Is Jesus in your boat?

The theme of this Sunday’s readings is discerning our calling or vocation in life. This can be both something natural and something supernatural.

Parents often play a role in helping their children discern on a natural level. When done well this can be very helpful, but often I have seen this go very wrong. I often observe parents pushing their children to achieve the parent’s own dreams about the future, and they are sometimes not being sensitive to the talents and desires of the child. The child may end up feeling controlled, and not affirmed in who they really are.

Perhaps a side note to parents is the fact that children owe obedience to their parents while living at home but the Catechism notes that this shifts to respect and no longer obedience once they are adults (CCC 2217). If the parent’s advice is considerate, understanding and insightful, they may continue to have influence, but adult children are free to make their own choices about their vocation and future.

When thinking about our spiritual vocation, perhaps it would be helpful to distinguish first our common vocation in Christ from the special vocation that God has specifically given to each one of us. Every Christian without exception, by virtue of our common Baptism, is called to a life of holiness. The church has called this the universal call to holiness.

The church wants to make it clear that there are not two classes of Christians: ordinary lay Christians, and those who have a special higher calling to holiness. In the past, many people came to believe the error that only priests and religious received a special call to holiness.

On the contrary, holiness is our common vocation. As the fathers of the Second Vatican council remind us, “all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity; by this holiness” (LG 40).

Each one of us is universally called to be holy. (Lumen Gentium, 39-42).

The graces we receive in baptism transform us so that we are conformed to the image of Christ. Baptism imparts to us a permanent and indelible change to our very nature. We become a new creation. St. Paul tell us,

So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Yet, in order to experience God’s purpose in this gift of grace, we must cooperate with these graces and submit our hearts to him. As the Catechism reminds us, “Moved by grace, man turns toward God and away from sin, thus accepting forgiveness and righteousness from on high” (CCC 1989).

The essential elements of Christian initiation are; “proclamation of the Word, acceptance of the Gospel entailing conversion, profession of faith, Baptism itself, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and admission to Eucharistic communion” (CCC 1229). Our cooperation through personal faith and repentance are an essential part of the process. As the Catechism reminds us, “The first work of the grace of the Holy Spirit is ‘conversion’” (CCC 1989).

What is conversion? The US bishops have reminded us,

Conversion is the acceptance of a personal relationship with Christ, a sincere adherence to him, and a willingness to conform one's life to his. Conversion to Christ involves making a genuine commitment to him and a personal decision to follow him as his disciple. (National Directory for Catechesis, 2005, p, 46)

Conversion is both an initial decision to cooperate in following Jesus, and then an ongoing commitment to continue experiencing this conversion. This leads to a life of intentional discipleship. For the majority of Christians this enables us to live this life of discipleship in our secular careers, and in our daily life. For laypersons, this primarily takes place outside the walls of the church, and in the midst of the world and in our daily lives.

Our Gospel today has often been seen as a vocation narrative. It is both about the pattern of our common vocation to holiness and about a special vocation for Peter and the other apostles.

For practical reasons, because of the crowds, Jesus climbs into Peter’s boat and speaks to the crowds from the boat. When he is finished speaking, he asks Peter to “put out into the deep” and to “lower his nets.” Simon Peter protests a bit at first. Clearly, Jesus is not a professional fisherman. Yet Peter is docile to Jesus and says,“at your command I will lower the nets.”

A miracle takes place and he catches so many fish, Peter’s nets are breaking. He signals for help from his partners, James and John.

This miracle causes Peter to experience a profound encounter with Jesus. Peter falls to his knees and experiences deep conviction for his sins. Quoting St. John Paul II, the Catechism reminds us, the Holy Spirit acts like “a physician who probes the wound before treating it” By the Word of God and by his Spirit, God casts a living light on sin. The Catechism notes, “Conversion requires convincing of sin.”

This conviction is both an interior judgment of conscience and proof of the action of the Spirit in our inmost being, which results in a new grant of grace and love in our hearts. [John Paul II, DeV 31 § 2] (CCC 1848).

In terms of our cooperation, many saints have told us about the necessity of humility and detachment to begin this journey. Normally this takes place through encountering God in Scripture and in personal conversational prayer with God.

Jesus then gives Peter a special vocation, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men” (Luke 5:10). Peter’s response, and that of the other disciples, is a complete submission of heart and will to God. They literally dropped their nets and followed him. Luke tells us, “When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him” (Luke 5:10).

What can we take away from this for our lives? First, we should note that Peter allowed himself to be in the boat with Jesus. We cannot encounter Jesus ourselves, if we do not spend time with him in the Word and in prayer. We can ask ourselves, “Is Jesus in my boat?”

In a world filled with so many distractions, this takes effort on our part. If we begin as Peter did in docility, and humility, I am convinced that we will also have a profound encounter with Jesus of our own.

Many times, however, we are looking for a voice from heaven such as we saw in our first reading from Isaiah.

I heard a story this week about a local priest who was trying to discern something important. He went away on a weeklong silent retreat. During the retreat, he heard God say to him in the quiet of his heart, “I really love you!” Later he heard from God again, “I really, really love you!” Finally, near the end of the week God spoke to him again, “No, I really, really, really love you!” He never got the answer to the question he was discerning, but he completed the week with a sense of profound peace and a renewed knowledge that God was good and loved him very deeply.

The knowledge that God is good and that he loves each of us personally and deeply is the very core of our Christian life with him.

I would like to issue a challenge today. Every day we live, we are typically awake for about 960 minutes. We probably work half or more of that time. If we gave God just 15 minutes of our time, that would only be about 3% of our remaining time. I would like to challenge you to make an effort to put Jesus in your boat this week.

Imagine what would happen in our lives, and what would result in our parish community, if each one of us spent just 15 minutes a day reading the Bible and talking to Jesus in our prayer.


FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME --YEAR C
Isaiah 6:1–2a, 3–8, Psalm 138:1–5, 7–8, 1 Corinthians 15:1–11, Luke 5:1–11

‘Cancel Culture’ in Nazareth

This week I engaged in a bit of time travel and went back to read some the dialogues from the 1970's television scripts of the show All in the Family. 

This Gospel made me think of the rise of the Cancel Culture where  groups engage in mass cancelings of public figures as a way of expressing disapproval. I was curious what might have triggered this strong response.

The character Archie Bunker was actually much, much worse than I remembered! Archie is racist, sexist, prejudice and demeaning to every protected group you could think of. To make things worse, he often quoted wacky interpretations of the Bible to defend these prejudices. Unfortunately, Archie Bunker is like many real people, and modern exit interviews of young adults and teens who leave the Church, often cite bad experiences with these same prejudices.

I do think that the character Archie was portrayed by the screenwriters as a kind of villain, whom the other characters tried to oppose, but I would have no difficulty showing that each one of these dialogues portrays behavior which is condemned as extremely sinful in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Fast forward to today: We are told that everyone needs be inclusive and must try not to offend anyone with our ideas.

Surprisingly in the modern world, the phrase, “That idea offends me” has become very powerful and actionable.

We might need to stop and be honest. Religious people are sometimes offensive and lacking in charity to their neighbor. Some of them may even sound like a 1970's televison script.

We know that Jesus is a friend of sinners who does not reject anyone (Matthew 11:19 and Luke 7:34). Yet is Jesus also meek and mild (as commonly misunderstood) and someone who is afraid confront anyone with the reality of sin?

Like all errors about Jesus, the modern notion is a half-truth. 

St. Paul reminds us, “But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God does invite each one of us to come to him, as we are, in the midst of our sinfulness. It is also true that there is no sin that anyone can commit, which lacks God’s forgiveness. Perhaps some Catholics need to be reminded that you are always only one Confession away from coming home.

The subtle difference in our modern culture is that we want to see Jesus as creating a “judgment free zone.” This cultural phrase actually comes from a local fitness franchise! In order to be truly inclusive, we want to believe that Jesus will not judge anyone. Yet this is only true of the beginning of our journey. 

In the ancient world, the city of Corinth had a reputation as a kind of Las Vegas. When St. Paul writes to this church, he lists an entire paragraph of past sins that members of this community had committed and then says,

“That is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11).

Once we have received God’s initial forgiveness, and obviously continued to walk in this forgiveness repeatedly, he does not leave us to be the same as we were in the beginning.

God calls us to personal holiness. The call to holiness may be a slow process and often involves many times of receiving his forgiveness. Jesus has not come, however, to create a “judgment free zone” which places no demands on changing who we are in Christ.

Let us not forget that each Sunday we confess, “He will come again to judge the living and the dead.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is not afraid to speak the truth even if it results in his rejection. He refuses to perform a miracle in Nazareth. He purposely angers the crowd with his words. Jesus points out that many times in the history of Israel, prophets experienced rejection for their message. Jesus tells them, “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.”

Jesus then gives two examples of miracles from the Old Testament, which involve the prophets Elijah and Elisha. These prophets performed miracles not for Israel, but for those outside of Israel. This truth is so offensive to the crowd; they actually try to kill Jesus.

In this Gospel, Jesus models being willing to risk offending someone with the truth. It also shows us that humility is the beginning of our journey to forgiveness.

In today’s world, we must be very careful that we do not sacrifice truth, in order to avoid offending others. Equally, we need to be careful that we do not lack charity.

I don't know about you, but I am someone who is usually willing to speak up for the truth, but at the same time, I do not like offending anyone. 

Yet our faith requires all of us to ask ourselves, am I willing to speak up for the truth? You cannot be a witness to the Gospel and be silent. Sorry but not using words won't cut it. And by the way, St. Francis never said this. 

The question for each of us is, are you willing to take this risk? When thinking about this it might be interesting to think about two different personalities that people might have. 

People Pleasers

Some people might be described as people pleasers and conflict avoiders. Let me be clear, in general these are very nice people. They make excellent friends.

People like this have a personality trait called agreeableness that makes it much easier for them to get along with others. They are generally more trusting, and they enjoy helping people. They are modest, and show empathy for others. When out of balance, however, people like this may sacrifice their own feelings and at times even the truth, in order to please others.

Assertive people

On the other hand, some of us have no trouble being assertive and speaking our mind. We never avoid conflict. Under the right circumstances, we admire these qualities. We might say a person is forthright, and a straight shooter. They might even be courageously vulnerable with others. This type of person people is often a leader. So again, being assertive and speaking our mind can be a strength. 

It is possible, however, to be assertive but also to be low in agreeableness. In this case the person tends to be skeptical, stubborn, and demanding. They may even insult and belittle others. In this case being “forthright” is out of balance. 

As St. Paul reminds us in today's reading, if we speak the truth but “do not have love” we are like a “resounding gong or a clashing cymbal” (13:1). Giving us all a review, he reminds us,

“Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered (1 Corinthians 13:4).

Whatever we say to others, needs to be rooted in love for our neighbor. Very often, the best in human behavior requires a balance between different traits. Our faith has highlighted this balance as finding the just mean in the life of human virtue (CCC 1809, 2469).

While our individual personality plays a strong role in how we act, God still holds us accountable for our present actions. We are required to evaluate our strengths and weaknesses and to choose the path of holiness. We must seek the help of the Holy Spirit to transform our weaknesses. If you are like me, an awareness of our weakness can make us discouraged, even at times a bit anxious and reluctant to act, unless we bring these faults to our Lord in prayer and allow him to be our strength.

As St. Paul reminds us, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness. I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Often the secret to overcoming our faults is to live a kind of courageous vulnerability before the Lord in our weakness.

If we recognize that, at times we are skeptical and demanding, with God's help we need to learn to listen more, and to understand what the other person is thinking and feeling. We need to be patient and kind, and make sure that we speak the truth in love.

If our natural tendency is to please others, we need to be certain we are not depriving our friends and family of the truth. Even if we might at times fear they will become angry and reject us for speaking the truth. God will strengthen us in our weakness. Jesus calls us to proclaim the truth in love. He will be our strength.

Personal holiness is about finding the balance in friendship and communion with the Spirit of God. God is calling each one of us to be a witness to the truth, but always in union with him, speaking the truth in love.

We must each take our own personal weaknesses, and submit them to Christ. As we walk the path of personal holiness, we must be more and more conformed to his likeness (CCC 1811, 2516).

In order to make a difference in today world, we need to get closer to Jesus in our prayer and to be vulnerable with him. Each one of us can learn to literally be Jesus in the midst of our daily lives. This calling is definitely countercultural. 

Imagine the impact it would have if each one of us lived two realities at the same time, both unapologetically clinging to the truth, and dynamically modeling a community rooted in God's love for the world. 

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me"

The second half of our Gospel reading begins with a summary: “Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee.” The word “then” points back to the beginning of the chapter (4:1). We have already seen that Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit, and led by the Holy Spirit and even earlier that the Holy Spirit descends upon him at his Baptism

In today’s reading Jesus chooses to enter the synagogue on the Sabbath and read to from the Isaiah scroll where is says;

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

The present passage is the oldest known account of a synagogue service. We do not actually know what a synagogue service looked like at the time of Jesus. Reading back from later sources, it is likely that Luke describes only the central part of the service with the reading from the Prophets followed by a homily.

Regarding the ancient synagogue customs for reading, was Jesus the appointed reader? Was Isaiah 61 the expected reading? Again, Luke’s description leaves us guessing.

Luke tells us that after reading, Jesus rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant and sat down. Most teachers in the ancient world sat to teach.

This description of events sounds like the normal procedure for a synagogue reader, but Luke tells us “the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.” (Luke 4:20). There was clearly an air of great expectation. Was it because of the choice of reading? Alternatively, perhaps the crowd had already heard about Jesus. Luke tells us that Jesus routinely, “taught in their synagogues and was praised by all” (4:14).

Jesus then gives a one-line homily. “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” (4:20). Now that is a short homily! What did the people in the synagogue make of this? How is Isaiah 61 “fulfilled in their hearing”?

There are several threads of Jewish expectation related to Isaiah 61. The spirit-filled messenger proclaims, “the year of the Lord’s favor.” This is a reference to the Year of Jubilee, which occurred every fifty years (Leviticus 25). During the Jubilee year, the fields were left fallow, persons returned to their ancestral homes, debts were forgiven and slaves set free. Notice that Jesus returns to his home in Nazareth in this passage.

While it is possible that this was literally a Year of Jubilee, there was also a common understanding of the Jubilee as a kind of prophetic promise of a future age of the Spirit when there would be a new age of salvation.

Connected to the coming age of the Spirit was a mysterious prophetic messenger, called the Suffering Servant.

Today when we hear the words poor, captives and oppressed we probably think about the practical social dimension of helping the less fortunate (soup kitchens, human rights, political freedom) and this is certainly Christian concern, but it is not the first thing Jesus does in Luke’s Gospel.

The poor Jesus refers to are, the “pious poor,” or the anawim of the Old Testament. The afflicted, or the “pious poor,” are always the ones who are the most responsive to God. In effect, they are the humble ones who respond to the good news of the Gospel.

As we continue to read Luke’s Gospel, the Holy Spirit brings release for those who are captive to sin and oppressed by the devil, and literally gives sight to the blind through divine healings.

Luke describes Jesus’ ministry as being in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the next four chapters, we see ‘power’ going out from Jesus to bring about literal healings.

Several chapters later in Luke, John the Baptist sends his disciples to Jesus to ask him, “Are you he who is to come. . .”? (Luke 7).

Jesus tells them,

Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them (Luke 7:22).

Each of these actions is the fulfillment of Isaiah 61. To put this in modern terms, Isaiah 61 is Jesus’ mission statement, and he measurably puts it into effect. This passage is a summary of his vision, and since we are his disciples, it is our vision statement as well. Jesus personally ministered in the power of the Spirit, but later at Pentecost, Luke tells us that the Spirit was “poured out” on “all flesh.” The presence of the Spirit is a universal quality for all Christians.

What can we take away from this?

First we can learn that we must not separate or compartmentalize our ministry from life in the Spirit and the good news of the Gospel. Yes, Jesus is concerned for the blind, the deaf, the lepers, and he feeds the hungry. The foundation of all ministries, however, is the fact that Jesus Christ came to save us from our sins by dying and rising again. He offers us first a Jubilee gift of total forgiveness, and then while doing this, He is concerned for all our needs.

For each one of us, the only question is, are we willing to accept this gift of forgiveness? Luke tells us that Jesus came “to bring good news to the poor.” Again, it is the poor and the humble who open their hearts to Jesus. For each one of us, humility is the beginning of our life with God.

It is only through the Gospel that we experience release from the captivity to sin, and oppression by the devil. This takes place through the power of God. The same experience of the Spirit may also bring healing of both body and soul.

What about each one of us, right now? Do we need to be filled with the Spirit?

The Catechism says that the Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church. Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist (the Sacraments of initiation) are all about communion with Christ through the Holy Spirit. Yet the Bible cannot imagine this communion, if it is merely a doctrinal confession.

Imagine the strange example of someone who is not practicing marriage but is merely intellectually assenting to the idea of marriage. This person might say, “Yes, I confess and believe that I am married, but I can’t really point to any experience in my life that proves I am married.” I think that we all understand that without a shared common life of intimacy, we are not really talking about marriage at all.

In the book of Acts, when St. Paul meets a group of people who have had a defective Christian initiation, he asks them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” He was not looking for a confessional answer, such as “Well yes, I believe intellectually I must have received the Holy Spirit.”

This is not to doubt the presence of the Spirit in the Sacraments, even when we do not immediately sense anything, but Paul is expecting that every believer would have a definite personal awareness of the Spirit in their life.

The essence of this awareness is to be conscious of God’s divine sonship or being aware that you are a child of God and part of his family. As Paul tells us in two places, the Spirit cries out “Abba, Father” in our hearts (Galatians 4:6 and Romans 8:15). Each one of us should have a tangible loving awareness of God in our prayer. It is through the Holy Spirit that we experience this interior awareness of family intimacy. This experience need not be dramatic, but it needs to be real.

As St. John Paul II reminds us,

“…the definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch, but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ” (Catechesi tradendae, 5; cf. GDC 2020, 75). The Catechism tells us that faith is not merely an assent to a truth, but also to a spirit-filled relationship with a person.

In perfect union with the Holy Spirit, the person of Jesus is preaching the good news to each one of us. Jesus Christ calls each one of us to conversion. Because of this, we should shamelessly pursue this conversion at all costs and at every opportunity. Conversion should also be an ongoing, continuous process in our life.

The desired response is a total “yes” to God involving our whole life.

As Jesus said, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (John 14:23).

Joy at the Wedding of Cana

In our Gospel today we have this wonderful description of a wedding in Palestine. Jesus, his mother, Mary, and some of his disciples are present at the wedding feast.

As we make sense of this story, John tells us emphatically the wedding took place “On the third day,” we are familiar with that expression because we remember that Jesus rose from the dead “on the third day.”(1 Corinthians 15:3–7, and the Creed) –using the same expression. 

I have been wondering if the Bible is the source of the California inspired New Math that baby boomers like to make fun of on Facebook, since in the Bible; “on the third day” essentially means “two days” as it did with Jesus' time in the tomb before the resurrection. In fact, Jesus was in the tomb for one whole day, and parts of two others. In keeping with Jewish custom, this was “three days.”

Previously in the story John narrates four consecutive days (1:19, 29, 35, 43), so this would make our “day” here, the sixth day narrated in the first week of Jesus’ ministry.

Since John’s Gospel begins with an obvious echo of the creation story in chapter 1, “In the beginning was the Word,” the sixth day would be an echo of the sixth day of the creation. This is the day that God created the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. This was widely understood as the first wedding found in Scripture.

When later in his earthly ministry, Jesus is asked about marriage, he points back to Genesis and says it was not so in the beginning (Matthew 19:8). Adam and Eve become the divine model for God’s intention in Marriage. In John’s telling here, Jesus attends a wedding on the sixth day, and this would highlight the Genesis parallel. It is the day that God instituted marriage. This point is extremely important because Jesus is about to take the divinely created human institution of Marriage, and elevate it to something new, a Sacrament for those who are baptized.

In order to understand our Gospel story today, we need to know a bit more about the customs of Marriage in these times. In ancient Palestinian culture, there was a profound duty to provide hospitality to guests at a wedding.

The Rabbis believed that to be considered legitimate, a wedding ceremony must include a Marriage feast. The Rabbis required this feast to be celebrated with dancing and joy. It was most important to feast on the night of the wedding itself, but ideally, the feast lasted for seven days. The bride and groom would remain for the full period of the feast, abstaining from work and sharing in the joy of the family. 

John tells us that disaster struck at the wedding, as “the wine ran short.” Wine was an essential part of the joy that was expected to occur at a wedding.  Running out of wine would be an enormous social embarrassment to the family. In the eyes of the rabbis, the wedding might even be considered illegitimate without it.

Understanding this, Mary approached Jesus and said, “They have no wine.” Jesus' reply to Mary may catch us off guard because it sounds rude, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” Jesus is not rude at all. The word ‘woman’ in Aramaic would have sounded like old fashioned spikey English, “My Lady, how does your concern affect me?”

Then Jesus adds, “My hour has not yet come.” In John’s telling of the Gospel story, he recounts three years of Jesus' earthly ministry. John does not tell us a little bit about each year, instead, time gradually slows down in his Gospel until we are looking at the final “hour” when Jesus is fully revealed in his passion and death. Jesus is saying it is not yet time to reveal his “hour.” The hour of his passion, death and resurrection. 

John portrays Mary as a model disciple perhaps the model disciple. Mary says to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.”  While these words are a crucial prompt for Jesus in our story, they also model the ideal behavior of a disciple of Jesus. The fathers of the Second Vatican Council called this the “obedience of faith” (Romans 13:26; 2 Corinthians 10:5-6). According to the council fathers, this type of faith is “an obedience by which man commits his whole self freely to God, offering the full submission of intellect and will to God who reveals,” (Dei Verbum 5).

I cannot resist giving a small piece of advice for marriage. Modern psychological research has shown that husbands who allow themselves to be influenced by their wives have happier marriages. Perhaps husbands should not say, “Do whatever she tells you,” -- but certainly being open and to listen to each other is essential to a happy Marriage. 

As a model disciple, Mary invites us to be open and listen to our Lord, and to respond by doing whatever he tells us.

Mary is undeterred by the difficulties they are facing, and models trust. She asks Jesus for assistance, and in faith believes that these difficulties will be overcome. This is very much like prayer.

John tells us there were “six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons” (John 2:6). These were not used for drinking but for ceremonial washing.

Jesus tells the servants to “filled them to the brim” and then to “draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter” (John 2:8). The headwaiter is astonished because the wine he tastes, is now kalos oinos the very best wine. He comments, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now” (John 2:10).

The many gallons of water filled to the brim have become the best wine. Wine is a symbol of joy and of the Spirit. Jesus replaces the rituals for purification in the Old Covenant with life in the Spirit. Perhaps it is better to say the Old Covenant is filled with the Spirit, and is renewed. The New Covenant will overflow with an abundance of joy in the best wine of the Spirit. 

This has profound implications for Christian Marriage. Jesus has now elevated the divinely given human good of marriage into a sacrament. For baptized Christians, joined to Christ by the Spirit, three people become one in Holy Matrimony. The groom, the bride and Jesus, are joined through the Spirit.

The graces of this sacrament help Christian couples to be a living icon of God’s love in the midst of the world.

God’s love for us is always true and eternal, so our married love is permanent, faithful, and open to new life. These are the promises that a Christian couple exchange in the Marriage ritual.

Marriage itself also becomes a profound image of our relationship with God. In Christ, we are now the bride of Christ and with firm hope; we look forward to the wedding feast of the Lamb in eternity. Just as marriage is a covenant or exchange of promises that binds the couple together, each one of us called to make a commitment to an everlasting relationship with God. Marriage is a God-given model or pattern for this relationship.

God desires us to think deeply about our relationship with him and to come to a decision that we are ready to give everything to him. He requires the obedience of faith from each one of us. Mary’s words highlight this obedience for us. “Do whatever he tells you.”

Just as a couple grows in relationship and trust with each other and eventually makes a lifelong commitment in Marriage, so God wants us to fall in love with him, and to freely give ourselves to him. 

As we meditate today on the joyful commitment made by a bride and groom in Marriage, let us each examine our hearts. Where are you in your relationship with God? Are you still dating Jesus? Are you in a serious relationship? Have you decided to give him your life and share everything with him? 

Today let us drink with joy the wine that Jesus offers us. 

 

The Baptism of Jesus

During Advent, we accompanied John the Baptist each week in our readings as he 'prepared the way of the Lord.' John offered his fellow Jews a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Yet John the Baptist’s call to repentance and baptism was a prophetic act pointing forward to Christ.

Yet if Jesus was without sin, why did Jesus submit to John’s baptism in today’s Gospel? The Catechism notes, “The baptism of Jesus is on his part the acceptance and inauguration of his mission as God’s suffering Servant. He allows himself to be numbered among sinners” (CCC 536). Jesus joins himself to sinners, in order that this union will anticipate his death on the cross. By doing so, he sanctifies the waters of Baptism and opens the heavens to sinners (Luke 3:21).

Our Gospel says, “Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah.” (Luke 3:15). Although Jewish expectations about the Messiah were quite diverse, they were generally based on the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah can be divided into two parts, the Book of Woes, Isaiah (1–39), which deals with Israel’s exile, and the Book of Consolations, Isaiah (40–66), which concerns God’s future promises for a restored Israel. In the Book of Consolations, a mysterious figure appears called the Suffering Servant.

Our Old Testament reading for this Mass begins with this second part of Isaiah, “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” (Isaiah 42:1).

Concerning this future Servant, Isaiah tells the Israelites that this servant has ‘borne the people’s infirmities’ and was ‘wounded for their transgressions,’ and that ‘by his bruises they were healed” (Isaiah 53:3-5). Isaiah tells them, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6).

For the ancient Israelites the waters of Baptism represented death and rising to new life. St. Paul describes this as follows, “Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).

As the Catechism noted, although Jesus had no need of repentance, he “... poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors” (CCC 536, Isaiah 53:12). Entering the waters of Baptism was like entering the grave. Jesus joined himself to sinful humanity in order that he might bring them new life in the Spirit through his sacrificial death on the cross.

John the Baptist told the crowds “I am baptizing you with water, but . . . He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16). In Jewish expectations, the Spirit reveals the Messiah. Regarding the suffering servant, Isaiah tells us, “The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news. . .” (Isaiah 61:1). Jesus makes this passage his personal mission statement at the beginning of his ministry (Luke 4:18-21; 7:22-23).

In certain strands of Jewish expectation, the coming of the Messiah would also bring about the age of the Spirit. Messiah means anointed one. As God’s Suffering Servant, Jesus is anointed with the Spirit. Luke tells us the Spirit confirms this by descending “upon Jesus in bodily form like a dove” (Luke 3:22).

Jesus mission is also confirmed by a heavenly voice, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” These words seem in part to echo Psalm 2:7 “You are my son; today I have begotten you” but also Isaiah 42:1 “my servant . . . with whom I am pleased.”

What does Jesus’ Baptism mean to each of us today? After Jesus’ death and resurrection, St. Peter preached a sermon to his fellow Jews and the crowd asks him the same question that was asked earlier of St. John the Baptist (Luke 3:10, 12, 14). What should we do? (Acts 2:37).

The Apostle Peter replies, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38).

What was only anticipated in John the Baptist’s baptism, has now reached fulfillment. The normal Christian journey to new life in Christ involves a number of key elements: faith, repentance, Baptism, and reception of the Spirit.

Luke tells us that when the crowd heard Peter’s message “they were cut to the heart” (Ac 2:37). Following this deliberate act of faith and repentance, Baptism now brings the genuine grace forgiveness of sins and is connected with the fullness of receiving the Holy Spirit.

Yet, the sacramental acts of Baptism and Confirmation must be accompanied by what the fathers of Second Vatican Council called “The obedience of faith” (Romans 13:26; 2 Corinthians 10:5-6). This type of faith is “an obedience by which man commits his whole self freely to God, offering the full submission of intellect and will to God who reveals,” (Dei Verbum 5). This act of faith leads us to a life in the Spirit. “The grace of God and the interior help of the Holy Spirit must precede and assist, moving the heart and turning it to God, opening the eyes of the mind and giving ‘joy and ease to everyone in assenting to the truth and believing it’” (DV 5).

Like the crowds, each one of us must personally ask, What should we do? Baptism is the gateway to eternal life. Through baptism, we receive initial forgiveness of sins and union with Christ through the Spirit. Our union with Christ, however, must be joined to the obedience of faith, or our personal “Yes” to God in our will.

The goal of this union is an interior relationship with the Spirit who cries out “Abba Father” in our hearts (Romans 8:14-15, Galatians 4:6). We receive the fullness of the Spirit in Confirmation but this is a dynamic relationship, and our hearts must remain constantly open to more of God’s love.

Let each one of us listen to the cry of the Psalmist, “O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden your hearts . . .” (Psalm 95:7–8, Hebrews 3:15).