Dear Friend,
Before reading the Gospel for the Lord’s Baptism Sunday according to Matthew 3:13-17, please review the previous verses 3:1-2:
"When John the Baptizer made his appearance as a preacher in the desert of Judea, this was
his theme:
‘Reform your lives! The reign of God is at hand.’ "
And also verses 3:3:11 on what John said about the One who would follow him:
"I baptize you in water for the sake of reform, but the one who will follow me is more powerful than I. I am not even fit to carry his sandals. He it is who will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire."
Please discuss first the theme of John the Baptizer with the family.
Why reform lives? God was angry with His people and He planned to punish them. He wanted them to reform their lives. That was the urgent message of John the Baptizer. He sent His Son to show the people the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). Hence, the kingdom (reign) of God, through the Son, is near.
Then to proceed to read this Sunday’s Gospel and guide them into a meditation.
Contemplation ~
John knew that there was one who would follow after him. Somehow, this was revealed to him being a prayerful person, that one more important was to come. Did he know that it was Jesus, his cousin, who was to come?
When John was still in his mother’s womb, and Mary with Child came visiting, John leapt for joy. So that when Jesus came to him, John must have sensed it was Jesus who was to come.
Jesus came to be baptized by John. John hesitated because he knew Jesus is greater than him and
should instead be baptized by Jesus. But Jesus insisted "to fulfill all of God’s demands."
What is the meaning of this? To submit to John’s baptism is to believe in John’s baptism – Jesus agreed in the theme of John of "Reform your lives! The reign of God is at hand." This means that baptism as the Jews knew it must go beyond mere purification ritual but that of transformation. Jesus continued with this theme of transformation for His mission.
We all know that the Jews had rejected Jesus and Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD.
What is the meaning of this theme to me today?
How relevant and urgent is Jesus’ message transformation to me?
Baptism is not merely a ritual of belonging to the Church but of living the teachings of Jesus to be transformed by Him.
John was humble enough to accept Jesus.
Am I humble enough to accept Him?
I, too, must submit to Him to be transformed.
Contemplation ~
Imagine yourself in the company of John when the sky opened and you saw the Spirit of God (in the form of a dove) hover over Jesus and heard a voice from the heavens:
"This is my beloved Son. My favor rests on him."
Family Response ~
Talk about what you learned from John and Jesus in this Gospel.
How can the family apply these lessons to life and assist each other in living them out?
Joe & Charito
THE CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF MANILA'S
ONLINE RESOURCE FOR FAMILY MINISTRIES
www.simbahayan.org
servants@simbahayan.org
|