{"id":1859,"date":"2017-12-29T13:10:42","date_gmt":"2017-12-29T13:10:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/batkol.info\/?p=1859"},"modified":"2017-12-29T13:10:42","modified_gmt":"2017-12-29T13:10:42","slug":"baptism-of-the-lord","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/2017\/12\/29\/baptism-of-the-lord\/","title":{"rendered":"Baptism of the Lord"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Baptism of the Lord (January 7, 2018)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Isa 42:1-4, 6-7,; Ps 29:1-4, 9b-10; Acts 10:34-38; Matt 3:13-17\u00a0<\/p>\n

Theme: Baptismal gift and responsibility<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Download<\/a><\/p>\n

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I<\/em><\/strong>n today\u2019s Gospel story on the baptism of Jesus by John in the Jordan River we are told the identity of Jesus by a voice of heaven with these words: This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.<\/p>\n

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The phrase \u201ca voice from heaven\u201d may reflect or be connected with the rabbinic bat kol <\/em>(literally \u201cdaughter of a voice\u201d), that is, an echo of a word uttered in heaven. The rabbis speak of bat kol as a voice delivering a divine message proclaiming God’s will or judgment.<\/p>\n

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The manifestation of Jesus\u2019 identity before his public ministry can also be found in the Gospels of Mark and Luke.\u00a0 But in Matthew, this is made in the third person (\u201cThis is . . .\u201d) as opposed to the second person in Mark 1:11 and Luke 3:22 (\u201cYou are . . .\u201d).\u00a0 Does this make Matthew\u2019s version a more definitive manifestation?\u00a0 All three versions, however, as formulated have references and allusions from Hebrew Scriptures specifically from the books of Psalms, Genesis and Isaiah.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is my son\u201d echoes\u00a0 Psalm 2:7,\u00a0 a psalm used for the coronation of the king of the House of David\u00a0 that\u00a0 gives definite royal connotations\u00a0 and\u00a0 divine aspect as well since kings were believed to be related to the deity.<\/p>\n

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This also points to Jesus as the Messiah according to Raymond Brown. In Talmudic literature the title Moshiach, or Melech HaMoshiach (the King Messiah), is reserved for the Jewish leader who will redeem Israel in the End of Days and who is a direct descendant of the Davidic dynasty.<\/p>\n

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The designation \u201cmy beloved son\u201d recalls another beloved son, Isaac, son of Abraham and Sarah and father of Jacob, who was to be sacrificed as a burnt offering on one of the mountains.\u00a0 (Gen 22:2).<\/p>\n

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The additional \u201cwith whom I am well pleased\u201d echoes Isaiah 42:1 which describes the Servant of the Lord as \u201cmy chosen one with whom I am well pleased.\u201d\u00a0 This is said to point to Jesus as the Isaian Servant who is to bear the infirmities of many and be led to slaughter for the guilt of all (Isaiah 53:4-10).\u00a0<\/p>\n

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In summary, Jesus is identified in terms of characters in the Hebrew Scriptures – that of a Davidic king who is an adopted son of God, the longed-for messiah, Isaac and God\u2019s servant \u2013 indicating seemingly contradicting royalty, divinity and servanthood attributes. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Thus, according to a biblical scholar, the text manifesting Jesus\u2019 identity contains \u201ca surplus of meaning,\u201d combining royal and servant motifs along with the language from the tradition of the suffering just person (Wis 2:12-20). It foretells a far from easy ministry for Jesus, with the spectre of sacrifice, suffering and even death.<\/p>\n

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Today, as we read about the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, let us ponder upon our own baptism. The sacrament of baptism is called the sacrament of initiation (to belong to the Church and to mission). When we are baptized, God declares publicly that we are his children. (And I would like to believe also as beloved children with whom God is well pleased.)\u00a0 We belong to God\u2019s family and we are called to spread God\u2019s love.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0But like the life of Jesus, our lives as Christians may be far from simple. I don\u2019t think it is going to be a walk in the park all the time. Just as we are given a great gift, we also gave a great responsibility.\u00a0 Like Jesus and Isaiah\u2019s suffering servant we also may be asked to make sacrifices and to suffer for our faith. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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For Reflection and Discussion<\/em><\/strong>:<\/em> \u00a01) what do you believe to be your greatest gift as a member of the Church? 2) We renew our baptismal promises during Easter usually at the\u00a0Easter Vigil\u00a0or the Easter Sunday Mass.\u00a0 What has been the baptismal vow that you have found hard to keep? Why? How can you help others keep their baptismal promises?<\/p>\n

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Bibliography<\/em><\/strong>: <\/em>Bergant, Dianne. Preaching the New Lectionary, Year B<\/em>. (Manila, 2008), Brown, Raymond. Christ in the Gospels of the Ordinary Sundays<\/em>. (Bangalore, 1999), Harrington, Daniel ed. Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of Matthew (<\/em>Minnesota, 2009).<\/p>\n

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This week\u2019s teaching commentary was prepared by<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Minerva Generalao, Philippines, Bat Kol Alumna July 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

Email: mayneer@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright 2018<\/p>\n

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PLEASE NOTE<\/em><\/strong>: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol.\u00a0 Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

1983-2018<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cChristians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Baptism of the Lord (January 7, 2018) Isa 42:1-4, 6-7,; Ps 29:1-4, 9b-10; Acts 10:34-38; Matt 3:13-17\u00a0 Theme: Baptismal gift and responsibility \u00a0 Download \u00a0 In today\u2019s Gospel story on the baptism of Jesus by John in the Jordan River we are told the identity of Jesus by a voice of heaven with these words:…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":1855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1859"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1859"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1859\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}