Year B

Jan 24 2025

God Makes the Ordinary Extra-ordinary

A baby is clothed in a fancy white garment. The priest or deacon, using water, sprinkles (or pours or dunks) and says, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Thankfully, the child doesn’t cry. We eat a good meal and slice the cake. It’s nice . . .

When I visited Israel a few years ago, I rolled up my pant legs to stand in the “spot” in the River Jordan. The water was warm. The sun was hot. Hmm, I thought, so this is where Jesus was baptized. Frankly, it didn’t look like much. Slow muddy water, sort of a creek about ten feet across, with scrubby plants and reeds on either side . . .

Then bam! The heavens are torn open! God does something new. God is here. God is near.

The action is fast in the Gospel of Mark. The man from Nazareth is baptized by John; the mighty man of God goes to the desert to wrestle with the devil; the wonder-worker heals the wounded; the divine hero drives out demons. It all starts right here: Jesus arises from that water and heaven’s floodgates burst open. The royal Messiah has arrived. The kingdom of God has come.

The Almighty, the All-Powerful, has come near to you and me as well. The human actions and words of the sacrament of baptism may not look like much, but God has done something fresh for us, too. Lively and bubbling, the Spirit of God dwells within us. Where access to the Divine had once been blocked, the barriers have been burst open. Bam! This is God’s doing, not ours. The Lord of lords, the King of kings, is near to us—always here, always new.

Consider/Discuss

Sometimes the January post-Christmas season can feel like slow muddy water—it doesn’t look like much, it doesn’t feel like much. It can be easier to focus on somber news rather than Good News. In this winter week, concentrate on the excitement of the bubbling up of the Holy Spirit within ordinary life. Where is God’s beauty? Goodness? Joy?
The kingdom of God is here. Can you feel it? Can you sense it? The kingdom of God is now! What does it mean to you that the Almighty has come to dwell with you?

Living and Praying with the Word

Everlasting One, we are thirsty. Though we have been baptized, we still crave your living water. We seem to spend our money on what is not bread and our time on what does not satisfy. Jesus, wash us once more so that we draw water joyfully from your springs of deliverance. Bathe us in your love, Spirit of God, and flood us with your strength. Holy Trinity, One God, we give ourselves to you anew this day.

Jan 24 2025

Scripture Study for

The reading from Isaiah comes from the post-Exilic period, a time when Israel was tempted to question God’s continued commitment to the relationship after the history of infidelity that led to the Exile. Isaiah assures that God remains committed to the relationship, if only Israel would turn to God (“Heed me . . .”) and accept the offer of forgiveness. Sandwiched between two such calls to Israel is the assurance that the restoration of Israel will be such that other nations will be drawn to Israel because of her generously forgiving and restoring God. The graciousness of God toward Israel will act as a magnet, drawing many others to “seek the Lord while he may be found.”

The thought of the reading from the First Letter of John does not proceed in a straight line. The circular, intertwining language of the passage reflects the close and reciprocal connection between love of God and others, both of which find their center in faith in Jesus as Christ. This faith is grounded in the testimony of the Spirit, the water and the blood— “the testimony of God.” The water and the blood very likely refer specifically to the blood and water that came from Jesus’ side (John 19:34), although the imagery can also include Baptism and Eucharist. The point of the passage is that God has testified that Jesus is the Christ, begotten by God, and all those who believe God’s testimony are also begotten by God, with all this entails.

The Gospel reading is remarkable for its close association of baptism with the Holy Trinity. John has already proclaimed that the One who is to come after him will baptize with the Holy Spirit, who will sanctify the baptized and shape them into the people of God being gathered around Christ. Now Jesus comes to be baptized himself. Immediately the Holy Spirit descends upon him, reflecting back on John’s comment about Jesus baptizing with the Spirit. The scene concludes with the Father’s own voice announcing who Jesus is. Thus the Son, sent by the Father, is sealed with and becomes the agent of the Holy Spirit, the power of God in the world.

Jan 24 2025

Jesus, the Open Door

Good scribe, I am getting old. I must tell my story before I die: The porter began to push the palace door closed: “You are not of the Chosen People. We do not want your kind here.” “But wait! We have seen a star. We have come to worship the king of the Jews.”

“Wait here.”

They let us squeeze in through a crack. The room was heavy with perfume, masking the stench of unwashed bodies. In the stale air, I could not breathe. I longed to be back home, in the crispness of the desert air, basking in the radiance of the stars and the moon. The long trek to get to Jerusalem, to follow that star, just to have the door slammed in our faces, to see this man . . . This was not the king that we were looking for.

“Go to Bethlehem. Find the child. Come back and tell us so that we too can go and worship.” I smelled a lie. I smelled darkness, deceit in these halls of power. My stomach felt like it was being stabbed.

She opened the door. “Come in. Welcome!” I smelled fresh bread. (Some have pictured us coming to a stable—but no, we came to his house.) The baby laughed and reached for us, holding out his arms. I felt a surge of joy. The radiance of the star shone in his little smile, as though he would be a ray of light in the vast darkness. I was happy to give him my gift. They had welcomed us in. We were truly wanted and loved! I felt sure that this king, small as he was, would open the door for others as well.

But let that putrid Herod foul this holy place? No. No. I just wanted to go home.

Consider/Discuss

When have you felt unwanted, as though a door has been slammed in your face? How does that feel different from the welcome of a that has been door graciously opened?
Jesus opened the door of faith to the Gentiles as well as the Jews. How can we more fully appreciate that? How can we, in turn, generously open doors for others?

Living and Praying with the Word

Gifts. Savior of the world, we bring you gifts. Yet all that we give to you has already been given to us. You have clothed us in radiance. Your star has arisen in our lives. We have nothing to give. So we pay you homage and bow before you. Glory to you, O Lord! Your light has shone upon us!

Jan 24 2025

Scripture Study for

The passage from Isaiah begins with an image of a world covered in the darkness and thick clouds of spiritual blindness, confusion, ignorance, violence, and woes of every kind. The exception is Zion, the city of the God of Israel, in which God appears in glory. It is this divine presence that sheds light over Jerusalem, bringing healing, wisdom, and shalom. In such a world, the prophet concludes, all the nations are naturally drawn to the light that shines from within Israel. The prophet foresees a new day dawning for the entire world, beginning with Jerusalem, which will become a destination for all the nations as they move inevitably toward the Light, proclaiming praise for the God of Israel.

Although most of the Old Testament focuses on the particular relationship between Israel and God, that central story is clearly situated within the story of God and the entire human family: Abraham is promised that through him all the families of the earth will find blessing (Genesis 12:3). This larger divine purpose drives much of Paul’s thinking, such as we see it here in the Letter to the Ephesians. Here the emphasis is on God’s “outreach” to the nations. The grace that Paul has been called to proclaim is precisely that Gentiles are now called to join with Jews as heirs of God’s ancient promises. This inheritance, obtained through Christ, is unearned, founded solely on God’s graciousness.

Understandably threatened by the news of a “newborn king of the Jews,” Herod naturally wants to know where he might find this child. The prophecy, derived from Micah 5:1–3, speaks of a Davidic king who will emerge from David’s ancestral town. Herod of course intends to harm the child, but the focus of the reading is on the homage of the wise men, who are not dismayed in the least that the new king of the Jews is to be found in such humble circumstances. Clearly believing the child is in fact the king of the Jews, they bring him costly gifts, which tradition has suggested point toward Christ’s royalty (gold), divinity (frankincense), and eventual death (myrrh).

Jan 24 2025

The Lord Bless You and Keep You

When I was little, I worried about the sheep. The angels sang “Glory to God in the highest” and the sky burst with light. I loved the story of the shepherds. But I worried about their sheep. In the picture in my children’s Bible, they looked like white dots scattered on the hillside. I saw no fences with barbed wire. In the next picture, when the shepherds knelt by baby Jesus in the manger, they were not there. Had the sheep wandered every which way and gotten lost? Did they fall off a cliff? I looked at the pictures a long time. Would they be okay?

In my adult life, I have learned that ancient shepherds used shrubbery to make a fold called a keep, a hedge with thorns to guard and preserve and keep their animals. The sheep were enfolded, kept secure. Yes, they would be okay.

The author of Numbers uses that same Hebrew verb “to keep” in the blessing of Aaron: “The Lord bless you and keep you.” He is asking the Lord to protect, to preserve, to hedge us in, to make us safe. When the Lord “shines his face upon us,” we are beloved sheep. We are enfolded, kept secure from all harm.

Mary also “kept” all these things in her heart. In the Greek, that verb has a similar sheltering feel—to keep close together and to preserve from all harm. As the shepherds departed from her, her face shone upon her newborn beloved and she treasured these thoughts; she built a hedge around all that was said about him to shelter him in her heart.

Maybe we still worry in our grown-up way, will those we love wander and get lost? Will we ourselves be okay? Lord, bless us and keep us!

Consider/Discuss

Devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe involves a powerful sense of the Virgin Mary’s protection, asking her to wrap her cloak or mantle around us. What joy and security do you feel when you are enfolded by love?
The shepherds in Jesus’ day were not cute little children dressed up in robes carrying stuffed animals. They were characters outside the margins of society, not necessarily the most desirable of guests. Yet the Gospel of Luke places them on the inside, at the heart of the Christmas story. As you make your New Year’s resolutions this day, who are the shepherds in your life? How could you enfold them into your life more intentionally in this upcoming year?

Living and Praying with the Word

Shepherd of souls, the thorns that surrounded your head have become the source of our safety. Wandering and scattered, we sometimes feel lost. We pray for those we love who also feel lost. Wrap your arms around them and do not let any harm befall them. Also protect those whom we do not love as we ought. We may all just be little white dots on a hillside, but we are also all your beloved sheep. In this New Year, whatever comes, be our shelter, keep us safe.