Saturday, January 12, 2013

January 13, 2013


Feast of the Baptism of the Lord  

Read more about the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord.

Lectionary: 21


Reading 1 from the Holy Book of Isaiah
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;
God reveals to Isaiah, another prophecy of our Lord.

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.
The prophecy reveals the meekness of Our Lord.
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.
And reveals that it is God's plan that His Son will be the Covenant between God and man.  And the salvation of all mankind. 

Or an alternate reading also from the Holy Book of Isaiah. 

Is 40:1-5, 9-11

Comfort, give comfort to my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her service is at an end,
her guilt is expiated;
indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.
God tells Isaiah to give good news to Jerusalem.  To reveal to her that God has pardoned her sins.
A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
the rugged land shall be made a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.
Then is the verse which St. John the Baptist points to when asked who he is.  He is the one who prepared the way for the coming of Jesus, Our Lord.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
And then Jesus Christ was revealed.
Go up on to a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
and say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!
Here comes with power
the Lord GOD,
who rules by a strong arm;
here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.
And Isaiah instructs Jerusalem to rejoice and proclaim the good news to the world, of the coming of Our Lord.


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.


We must acknowledge the glory and power of Our Lord.


Or the alternative Psalm
Ps 104:1b-2, 3-4, 24-25, 27-28, 29-30

R. (1) O bless the Lord, my soul.

O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
you are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak.
You have spread out the heavens like a tent-cloth;

R. O bless the Lord, my soul.

You have constructed your palace upon the waters.
You make the clouds your chariot;
you travel on the wings of the wind.
You make the winds your messengers,
and flaming fire your ministers.

R. O bless the Lord, my soul.

How manifold are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you have wrought them allC
the earth is full of your creatures;
the sea also, great and wide,
in which are schools without number
of living things both small and great.

R. O bless the Lord, my soul.

They look to you to give them food in due time.
When you give it to them, they gather it;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

R. O bless the Lord, my soul.

If you take away their breath, they perish and return to the dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.

R. O bless the Lord, my soul.


In viewing the earth and its fullness, I marvel that so many people deny the existence of God.  It is obvious to me that not one of these creatures could exist without God.


Reading 2 from St. Luke's record of the Acts of the Apostles
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.
St. Peter has just learned that God judges all mankind, Jew or Gentile, by the same standard.

Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly
is acceptable to him.
The definition of "acts uprightly" is to "keep the Commandments".

Romans 2:13
King James Version (KJV)
13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

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.”

St. Peter reminds the Jewish Christians that Jesus came to preach the good news to the Israelites.  What is left out is the point which St. Peter is making, that now, the Gentiles will be included in the plan of salvation.


Or the alternative 2nd reading from St. Paul's letter to Titus
Ti 2:11-14; 3:4-7

Beloved:
The grace of God has appeared, saving all
and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires
and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age,
as we await the blessed hope,
the appearance of the glory of our great God
and savior Jesus Christ,

It sounds a bit redundant.  But he starts out with the appearance of the "grace of God", which is Jesus Christ, who taught all to live according to the Father's will, in order to be prepared to meet Him, Jesus Christ, when He comes again.
who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness
and to cleanse for himself a people as his own,
eager to do what is good.
He died for us in order that we might be cleansed of sin and become His people, eager to follow the Commandments of God.
When the kindness and generous love
of God our savior appeared,
not because of any righteous deeds we had done
but because of his mercy,
He saved us through the bath of rebirth
and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom he richly poured out on us
through Jesus Christ our savior,
so that we might be justified by his grace
and become heirs in hope of eternal life.
This is a description of Baptism.  God saved us, not by our deeds, but by His mercy, through the Sacrament of Baptism which is the bath of rebirth and the renewal of the Holy Spirit.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke
Lk 3:15-16, 21-22


The people were filled with expectation,and all were asking in their heartswhether John might be the Christ.John answered them all, saying,“I am baptizing you with water,but one mightier than I is coming.I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
St. John humbly admitted that he is not the Christ, but that the Christ would come and ascend to the power.
After all the people had been baptizedand Jesus also had been baptized and was praying,heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon himin bodily form like a dove.And a voice came from heaven,“You are my beloved Son;with you I am well pleased.”
And the Father also gave testimony to His Only Begotten Son.  Not for His Glory, but for our sake:
 John 12:27-31
King James Version (KJV)
27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.
29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.
31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

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