Rediscovering our own baptism

Readings for Sunday, January 11, 2015

The Baptism of the Lord

Il-Magħmudija tal-Mulej

(Messalin A pp 122)

Reading 1                           ISaiah 55:1-11

Thus says the LORD: All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk! Why spend your money for what is not bread, your wages for what fails to satisfy? Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare. Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life. I will renew with you the everlasting covenant, the benefits assured to David. As I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander of nations, so shall you summon a nation you knew not, and nations that knew you not shall run to you, because of the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you. Seek the LORD while he may be found, call him while he is near. Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked man his thoughts; let him turn to the LORD for mercy; to our God, who is generous in forgiving. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. As high as the heavens are above the earth  so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts. For just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.  This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Ewwel Lezzjoni   -    mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Isaija 55. 1-11

Dan igħid il-Mulej:  “Intom  li bikom l-għatx, ejjew għall-ilma; intom ukoll li m’għandhommx flus. Ejjew, ixtru u kulu b’xejn, inbid u ħalib bla ħlas. Għaliex taħlu fluskom b’dak li mhuwiex ħobż. u ġidkom f’dak li ma jxebbax? Isimgħu minni, u tieklu tajjeb, u ruħkom titpaxxa b’ikel bnin. Agħtuni widen u ersqu lejja, isimgħu u tieħdu r-ruħ.  Nagħmel patt magħkom għal dejjem, biex iseħħu l-favuri mwiegħda lil David. Ara, jien qegħedtu xhud fost il-ġnus, Prinċep u leġiżlatur fuq il-popli. Int ġens li ma tafx bih issejjaħ; ġnus li ma jufukx jiġru lejk, minħabba fil-Mulej, Alla tiegħek, il-Qaddis ta’Iżrael, għax lilek żejjen bil-ġieħ. Fittxu l-Mulej sakemm tistgħu ssibuh, sejħulu sakemm hu qrib!  Ħa jħalli triqtu l-mdneb, u l-bniedm il-ħażin fehmietu; ħa jerġa’ lura għand il-Mulej u jħenn għalih, għand Alla tagħna għax hu jaħfer ħafna. Il-fehmieti tiegħi mhumiex fehmietkom, u t-triqat tiegħi mhumiex triqatkom, oraklu tal-Mulej. Għax daqs kemm huma ogħla s-smewwiet mill-art, daqshekk ieħor huma triqati ‘l fuq minn triqatkom, u l-fehmiet tiegħi mill-fehmiet tagħkom. Bħalma x-xita u s-silġ jinżlu mis-smewwiet, u ma jerħgħux lura mnejn ġew bla ma jsaqqu l-art, unna hĠegħluha tnissel u tnibbet, u tagħti ż-żerriegħa ‘l min jiżra’ u l-ħobż ‘il min jiekol, hekk jiġri minn fommi, u ma terġax lura vojta, imma tagħmel dak li jagħġob lili, u ttemm dak li nkun bagħatha tagħmel.” Il-Kelma tal-Mulej 

Responsorial Psalm     -   ISaiah 12:2-3, 4BCD, 5-6.

R. (3) You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.                        R.

Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.         R.

Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel.                              R

Salm Responsorjali                    -              (Is. 12, 2-3. 4bċd.. 5-6)

R/. (11b)   Kollkhom ferħana timlew l-ilma mill-għejun tas-salvazzjoni.

Alla s-salvazzjoni tiegħi,

jiena nittama u ma jkollix mniiex nibża’.

Għax qawwieti u għanjieti hu l-Mulej,

għalija sar is-salvazzjoni.                                              R/

.Roddu ħajr lill-Mulej, sejħu ismu,

għarrfu lill-ġnus bl-għemejjel tiegħu,

xandru li ismu huwa fl-għoli.                                     R/

Għannu lill-Mulej għax għamel ħwjjeġ kbar;

ħa jkun dan magħruf mal-art kollha.

Aqbeż bil-ferħ, għanni i, int li tgħammar f’Sijon,

għax kbir hu f’nofsok il-Qaddis ta’ Iżrael.              R/

Reading 2                         1 JohN 5:1-9

Beloved: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God, and everyone who loves the Father loves also the one begotten by him. In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and blood. The Spirit is the one who testifies, and the Spirit is truth. So there are three that testify, the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and the three are of one accord. If we accept human testimony, the testimony of God is surely greater. Now the testimony of God is this, that he has testified on behalf of his Son. This is the Word of The Lord.

It-Tieni Lezzjoni   -   mill-Ewwel Ittra ta’ Gwanni  5,  1-9

Ħuti, kull min jemmen li Ġesu’ hu l-Messija  hu mwieled minn Alla, u kull min iħobb lill-Missier iħobb lil min twieled minnu. Minn dan nafu li nħobbu lil ulied Alla, meta nħobbu ‘l Alla u nagħmlu  l-kmandamenti tiegħu; u nagħmlu l-kmandamenti tiegħu. Għax din hi l-imħabba ta’ Alla, li  nżommu l-kmnandamenti tiegħu; u l-kmandamenti tiegħu mhumiex tqal; għax kull min mwieled minn Alla jegħleb lid-dinja. Din hi r-rebħa fuq id-dina:  il-fidi tagħna. Għax min hu dak li jegħleb lid-dinja , jekk mhux min jemmen li Ġesu’ hu l-Iben ta’ Alla?  Dan huwa dak li ġie bl-ilma u d-demm, Ġesu’ Kristu, mhux bl-ilma biss, iżda bl-ilma u d-demm. U l-Iaspirtu hu li jixhed, għax l-Ispirtu  hu l-verita’. Tlieta huma dawk li jixhdu:  l-Ispirtu, l-ilma u d-demm, u tlieta jaqblu fix-xhieda tagħhom. Jekk aħna nilqgħu x-xhieda tal-bnedmin, ix-xhieda ta’ Alla hija aqwa; din hija xhieda li Alla jagħti dwar Ibnu.    Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel                                -              MarK 1:7-11

This is what John the Baptist proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water;  he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee  and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open  and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens,  “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” This is the Word of The Lord.

Evanġelju   -  skond San Mark 1,7-11

F'dak iż-żmien, Ġwanni l-Battista kien ixandar u jgħid: “Ġej warajja min hu aqwa minni, li jien ma jistħoqqlix nitbaxxa quddiemu u nħoll il-qfieli tal-qorq tiegħu.   Jiena  għammidtkom bl-ilma, iżda huwa jgħammidkom  bl-Ispirtu s-Santu. U ġara li f’dawk il-jiem ġie Ġesu’ minn Nazaret tal-Galilija, u tgħammed minn Ġwanni fil-Ġordan. U  minnufih hu u tiela’ mill-ilma ra s-smewwiet jinfetħu, u l-Isipirtu bħal ħamiema nieżel fuqu; u mis-smewwiet instama’ leħen: “Inti ibni l-għażiż; fik sibt l-għaxqa tiegħi. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Commentary   -  by Fr Raniero Cantalamessa ofm cap

  

A Call for Rediscovery of Sacrament of Baptism

"At that time Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As soon as he came out of the water he saw that the heavens opened and that the Spirit, in the form of a dove, descended on him. And a voice was heard that came from the heavens: 'You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. '"

Was it that Jesus also needed to be baptized, as we do? Of course not. With that gesture, he wanted to show that he had become one of us. Above all, he wanted to put an end to the baptism of "water" and inaugurate that "of the Spirit." It was not the water in the Jordan that sanctified Jesus, but Jesus who sanctified the water. Not only the water of the Jordan, but that of all fonts of the world.

The feast of the Baptism of Jesus is the annual occasion to reflect on our own baptism. A question people often ask themselves about baptism is: Why baptize small children? Why not wait until they are older and can decide freely for themselves? It is a serious question, but it can conceal a deceit. In procreating a child and giving him life, do parents first ask for his permission? Convinced that life is an immense gift, they rightly assume that one day the child will be grateful for it. A person is not asked for permission to be given a gift, and baptism is essentially this: the gift of life given to man by the merits of Christ.

Of course, all this assumes that the parents themselves are believers and have the intention to help the child develop the gift of faith. The Church acknowledges their decisive competency in this area and does not want a child to be baptized against their will.

Moreover, no one today says that, by the simple fact that a person is not baptized, he will be condemned and go to hell. Children who die without baptism, as well as people who have lived, through no fault of their own, outside the Church, can be saved (the latter, it is understood, if they live according to the dictates of their conscience).

Let us forget the idea of limbo as the place without joy or sadness in which children who are not baptized will end up. The fate of children who are not baptized is no different from that of the Holy Innocents, which we celebrated just after Christmas. The reason is that God is love and "wants all to be saved," and Christ also died for them!

Quite different, however, is the case of the one who neglects receiving baptism out of laziness or indifference, though aware, perhaps, in the depth of his conscience, of its importance and necessity. In this case, Jesus' word retains all its severity: only "he who believes and is baptized will be saved" (cf. Mark 16:16). There are increasingly more people in our society who for different reasons have not been baptized in childhood. There is the risk that they will grow up and make no decision, one way or another. Parents are no longer concerned about it because they now think that it is not their duty; the children because they have other things to think about; and also because it has not yet entered the common mentality that the person himself must take the initiative to be baptized.

In order to address this situation, the Church gives much importance at present to the so-called Christian initiation of adults. The latter offers the young person or adult who is not baptized the occasion to be formed, to prepare and to decided with full liberty. It is necessary to surmount the idea that baptism is only something for children.

Baptism expresses its full meaning precisely when it is desired and decided upon personally, as a free and conscious adherence to Christ and his Church, although the validity and gift of being baptized as children must not be disregarded for the reasons above explained. Personally, I am grateful to my parents for having had me baptized in the first days of my life. It is not the same to live one\'s childhood and youth with or without sanctifying grace!  

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