AND OURS…: MISSION ACCEPTED
Greeting
Today Jesus was baptized in the Jordan;
the Father recognized him as his beloved Son;
the Holy Spirit prepared him
for his mission of service.
May the Lord’s Spirit of sonship and service
be always with you.
R/ And with your spirit.
Introduction
Today, on the feast of the Lord’s baptism, Jesus, though he was without sin, made himself one with sinners, with outcasts, with the poor in any way, to bring them God’s forgiveness and life. He accepted that difficult mission. At our baptism we have become one with him. Do we too, like him, accept our mission to be good servants of God and people, even when this is a difficult task? After all, we are Jesus’ disciples.
Penitential Act
We too are God’s beloved sons and daughters
since the time we were baptized.
Have we answered God’s love?
Let us ask the Lord to forgive us.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, servant of God,
you taught us how to serve.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, beloved Son of the Father,
through you we became his daughters and sons:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you made yourself one
with all sinners and with the weak:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
and take all our sins away.
Make us live as people loved by God
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray that with Jesus
we may be faithful servants of God and people
(pause)
God our Father,
with Jesus you call us to be
your beloved sons and daughters
and with him you give us the mission
to become humble and dedicated servants.
Grant that we may not break
those crushed by sin and sorrow.
Help us to serve always the cause of right,
to be eyes to the blind
and a voice for the downtrodden.
May we please you in all we do.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading (Isaiah 42:1-4,6-7): Here Is My Beloved Servant; My Spirit Rests On Him
The prophet announces that God’s Spirit will guide his faithful servant to bring justice and compassionate, respectful love to the world. This prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus. His mission is also ours.
1 Reading – ISAIAH 42:1-4,6-7
Thus says the LORD: Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching. I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
Responsorial PSALM 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10
R. (11b) The Lord will bless his people with peace.
Give to the LORD, you sons of God,
give to the LORD glory and praise,
Give to the LORD the glory due his name;
adore the LORD in holy attire. R.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters,
the LORD, over vast waters.
The voice of the LORD is mighty;
the voice of the LORD is majestic. R.
The God of glory thunders,
and in his temple all say, “Glory!”
The LORD is enthroned above the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as king forever. R.
Second Reading (Acts 10:34-38): The Good News Is For All
Peter tells us that the Spirit of God rested on the Lord Jesus, and that his Good News is destined for all.
2 Reading ACTS 10:34-38
Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered in the house of Cornelius, saying: “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him. You know the word that he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”
Alleluia Cf. MARK 9:7
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The heavens were opened and the voice of the Father thundered:
This is my beloved Son, listen to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel (Matthew 3:13-17): This Is My Beloved Son
Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan is the occasion to make him known as the promised Savior: the Father calls him his beloved Son; the Holy Spirit will guide him.
Gospel MATTHEW 3:13-17
Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him. After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Commentary
A vocation to be God’s chosen servants
Today, the feast of the Lord’s Baptism ends our Christmas celebrations. We see the third and last of the three great manifestations – the Epiphany – by which the coming of the Lord to his people was made known to us.
Jesus, though he was without sin, made himself one with sinners, with outcasts, with the poor in any way, to bring them God’s forgiveness and life. He accepted that difficult mission.
In the second part of the book of Isaiah, a mysterious character enters the scene. The author calls him: the “servant of the Lord.” The opening words of the prophet about this Servant of the Lord echo Matthew’s description of the baptism scene of Jesus: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight.” The mission of Jesus is then spelt out in some beautiful phrases – “I have put my Spirit upon him, and he will bring justice to the nations….”
In this “Servant of the Lord,” the first Christians immediately recognized the image of Jesus (Acts 8:30-35). It all started on the day when Jesus was executed. The grief-stricken disciples could not understand why the life of a good and just man had concluded in failure. They looked for an explanation in the scriptures.
In the book of Isaiah, they found the story of this Servant who, after an unfair trial, was executed. They understood that God’s ways are not of domination and humiliation of enemies. Through accepting defeat, he brings the gift of life. When God entrusts someone to perform a task, he also gives him or her the ability to fulfil it. To his “servant,” God communicates his Spirit, his irresistible force, as support.
The mission entrusted to this “chosen servant” is to bring justice to the nations – the “justice of God”, which consists of his benevolence, his salvation. The Servant shall not impose himself by force, legal pressure or threats against those who oppose him. He will not shout nor raise his voice like those in authority. He will bring back one who did wrong instead of destroying him. For him, there will be no lost cases or irrecoverable situations.
In Jesus was fulfilled all that was written in the book of Isaiah about the faithful servant of God. On the solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord, the Church reminds us of our own baptism and our vocation to become God’s chosen servants.
Intercessions
Today let us pray to our Father in heaven, who sent his Son among us as a servant to set us free and to make us new. Let us say to him:
R/ Lord, hear your people.
– For the Church and its leaders, that they and we may not seek compromises with wealth and power but serve and help the poor, let us pray:
R/ Lord, hear your people.
– For all those who do not know Christ or who are estranged from the Church, that the way we live Christ’s Gospel may reveal to them the love of the Lord, let us pray:
R/ Lord, hear your people.
– For us Christians and for all people, that the Holy Spirit may guide us to respect all who are little and defenseless; that we may not crush them but give them justice, let us pray:
R/ Lord, hear your people.
– For all those who are baptized, that they may follow Christ and that, like him, they may learn to serve rather than to be served, let us pray:
R/ Lord, hear your people.
– For us and all our Christian communities, that the Eucharist may strengthen in us the gifts of the Holy Spirit and make us ever more faithful to our vocation as God’s beloved children, let us pray:
R/ Lord, hear your people.
Lord our God, you have called us to become new when we were baptized. Forgive us our cowardice and keep renewing us through your Spirit, that we may have the courage to go with Christ all the way, for he is your Son and our Lord for ever. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Our God and Father,
these gifts of bread and wine
will become your beloved son Jesus
on whom your favor rests.
Strengthen us with his body and blood
and let his Holy Spirit renew us
as people who live without compromise
the message of justice and love
and the very life of your Son.
In this way, may we truly be
your beloved sons and daughters
on whom your favor rests,
now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
Let us give wholehearted thanks to the Father for having made us in baptism his beloved sons and daughters together with Jesus our Lord.
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer
Baptized in the Holy Spirit
and children of the Father
through Jesus, his beloved Son,
we pray with all trust Jesus’ own prayer. R/ Our Father…
Deliver Us
Deliver us Lord, from every evil
and grant us your peace in our day.
Revive in us the grace of baptism
and guide us by your Holy Spirit,
that we may be loyal to our mission
of living the life of Jesus in this world,
as we wait in joyful hope
for the coming in glory
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom…
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus our Lord,
the beloved Son of the Father,
on whom God’s favour rests.
Happy are we to be invited
to share his table
and to live his life. R/ Lord, I am not worthy…
Prayer after Communion
Our God and Father,
you have opened heaven to us
to strengthen us with the bread of life
and to fill us with the Holy Spirit.
Make us new and call us away
from our certainties and attachments.
Send us out to go forward without fear
on the road of justice and peace,
that we may be your beloved children
together with your faithful Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
At his baptism in the Jordan
Jesus was invested with his mission
of bringing God’s liberating love to people.
The Spirit guided him to carry out that mission
in uncompromising faithfulness.
At our baptism with water and the Spirit,
we have received the mission
to live like Jesus,
to go about doing good as he did,
to be faithful and just to God and to people.
May the God in whose name we have been baptized
protect, guide and bless you for this task:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us go in the name of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.