was to then
remain with him. The image of the dove
conveys the gentility of the Spirit given to him as described in the first
reading; but even more important is the declaration of “Beloved-ness”. The beloved-ness is the essence of the Holy
Spirit itself. Any authentic reception
of the Holy Spirit by anyone will recognize that same Spirit of beloved-ness as
well. Without perceiving the
overwhelming beloved-ness conveyed by the active presence of the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Spirit has not yet been perceived by that soul. This is not to imply that such a perception is
not possible, but rather it has yet to occur.
The reason is likely due to not fulfilling the conditions of
discipleship. What is seldom realized is
the full significance of Jesus conditions of discipleship; “If anyone wants to
come after me, he must deny himself, pick up his cross, daily, and follow me.” (Find quote)
That significance involves
recognizing these are conditions for anyone who wants to enter into the same
relationship with God the Father as Jesus had – becoming beloved, and thus know
the beloved-ness described above.
Part of the problem also involves fulfilling the individual
elements of those conditions of discipleship.
The first condition being: denying the self. A truly unappealing message to the people of
our present society who seek personal fulfillment as a measure for
distinguishing a good life. It is truly
not possible to seek personal fulfillment in this life and fulfill this
condition of discipleship. (For more on the subject) The second condition is:
picking up our cross daily. Again, what
this actually means is largely unknown.
Due to the fall from grace, our flesh is in a state of disorder in rebellion
against God’s ways of holiness.
Accepting our individual responsibility to resist this state of
rebellion while persevering in conforming our lives in compliance with God’s
ways of holiness is precisely what is meant by carrying our cross. (For more on the subject) The third condition is: Following him! As simple as this may seem, it isn’t. It actually involves subjecting our will to
God’s will. This is illustrated for us
by Christ ‘cup’ metaphor in the Garden of Gethsemane. In essence this condition involves our
becoming a slave of Christ as Paul[1]
and so many other disciples[2]
referred to themselves. (For more on the subject)
It is by fulfilling these three conditions of discipleship
that we show ourselves as truly loving God the Father; for it is only by loving
God with our entire mind, heart, spirit and strength that these conditions can
be met. Unless the individual soul has
fulfilled these three conditions just described, the beloved-ness conveyed by
the gospel image has not yet been realized. Regardless of how wonderful one might perceive
God’s love as being, imagine how it must pale compared to this state of
Beloved-ness, once these conditions are met.
Truly! Following
Christ in this way will involve a complete change of one’s entire being, but
don’t be put off by how intimidating it all seems. If you aspire to become beloved of God there
is no other way. This state is open to
all as is clearly explained in the second reading; “Anyone who fears him and
acts uprightly is acceptable to him.”
So come, take heart and surrender to the Lord. The love of God will never fail.
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