Understanding the Word

By Dianne Bergant, C.S.A.

The reading from Isaiah is the first of four passages traditionally known as  the “servant songs.” Most significant in this description of the servant is his endowment with God’s own spirit. Earlier Israelite leaders—the judges, kings,  and prophets—were thought to have been seized by the spirit, thus empowering them to act within the community in some unique fashion. The servant will exercise justice, but not the harsh, exacting kind. Instead, it will be gentle and understanding, willing to wait for the establishment of God’s universal rule. This justice will not compound the distress of an already suffering people. Rather, it will be a source of consolation. 

Acts of the Apostles describes a scene that took place in the house of Cornelius,  a newly converted Roman centurion. Normally, an observant Jew like Peter would  not enter the home of a Gentile. The first words of his discourse (“I see that God shows no partiality”) indicate that he was not always open to association with  Gentiles as he is now (Acts 10:34). It was a newly gained insight about God that changed his view of those who did not have Jewish ancestry. Peter came to see  that God shows no partiality, and Christ is Lord of all. The message of peace given initially to Israel now includes the Gentiles as well.  

The Gospel reading opens with a statement about Jesus’ leaving the familiarity and security of his home in Galilee and journeying to the Jordan River where  John was baptizing. There is no description of the actual baptism, but we do have an account of what happened afterwards: the heavens opened and the Spirit of  God descended. The Trinitarian scene is completed with the voice from heaven  identifying Jesus as “Son.” The words spoken combine an allusion to the “servant  of the Lord” (see Isaiah 42:1) and the enthronement of the messianic king. He will  accomplish this as “servant of the Lord.”

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