By Father Paul Nord, O.S.B.
Sunday Scripture
First Reading: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; Response: Psalm 104:1-4, 24-25, 27-30; Second Reading: Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7; Gospel: Luke 3:15-16, 21-22
Note: the “Year A” readings are also an option — for the First Reading (Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7), for the Response (Psalm 29:1-4, 9-10), and for the Second Reading (Acts 10:34-38).
Isaiah, chapter 40, begins a new text section which many biblical commentaries call “Second Isaiah.” The previous chapters (Isaiah 36-39) describe the Assyrian attack on Jerusalem during the reign of King Hezekiah. Isaiah 37 describes how Hezekiah begged the Lord God to save the city, and how God defeated the Assyrians. They failed to conquer Jerusalem.
Isaiah 40 is a message of comfort after a time of suffering. Many commentaries believe Isaiah 40–55 was written near the end of the Babylonian exile. This is based on the naming of King Cyrus of Persia in Isaiah 44:28–45:1. Years earlier, the Babylonian army had destroyed Jerusalem. The exile ended when King Cyrus of Persia defeated the Babylonians and allowed the Israelites to return to Jerusalem.
Isaiah 40 begins: “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.” The prophet transmits God’s words of comfort to Jerusalem: “her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated.” Jerusalem is described as a maternal figure, which represents its people. Jerusalem’s people have suffered as a consequence of their sins: “she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.”
But now the suffering has passed — a new age has begun! “A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!” The Lord God comes to redeem his people from their suffering. Imagery makes a contrast between past and future. The past is represented by “wasteland,” “rugged land” and “rough country.” Each of these images is transformed to represent a hopeful future: a “straight … highway for our God” runs through the wasteland. The “rugged land” is made a flat “plain.” The “rough country” is transformed into “a broad valley” — a good place to live.
The imagery is complemented by an “audible” element that begins: “a voice cries out.” In 41:9, Jerusalem itself is a “herald of good news” which is told to “cry out at the top of your voice.” Here “Zion” is a synonym for Jerusalem. This is synonymous parallelism that emphasizes the command to “cry out” the good news: “Here is your God!”
The Lord God “rules by a strong arm” and “like a shepherd he feeds his flock.” This shepherd imagery is expanded by saying God “gathers the lambs” in “his arms” — “carrying them in his bosom.” These images depict God’s power and care for his people. God gives “comfort” to his people (41:1).
Next, the letter to Titus says: “the grace of God has appeared.” This describes the appearance of Jesus Christ. He has redeemed us — saving us from “godless ways” and “worldly desires.” Cooperating with Christ’s grace, we ought “to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age.” Here “this age” contrasts with the age to come — when Christ returns — “the appearance of the glory of our great God and savior Jesus Christ.” We should live holy lives now to prepare for when Christ returns.
“When the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared” begins the citation of a “saying” (3:4-7) — perhaps a liturgical hymn or catechetical formula known to early Christians. This saying emphasizes salvation by Christ Jesus “through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” This describes baptism in Christ, by which we are “justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.” Verse 3:8 emphasizes: “this saying is trustworthy.”
The “saying” of 3:4-7 is preceded by 3:3: “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deluded, slaves to various desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another.” This creates a contrast between past slavery to sin (3:3) versus present salvation in Jesus Christ (3:4-7). Thus Christians are exhorted to be “eager to do what is good” (2:14). By living justly, we show gratitude for being saved from sin by Jesus Christ.
Today’s gospel is Luke’s account of the “baptism of the Lord” — the name of today’s feast. John the Baptist had been calling the people to receive a baptism of repentance (3:1-14). As a result “the people were … asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ.” They believed that the Messiah (Christ) would bring God’s kingdom, which included God’s judgment of all injustice. But John answered them by saying “one mightier than I is coming.” John thus prepared them to recognize Jesus as the Messiah.
John contrasts his own baptism “with water” versus Jesus’ baptism “with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16). The Acts of the Apostles was written by St. Luke to serve as a “part 2” to complement his Gospel. So it is interesting that in Acts 1:4-5, Jesus makes the same contrast. He tells his apostles not to depart from Jerusalem because of “the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the holy Spirit.”
After Jesus is baptized by John, Jesus is praying when two signs reveal his identity. The first sign is visual — “the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove.” The second sign is audible: “a voice came from heaven [saying]: ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’” The significance of this sign is that the voice identifies Jesus as the “beloved Son” of God. The first sign indicates that God is acting in a new way to redeem his people. Numerous Old Testament prophetic passages foretold that God would pour out his Spirit in a future act of redemption. For example, Isaiah 42:1 says: “Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased. Upon him I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations.” Likewise, the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus marks him as an agent of God’s redemption.