Catechism Links**
Baptism of Jesus by John: 438
Baptism of the Holy Spirit compared to John's baptism: 720
importance of Jesus' Baptism: 536-537, 1223
**The Homiletic Directory does not provide links for the Baptism of the Lord. These references are taken from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, © 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. – Libreris Editrice Vaticana, pp. 756
CCC Cross Reference:
Is 42:1-9 713; Is 42:1 536, 555; Is 42:3 580; Is 42:6 580
Acts 10:35 761; Acts 10:38 438, 453, 486, 1289
Ps 29:2 2143
Mt 3:13-17 535, 1286; Mt 3:13 1223; Mt 3:14-15 608; Mt 3:15 536, 1224; Mt 3:16-17 1224; Mt 3:16 536; Mt 3:16 & par. 701; Mt 3:17 444, 713
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Reading 1
Is 42:1-4, 6-7
Thus says the Lord:
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.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10
R. (11b) The Lord will bless his people with peace.
Give to the Lord, you sons of God,
give to the Lord glory and praise,
Give to the Lord the glory due his name;
adore the Lord in holy attire.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters,
the Lord, over vast waters.
The voice of the Lord is mighty;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The God of glory thunders,
and in his temple all say, “Glory!”
The Lord is enthroned above the flood;
the Lord is enthroned as king forever.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
Reading II
Acts 10:34-38
Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered
in the house of Cornelius, saying:
“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
Mt 3:13-17
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.”
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Isaiah 42:1 – 7
Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom my soul delights.
I have endowed him with my spirit
that he may bring true justice to the nations.
He does not cry out or shout aloud,
or make his voice heard in the streets.
He does not break the crushed reed,
nor quench the wavering flame.
Faithfully he brings true justice;
he will neither waver, nor be crushed
until true justice is established on earth,
for the islands are awaiting his law.
I, the Lord, have called you to serve the cause of right;
I have taken you by the hand and formed you;
I have appointed you as covenant of the people and light of the nations,
to open the eyes of the blind,
to free captives from prison,
and those who live in darkness from the dungeon.
Psalm: Psalm 28:1-4,9-10
The Lord will bless his people with peace.
O give the Lord, you sons of God,
give the Lord glory and power;
give the Lord the glory of his name.
Adore the Lord in his holy court.
The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The Lord’s voice resounding on the waters,
the Lord on the immensity of waters;
the voice of the Lord, full of power,
the voice of the Lord, full of splendour.
The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The God of glory thunders.
In his temple they all cry: ‘Glory!’
The Lord sat enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits as king for ever.
The Lord will bless his people with peace.
Second reading Acts 10:34 – 38
Peter addressed them: ‘The truth I have now come to realize’ he said ‘is that God does not have favorites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him.
‘It is true, God sent his word to the people of Israel, and it was to them that the good news of peace was brought by Jesus Christ – but Jesus Christ is Lord of all men. You must have heard about the recent happenings in Judea; about Jesus of Nazareth and how he began in Galilee, after John had been preaching baptism. God had anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil.
Gospel Matthew 3:13 – 17
Then Jesus appeared: he came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. John tried to dissuade him. ‘It is I who need baptism from you’ he said ‘and yet you come to me!’ But Jesus replied, ‘Leave it like this for the time being; it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that righteousness demands’. At this, John gave in to him.
As soon as Jesus was baptized he came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And a voice spoke from heaven, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests on him’.
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Feast: Baptism of the Lord
From: Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
First Song of the Servant of the Lord
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(Thus says the Lord,) [1] "Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the nations. [2] He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; [3] a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. [4] He will not fail or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.
[6] "I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, [7] to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness."
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Commentary:
42:1-9. The Lord, who revealed his power by creating the world (40:12-31) and showed his determination to save mankind by his intervention in history (4l:1-29), now announces a new stage in his plans (v. 9). To advance them he will give a special mission to the "servant of the Lord"; in the prophetic text, this personage plays the key role in making known and putting into effect the salvific plans of God. Four passages over the course of chapters 42-55 speak of the servant and his mission; these passages may originally have made up a poem of their own. These oracles are usually called the "Songs of the Servant". Most biblical scholars see 42:1-9 as being the first song or, rather, the first stanza of that poem. The other three passages are: 49:1-6; 50:4-11; and 52:13-53:12. They combine to make a very beautiful poem, but they raise difficult questions as to style and content. They have been the subject of a great deal of commentary, and the identity of the "servant" is still a matter of debate. Those who consider the four passages to be parts of the one poem take it that the "servant" in each is one and the same person and has one and the same mission. Scholars who do not regard the four passages as originally part of a single poem interpret the person and mission of the servant as being different in each.
There are basically three theories as to who the servant is. One theory is that he is a particular individual -- a king of the house of Judah, or the prophet himself or, Of course, a future Messiah, who will redeem Israel The second theory is that the servant is a collectivity he stands for Israel, or for some group within Israel. The third theory argues that the servant is meant to be depicted ambiguously -- that is in a way that allows him to be interpreted in both of the ways mentioned previously -- as a person of significance but someone who can symbolize all Israel.
In this first song (vv 1-9) the servant certainly comes across as a figure of mystery: v. 1 gives him very special universal transcendental attributes, Verses 2-3a show his humility but they are followed immediately by verses saying that he is someone able to "establish justice in the earth", to be "a light to the nations' someone who can "bring light to the nations" and "open the eyes that are blind arid set captives free...". The "servant" can do all this because the Lord has "put his Spirit on him" (cf. v. 1), that is, he is someone chosen by God and he has the help of the Spirit of the Lord to carry out his mission to teach his Law to the very ends of the earth. So, these words could be describing the prophet's own conviction that he has a mission to perform -- to proclaim the word of God; a mission that he did not seek but, rather, had given to him. But the servant could also stand for the whole people of Israel (cf. 41:8) -- for in the same way were the people chosen by God to bear witness to him before all mankind concerning the Law they had received from the Lord.
The Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles without attempting to discover exactly who this servant was originally (or whom he was meant to stand for) interpreted the main features of the servant as being a prophecy about Jesus, in whom the Father is most pleased, and who, in the unity of the Holy Spirit is truly the light for all nations and the liberation of all the oppressed. For example, in the accounts of the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan and of the Transfiguration, the voice of the Father refers to those features: This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased (Mt 3:17); "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" (Lk 9:35). The Gospel of Matthew, which makes a point of showing that the Scriptures find fulfillment in Jesus, explicitly quotes vv. 2-4 of this oracle of Isaiah to show that in Jesus is fulfilled the prophecy of the servant, who was rejected by the leaders of the people and whose quiet and kindly teaching would bring the light of truth to the world (Mt 12:15-21). And later in his Gospel, when St Matthew recounts the passion and death of our Lord (cf. Mt 27:30), he again makes the link between Christ and the servant.
The expression "light to the nations" (v. 6) seems to find an echo in what Jesus says about his being the light of the world (Jn 8:12; 9:5) and also in the "Benedictus" of Zechariah (Lk 1:78-79). There is an evocation of v. 7 in Jesus' reply to the messengers from John the Baptist who ask him whether he is he who is to come (cf. Mt 11:4-6: Lk 7:18-22); cf. the note on 29:15-24. And so St Justin will say, commenting on vv. 6-7: "Everything that is said here, my friends, refers to Christ and to the peoples who have been enlightened by his presence" (Dialogus Cum Tryphone", 122,2).
The Church in the Second Vatican Council acknowledges her duty to strive to use every opportunity to show that Christ is truly, the "light of the nations" (v. 6): "Christ is the Light of nations. Because this is so, this Sacred Synod gathered together in the Holy Spirit eagerly desires by proclaiming the Gospel to every creature, to bring the light of Christ to all men a light brightly visible on the countenance of the Church ("Lumen Gentium", 1).
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From: Acts 10:34-38
Peter's Address
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[34] And Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality, [35] but in every nation any one who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. [36] You know the word which he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), [37] the word which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: [38] how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
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Commentary:
34-43. Peter's short address is his first to non-Jews. It begins with the central idea that God is impartial: he wants all men to be saved through the proclamation of the Gospel (vv. 34-36). This is followed by a summary of Jesus' public life (vv. 37-41) and, finally, the statement (the first time it appears in Acts) that Jesus Christ has been made Judge of the living and the dead (v. 42). As in all Christian preaching to Gentiles, proofs from Scripture take a secondary place (v. 43).
34. This verse refers to 1 Samuel 16:7, where the Lord, in connection with the anointing of David as king of Israel, tells the prophet, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." When God calls and offers salvation to his elect, he does not judge as men do. With him distinctions regarding social class, race, sex or education do not count.
Here St Peter proclaims that the Old Testament prophecies about the Jews and the Gentiles forming one single nation (Is 2:2-4; Joel 2:28; Amos 9:12; Mich 4:1 ) and Jesus' words calling everyone to enter his Kingdom (cf. Mt 8:11; Mk 16:15-16; Jn 10:16) should be interpreted literally.
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From: Matthew 3:13-17
Jesus is Baptized
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[13] Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. [14] John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" [15] But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. [16] And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him; [17] and lo, a voice from heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."
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Commentary:
13. Jesus spent about thirty years (Lk 3:23) in what is normally called his "hidden life". We should marvel at the silence of the Incarnate Word of God during this period. There may be many reasons why he waited so long before beginning his public ministry, but one factor may have been the Jewish custom whereby rabbis did not carry out their function as teachers until they were thirty years old. Whatever the reason, by his long years of work beside St Joseph, our Lord teaches all Christians the sanctifying value of ordinary life and work. The Baptist prepares the people to receive the Messiah, according to God's plan; and it is only then that Jesus commences his public life.
14. St John's reluctance to baptize Jesus is not surprising since he had given such forthright witness to Him. Jesus did not need to be baptized by John since he had no sin, but he chose to receive this baptism (see the note on v. 15) before beginning to preach, so to teach us to obey all God's commands (he had already subjected himself to circumcision, presentation in the temple and being redeemed as the first-born). God wished Jesus to humble himself even to the extent of submitting to the authority of others.
15. "Righteousness" (or "justice") has a very deep meaning in the Bible; it refers to the plan which God, in his infinite goodness and wisdom, has marked out for man's salvation. Consequently, "to fulfill all righteousness" should be, understood as fulfilling God's will and designs. Thus, we could translate "fulfill all righteousness" as: "fulfill everything laid down by God." Jesus comes to receive John's baptism and hence recognizes it as a stage in salvation history -- a stage foreseen by God as a final and immediate preparation for the messianic era. The fulfillment of anyone of these stages can be called an act of righteousness. Jesus, who has come to fulfill his Father's Will (Jn4:34), is careful to fulfill that saving plan in all its aspects. See the note on Mt 5:6.
16. Jesus possessed the fullness of the Holy Spirit from the moment of his conception. This is due to the union of human nature and divine nature in the person of the Word (the dogma of the hypostatic union). Catholic teaching says that in Christ there is only one person (who is divine) but two natures (divine and human).
The descent of the Spirit of God spoken of in the text indicates that just as Jesus was solemnly commencing his messianic task, so the Holy Spirit was beginning his action through him. There are very many texts in the Old Testament which speak of the showing forth of the Holy Spirit in the future Messiah. This sign of the Spirit gave St John the Baptist unmistakable proof of the genuineness of his testimony concerning Christ (cf. Jn 1:29-34). The mystery of the Holy Trinity is revealed in the baptism of Jesus: the Son is baptized; the Holy Spirit descends on him in the form of a dove; and the voice of the Father gives testimony about his Son. Christians must be baptized in the name of the three divine persons. "If you have sincere piety, the Holy Spirit will descend on you also and you will hear the voice of the Father saying to you from above: 'This was not my son, but now afte Baptism he has been made my son"' (St Cyril of Jerusalem, "De Baptismo", 14).
17. Literally, as the RSV points out, "This is my Son, my (or the) beloved". When the expression "the beloved" goes with "the son", normally it refers to an only son (cf. Gen 16; Jer 6:26; Amos 8:10; Zech 12:10). Repetition of the article and the solemnity of the passage show that, in the language of the Bible, Jesus is not just one more among the adopted sons of God, nor even the greatest of them. Rather, it declares strongly and correctly that Jesus is "the Son of God", the Only-begotten who is totally different from other men because of his divine nature (cf. Mt 7:21; 11:27; 17:5; Jn 3:35; 5:20; 20:17; etc.).
Here we can see the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies, especially Isaiah 42:1, which is applied now to Jesus through the voice of the Father speaking from heaven.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
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