Ken Overberg, S.J.

Jan 20, 2008, 2nd Sunday of ordinary time

I’m hoping that some thoughts on the liturgical year will help situate today’s celebration and these scriptures.  We began the new liturgical year with Advent.  This is year A in the three-year cycle, the year we proclaim Matthew’s gospel.  We did that during Advent, then used a mix of Matthew and Luke for the Christmas season, adding John’s magnificent prologue for Christmas day.  Last Sunday, the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of the numbered Sundays (what we call “ordinary time”), we heard Matthew’s description of Jesus’ baptism by John (whom we had already met in Advent).

Because Lent begins so early this year, two weeks from Wednesday, we have only two more Sundays to hear Matthew’s account of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and the first part of the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes.  Then we begin the long seasons of Lent and Easter with their special readings.  We don’t return to Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount until June!

Today’s gospel selection already interrupts the Matthean rhythm by using a passage from John’s gospel to continue our reflection on the baptism of Jesus.  This event was probably a very significant experience in the life of the historical Jesus, deepening his relationship with Abba God and giving direction to Jesus’ understanding of what he ought to do in life.  The discourse after the baptism--today’s gospel--has been reworked by the early Jesus-followers, subordinating John to Jesus and proclaiming their post-resurrection insight into Jesus’ identity.

Still, this week’s additional prayer about this scene can deepen our appreciation of Jesus’ discernment of life and its meaning.

All the readings can also help us appreciate our own identity, call, and ministry—as individuals and as community.  The first reading from Second Isaiah, the unknown prophet with the people in exile, is one of the Servant Songs.  It mixes discouragement and trust with an inclusive vision extending to the ends of the earth.  The second reading gives us the beginning of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, reminding us that we too are “sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be a holy people.”  Along with inviting renewed meditation on Jesus’ identity, the gospel also speaks to us as God’s chosen ones, God’s beloved anointed by the Spirit.

Let’s listen to God’s word!

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Abraham Maslow called them peak experiences—those moments of special clarity and sense of wholeness.  For Jesus, it wasn’t a mountaintop, but the Jordan River.  His baptism seems to have been such a moment, deepening his sense of God’s loving and faithful presence, stirring Jesus’ imagination about how to live life along with the courage to begin.

Many of us do not remember our baptism, but may recall a moment or event or decision when that baptism became real for us.  Perhaps it was an Easter vigil or an awareness of oppression or the long, faithful love of a friend or spouse.  Perhaps it was a tragedy or some profound challenge.  In that time of grace, we knew ourselves to be God’s beloved, a member of God’s chosen ones, called to serve and forgive and love.

Beloved, chosen, a holy people, reaching out to the ends of the earth (or at least to those on the margins).

        Take some time this week to ponder your identity and call.  Relive your mountaintop or River Jordan or more ordinary experiences of new life, new vision, new commitment.  Picture the faces; hear the voices; feel the grace.  What is the meaning, the invitation for your life now?