Vol. 38 No. 10                      JANUARY 09, 2011   THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD (Cycle  A)  Baptism as fulfilling all righteousness     ENTRANCE ANTIPHON When the Lord had been baptized, the heavens opened, and the Spirit came down like a dove to rest on him. Then the voice of the Father thundered: This is my beloved Son, with him I am well pleased. (Mt 3:16-17) PENITENTIAL RITE “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven,” says Jesus in St Matthew’s Gospel. We also hear Jesus asking John the Baptist to baptize him in order “to fulfil all righteousness.” At times our understanding of righteousness is limited to cultic and spiritual fields. We seem to be busy carrying out all the pious practices, but our lifestyle proves to be ineffective. Let us ask God, the source of all goodness, to widen our understanding of true righteousness and to forgive us for all the times we have judged people as unrighteous. (Pause) I confess... Glory to God in the highest,/and peace to his people on earth./Lord God, heavenly King,/almighty God and Father,/we worship you,/we give you thanks,/we praise you for your glory./Lord Jesus Christ,/only Son of the Father,/Lord God, Lamb of God,/you take away the sin of the world:/have mercy on us;/you are seated at the right hand of the Father,/receive our prayer./For you alone are the Holy One,/you alone are the Lord,/you alone are the Most High,/Jesus Christ,/with the Holy Spirit,/in the glory of God the Father./Amen.   OPENING PRAYER  Almighty, eternal God, when the Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan, you revealed him as your own beloved Son. Keep us, your children born of water and the Spirit, faithful to our calling. We ask this… FIRST READING (Prophet Isaiah describes the righteousness of the servant of Yahweh. As the beloved and chosen one of Yahweh he becomes the symbol of justice for all the nations.)   A reading from the Book of Isaiah    (42:1-4,6-7)   Thus says the Lord: “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. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not fail or be discouraged till he has established justice on the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. 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, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.” This is the Word of the Lord PSALM  (28) Response: 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. R./ 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. R./ 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. R./ SECOND READING (St Peter mentions the righteousness of God as His impartiality towards all, the Jews as well as the Gentiles, who become the beloved children of God through the baptism of the Holy  Spirit.)   A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (10:34-38) Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the word which he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), the word which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: 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.” This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION  (Mk 9:7) Alleluia, alleluia! A voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son, listen to him.” Alleluia! (Mk 9:7) GOSPEL (St Matthew narrates the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist in the river Jordan. At baptism, Jesus’ true identity as the Son of God is revealed.)   A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Matthew (3:13-17)   Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” Then he consented. 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; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” This is the Gospel of the Lord. I believe in God,/the Father Almighty,/ Creator of heaven and earth./I believe in Jesus Christ,/his only Son, our Lord./He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit/and born of the Virgin Mary./He suffered under Pontius Pilate,/was crucified, died, and was buried./He descended to the dead./On the third day he rose again./He ascended into Heaven,/and is seated at the right hand of the Father./He will come again to judge the living and the dead./I believe in the Holy Spirit,/the Holy Catholic Church,/the communion of saints,/the forgiveness of sins,/the resurrection of the body,/and the life everlasting./Amen. PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL   Cel: Dear brothers and sisters, through baptism we are privileged to become the beloved children of God. We know that God will not refuse us what we ask for in faith. And so we pray:   Response: Lord, hear our prayer.   1. That our Pope, bishops, priests and religious may faithfully live their baptismal consecration and lead the family of God in the spirit of righteousness and love. R./ 2. That all Christians may strive to live up to the dignity conferred on them in baptism and may truly live as the beloved children of God. R./ 3. That those who have great difficulty in accepting Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, may receive the grace to experience God’s love and come to believe in Jesus. R./ 4. That all political leaders and government officials may obey their conscience, and seek to promote truth and justice in the world. R./ 5. That all of us gathered here may grow in appreciation of sharing Jesus’ life and mission, and may grow to maturity as sons and daughters of God our Father. R./   (Pray for local and personal needs)   Cel: God our Father, through water and the Holy Spirit, you gave us a new life. Help us to be faithful to our baptismal promises and participate in the life and mission of your beloved Son, Jesus. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Lord, we celebrate the revelation of Christ your Son who takes away the sins of the world. Accept our gifts and let them become one with his sacrifice, for he is Lord for ever and ever. PREFACE   (P 7) Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks.   You celebrated your new gift of baptism by signs and wonders at the Jordan. Your voice was heard from heaven to awaken faith in the presence among us of the Word made man. Your Spirit was seen as a dove, revealing Jesus as your servant, and anointing him with joy as the Christ, sent to bring to the poor the good news of salvation. In our unending joy we echo on earth the song of the angels in heaven as they praise your glory for ever:   All: Holy, holy, holy...   COMMUNION ANTIPHON This is he of whom John said: I have seen and have given witness that this is the Son of God. (Jn 1:32, 34) PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION   Lord, you feed us with bread from heaven. May we hear your Son with faith and become your children in name and in fact. We ask this…     LITURGY AND LIFE   “We are saved by two types of water: water of Baptism and water of repentance,” says St Augustine. The late Fr Leslie Ratus of St Pius College (Diocesan Seminary), Goregaon (Mumbai) used to categorize Christians into two groups: Christians by convention and Christians by conviction. For him most of the Christians are Christians by convention, because they were baptized in the Church. They are not really serious about their faith commitment. On the other hand Christians by conviction have made a deliberate choice for Jesus as their personal Saviour and Lord. Though the latter are small in number, they do bear much fruit which is lasting and effective. Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Baptism of Our Lord. John the Baptist was preaching the baptism of repentance to the Jews, who had broken the commandments of Yahweh and had gone away from him. As the forerunner of the Messiah, John was appealing them to come back. In fact Jesus did not really need such a baptism. Hence John was not ready to baptize Jesus. But Jesus’ statement about fulfilling all righteousness moved John to go ahead and baptize Jesus. The OT understood righteousness in three ways: First, righteousness is that behaviour of a person which adheres to certain standards. Hence when Yahweh gives rain in righteousness, means he meets the measure and the time of rain (Joel 2:23). In other words righteousness is doing justice to one’s nature and conforming to the required standards. Second, righteousness is good conduct that claims salvation. In the case of Abraham he “believed in God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6). Third, the OT speaks of the righteousness of God which means the saving power and will of God. In the First Reading of today all these aspects of righteousness are applied to Cyrus the king of Persia, whom the exiled Israelites considered as their Messiah (Isaiah 45:13). They believed that God who is righteous has sent Cyrus to redeem them from their exile. His good conduct made the Israelites claim liberation. However this understanding was connected with the Law. A person was considered righteous if he or she followed the Law faithfully and acted according to its teaching. This belief was in conflict in the first century when Apostles Peter and Paul began to preach the Good News of Jesus in and outside Jerusalem. They began to face difficulties, since the Gentiles expressed their desire to be baptized. The Second Reading of today narrates the experience of Peter, who announces that the Gentiles could receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, just as the Jews of his time did. The baptism of Jesus, as narrated by St Matthew, synthesizes this renewed understanding of righteousness. Jesus is declared the beloved son of God even before he did any good work as mentioned in the Law. Hence according to St Matthew, righteousness is the will of God, that delivers people from their sins, through the redeeming death of Jesus. This new understanding of righteousness invites us to have a fresh look at our own baptism. The following questions will serve as a help: If baptism was meant to deliver me from my sins, how do I account for the sinful areas of my life? If I claim to have received the Holy Spirit at baptism, in what way is it active in my life, to make me righteous in the eyes of God? Finally, if by my baptism I have become a child of God, how is it reflected in my life? In other words, what difference has the Sacrament of Baptism made in my life? —Fr Robert B. D’Souza   January 2011      READINGS OF THE WEEK Psalter Week 1 10 Mon (G) Heb 1:1-6/ Ps 96:1 & 2b.6 & 7c.9/ Mk 1:14-20 11 Tue (G) Heb 2:5-12/ Ps 8:2ab & 5.6-7.8-9/  Mk 1:21b-28 12 Wed (G) Heb 2:14-18/ Ps 104:1-2.3-4.6-7.8-9/ Mk 1:29-39 13 Thu (W) St Hilary, Heb 3:7-14/ Ps 94:6-7c.8-9. 10-11/ Mk 1:40-45 14 Fri (G) Heb 4:1-5.11/ Ps 77:3 & 4bc.6c-7.8/ Mk 2:1-12 15 Sat (W) St Arnold Janssen, Heb 4:12-16/ Ps 18:8.9.10.15/ Mk 2:13-17