John the Baptist announces Jesus

as the Lamb of God

John 1:29-34 

1. Opening prayer

 In this prayerful reading of the Gospel of John, we recall the words of Saint John Henry Newman to accompany and stimulate us, words that he liked to use in prayer to the Lord: Stay with me, and I shall begin to shine as you shine; to shine so as to be light for others.

Jesus, the light will all come from you: nothing will be because of me. It will be You who shine on others through me. Grant that I may praise You thus, in the way that You like most, shining on all those who are around me. Give them and me Your light; enlighten them together with me, through me. Teach me to spread Your prais e, Your truth, Your will. Grant that I may make You known not through words but by example, that influence of solidarity that comes from what I do, visibly resembling Your saints, and clearly full of the love that grows in my heart for You» (Meditations and Devotions). 

2. The text

29 The next day, he saw Jesus coming towards him and said, 'Look, there is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. 30 It was of Him that I said, "Behind me comes one who has passed ahead of me because He existed before me." 31 I did not know Him myself, and yet my purpose in coming to baptize with water was so that He might be revealed to Israel.' 32 And John declared, 'I saw the Spirit come down on Him like a dove from heaven and rest on Him. 33 I did not know Him myself, but he who sent me to baptize with water had said to me, "The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is to baptize with the Holy Spirit." 34 I have seen and I testify that He is the Chosen One of God.'

3. A prayerful silent pause

The Word of God demands that we want and welcome it through a meditation of silence. Quiet yourself, allow yourself to welcome the presence of God in His Word; a silence that makes room in your heart so that God may come and talk to you.

4. A symbolical reading

This Gospel passage speaks of two animals of great spiritual value in the Bible: the lamb and the dove. The first alludes to significant texts in the Bible: the paschal meal of the exodus (cc.12-13); the glory of the Christ-Lamb in the Apocalypse.

a) The symbol of the lamb:

Let us turn our attention to the symbol of the «Lamb (amnos) of God», and to its meaning.

- A first biblical allusion for an understanding of this expression used by John the Baptist to point out the person of Jesus, is the figure of the victorious Lamb in the book of the Apocalypse: in 7:17 the Lamb is the shepherd of the nations; in 17:14 the Lamb squashes the evil powers on earth. In Jesus’ time, people imagined that at the end of time a victorious lamb or one that would destroy the powers of sin, injustice and evil would appear. This idea conforms to the eschatological preaching of John the Baptist who warned that God’s anger was imminent (Lk 3:7), that the axe was already laid at the roots of the trees, and that God was ready to cut down and throw on the fire every tree that did not bear good fruit (Lk 3:9; Mt 3:12 and Lk 3:17).

Another very powerful expression with which the Baptist introduces Jesus is in Matthew 3:12: «His winnowing-fan is in His hand; He will clear His threshing-floor and gather His wheat into the barn; but the chaff he will burn in a fire that will never go out». It is not wrong to think that John the Baptist could describe Jesus as the Lamb of God who destroys the sin of the world. In fact, in 1 John 3:5 it is written, «Now you know that He appeared in order to abolish sin»; and in 3:8: «It was to undo all that the devil has done that the Son of God appeared». It is possible that John the Baptist greeted Jesus as the victorious lamb who, by God’s command, was to destroy evil in the world.

- A second biblical allusion is to the Lamb as the suffering servant. This figure of the suffering servant or of Jhwh is the subject of four canticles in Deutero-Isaiah: 42:1-4, 7, 9; 49:1-6, 9, 13; 50:4-9, 11; 52:13-53, 12. We need to ask ourselves whether the use of «Lamb of God» in John 1:29 is not colored by the use of “lamb” to allude to the suffering Servant of Yahweh in Isaiah 53. Did John really consider Jesus the lamb as the suffering Servant?

There certainly are no clear proofs that the Baptist made such a connection, nor are there proofs that exclude such a possibility. Indeed in Isaiah 53:7 it is written that the Servant: «never opened his mouth, like a sheep that is dumb before its shearers, never opening its mouth». This description is applied to Jesus in Acts 8:32, and so this likeness between the Suffering Servant and Jesus was made by the early Christians (see Mt 8:17 = Isa 53:4; Heb 9:28 = Isa 53:12).

Besides, in John the Baptist’s description of Jesus in 1:32-34, there are two aspects that recall the figure of the Servant: in v. 32 John the Baptist says that he saw the Spirit coming down on Jesus and resting on him; in 34 he identifies Jesus as the chosen of God. Thus also in Isaiah 42:1 (a passage which the synoptics also connect with the baptism of Jesus) we read: «Here is My servant whom I uphold, My chosen one in whom My soul delights (see Mk 1:11). I have endowed Him with my spirit». Again in Isaiah 61:1: «The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh has been given to me». These biblical allusions strengthen the possibility that the Evangelist made a connection between the Servant of Isaiah (chapters 42 and 53) and the Lamb of God.

In other parts of John’s Gospel we also find Jesus described with the traits of the suffering Servant (12:38 = Isa 53:1).

One interesting aspect to be noticed is that the Lamb of God is said to take away the sin of the world. In Isaiah 53:4, 12, it is said that the Servant bears or takes on himself the sins of many. By His death, Jesus takes away sin or takes it on Himself.

Thus according to the second interpretation, the Lamb as suffering Servant, is Christ who offers Himself freely to eliminate sin from the world and restore His brothers and sisters in the flesh back to God.

We find a modern confirmation of this interpretation of Jesus as “Lamb of God” in a document of the Italian bishops: «The Apocalypse of John, going even to the ultimate depths of the mystery of the One sent by the Father, recognizes in Him the Lamb who is sacrificed “since the foundation of the world” (Rev 13:8), the One whose wounds healed us (1 Pet 2:25; Isa 53:5)» (Communicating the Gospel in a changing world, 15).

- A third biblical allusion is the Lamb as the paschal lamb. John’s Gospel is full of Paschal symbolism especially in relation to the death of Jesus. For the Christian community for whom John is writing his Gospel, the Lamb takes away the sin of the world by His death. In fact, in John 19:14 it is written that Jesus was sentenced to death at midday on the eve of the Pasch, that is at the time when priests began to sacrifice paschal lambs in the Temple for Easter. Another connection of the paschal symbolism with the death of Jesus is that while Jesus was on the cross, a sponge soaked in vinegar was raised up to Him on a stick (19:29), and it was the stick or hyssop that was dipped into the blood of the paschal lamb to sprinkle the doorposts of the Israelites (Ex 12:22). Then in John 19:36 the fulfillment of Scripture that not one bone of Jesus would be broken, is clearly a reference to the text in Exodus 12:46 where it is written that not one bone of the paschal lamb must be broken. The description of Jesus as the Lamb is found in another of John’s works, namely the Book of Revelation: in 5:6 mention is made of the sacrificed lamb; in 7:17 and 22:1 the Lamb is the one from whom flows the spring of living water and this aspect is also an allusion to Moses who made water flow from the rock; finally, in 5:9 reference is made to the redeeming blood of the Lamb, another paschal motif that recalls the salvation of the houses of the Israelites from the danger of death.

There is a parallel between the blood of the lamb sprinkled on the doorposts as a sign of liberation and the blood of the lamb offered in a sacrifice of liberation. Soon Christians began to compare Jesus to the paschal lamb and, in doing so, they did not hesitate to use sacrificial language: «Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed» (1 Cor 5:7), including Jesus’ task of taking away the sin of the world.

b) The symbol of the dove:

This second symbol also has several aspects to it. First of all, the expression “like a dove” was common to express the affective connection with the nest. In our context it says that the Spirit has found its nest, its natural habitat of love in Jesus. Moreover, the dove symbolizes the love of the Father that rests on Jesus as in a permanent dwelling place (see Mt 3:16; Mk 1:10; Lk 3:22).

Then the expression «like a dove» is used in connection with the verb to descend to express that it is not a question of the physical aspect of a dove but the way the Spirit descends (like the flight of a dove), in the sense that it does not strike terror but rather inspires trust. Such biblical symbolism of the dove does not have parallel symbolisms in the Bible; however an old rabbinical exegesis compares the hovering of the Spirit of God over the primordial waters to the fluttering of the dove over its nest. It is not impossible that in using this symbol, John wanted to say that the descent of the Spirit in the shape of a dove was a clear reference to the beginning of creation: the incarnation of God’s plan in Jesus is the summit and aim of God’s creative activity.

The love of God for Jesus (corresponding to the movement of the dove returning to its nest) urges Him to pass on the fullness of His divine essence (the Spirit is love and loyalty).

5. The message

a) Christ is our salvation: The Baptist had the task of pointing out in Jesus «the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world». The proclamation of the Gospel, the word of Jesus Christ, is as essential and indispensable today as it was yesterday. We never cease to need liberation and salvation. Proclaiming the Gospel does not mean communicating theoretical truths nor is it a collection of moral teachings. Rather, it means allowing people to experience Jesus Christ, who came into the world – according to John’s witness – to save humankind from sin, evil and death. So we cannot transmit the Gospel and at the same time not pay attention to the daily needs and expectations of people. To speak of faith in Jesus, Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, means to speak to people of our time, first asking ourselves what do they seek in the depths of their hearts.

“If we wish to hold on to an appropriate criterion…, we shall need to nurture two complementary focal points… Jesus Christ is witness to both. The first consists of our effort to listen to the culture of our world so as to discern the seeds of the Word already present there, even beyond the visible borders of the Church. To listen to the most intimate expectations of our contemporaries, consider seriously their wishes and desires, seek to understand that which burns in their hearts and what makes them afraid and diffident”. Besides, paying attention to the needs and expectations of people «does not mean renouncing what is different in Christianity or the transcendence of the Gospel… the Christian message points to a fully human way of life but does not limit itself to presenting mere humanism. Jesus Christ came so that we may partake of the divine life, of that life which has been called “the humanity of God”. (Communicating the Gospel in a changing world n. 34)

b) The Spirit does not come only to rest on Jesus, but to possess Him permanently so that He may share Himself with others in baptism. Finally, “the lamb who pardons sins and the dove of the Church meet in Christ”. Here is a quotation from St. Bernard where he brings together the two symbols: “The lamb is among animals what the dove is among birds: innocence, sweetness and simplicity”.

c) Some practical suggestions:

- Renew our availability to collaborate with the mission of Christ in communion with the Church by helping people to be free of evil and of sin.

- To stand by men and women on their journey that they may live in hope in Jesus who liberates and saves.

- To give witness to one’s joy in experiencing the efficacy of the word of Jesus in one’s life.

- To live by communicating faith giving witness to Jesus, savior of all people.     

6. Psalm 40

This psalm speaks of the situation of a person who, freed from some oppression, finds no more authentic attitude in reply to God than an existential and total availability to His word.

I waited, I waited for Yahweh,

then He stooped to me and heard my cry for help.

He put a fresh song in my mouth, praise of our God.

You wanted no sacrifice or cereal offering,

but You gave me an open ear,

You did not ask for burnt offering or sacrifice for sin;

then I said, 'Here I am, I am coming.'

In the scroll of the book it is written of me,

my delight is to do Your will;

Your law, my God, is deep in my heart.

I proclaimed the saving justice of Yahweh in the great assembly.

See, I will not hold my tongue, as You well know.

7. Closing prayer

Father, who on the day of the Lord

gather Your people to celebrate

the One who is First and Last,

the Living One who has conquered death,

grant us the strength of your Spirit so that, having broken the chains of evil,

we may render You the free service

of our obedience and love,

so that we may reign with Christ in glory.

For He is God, who lives and reigns with You,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever.

(From the Liturgy)

The baptism of Jesus in the Jordan

Matthew 3:13-17

1. Opening prayer

“We praise You, invisible Father, giver of immortality: You are the source of life, the source of light, the source of every grace and truth, lover of humankind and lover of the poor, who reconciles all with You and draw all to You through the coming of Your beloved Son.

Make us living people, grant us Your Spirit of light so that we may know You, the true One and the One whom You sent, Jesus Christ.” (Serapion’s Anaphora)

2. Reading

a) Introduction:

This Gospel fragment (Mt 3:13-17) is part of a narrative section of Matthew the Evangelist, the section that introduces the public life of Jesus. After the flight into Egypt, Jesus lives in Nazareth. Now, as an adult, we find Him on the banks of the river Jordan. The meeting of the two is part of the concluding section dedicated to John the Baptist. Anyone who wishes to go deeper into the personality of John and his message (Mt 3:1-12 has already been presented to us in the liturgy of the second Sunday of Advent) needs to keep in mind the whole of chapter 3 of Matthew. Our passage concentrates especially on the acknowledgement of the divinity of Christ at the time of His baptism. God the Father reveals the identity of Jesus.

b) A division of the text as an aid to its reading:

Matthew 3:13  setting

Matthew 3:14-15  dialogue John-Jesus

Matthew 3:16-17  epiphany/theophany

c) The text:

13 Then Jesus appeared: He came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 John tried to dissuade Him with the words, 'It is I who need baptism from You, and yet You come to me!' 15 But Jesus replied, 'Leave it like this for the time being; it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that uprightness demands.' Then John gave in to Him. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized He at once came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. 17 And suddenly there was a voice from heaven, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests on Him.'

3. A moment of silent prayer

so that the Word of God may penetrate our hearts and enlighten our lives.

4. Some questions

to help us in our meditation and prayer.

a) Why does Jesus “appear” after His hidden life in Nazareth?

b) How does awareness of His identity and mission grow?

c) Have I, at some time, taken on something new in my life?

d) Who or which experience has most revealed to me my identity, vocation and mission?

e) What does the memory of my baptism mean to me?

5. Meditation

a) A key to the reading:

Together with a historical-chronological reading of the passage, the episode of the baptism of Jesus and His meeting with John before He begins His public life, we need to keep in mind also a symbolical reading, assisted by the Fathers of the East, a symbolism that is the framework of this liturgical season of Christmas and which concludes with the full manifestation of God as man: a synthesis of the manifestation-epiphany of the Son of God in the flesh.

b) A commentary on the text:

Mt 13: 13 The adult Jesus

After John “appears” on the scene (13:1), Jesus of Nazareth, the town where He spent His childhood and early youth (Mt 12:23), goes to the river Jordan. As a good Israelite, He watches the authentic religious movements that spring up among the people. He shows that He approves of the work of John and decides to be baptized with water, not, of course, to receive forgiveness for sins, but to unite Himself and share fully in the expectations and hopes of all men and women. It is not humankind that goes to Him, but He who goes towards humankind, according to the logic of the incarnation.

Mt 13:14-15 the dialogue of John with Jesus

John’s attempt to prevent the baptism of Jesus is his acknowledgement of the difference between the two and an awareness of the new (the New Covenant) making its appearance. “The one who follows me… will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire… his winnowing-fan is in his hand… will clear… will gather… will burn…” (vv.11-12). Jesus’ attitude is still one of submitting to God’s saving plan (in this way, do all that righteousness demands), respecting the manner (in humility-kenosis) and the times (the time-kairos). We also see the difference between the two from their families of origin (priestly for John), from the places (Jerusalem for John, Nazareth for Jesus) from the manner of conception (a proclamation to the father, Zachary, in the old style; a proclamation to the mother, Mary), the parents’ ages (those of John old). Everything points to the passage from the old to the new. Matthew prepares the readers for the newness of the Christ: “you have heard it said, but I say to you” (Mt 5).

Mt 13:16-17 the presentation of God the Father and the Holy Spirit

In Matthew’s Gospel we have the solemn “adoration of the Magi” in acknowledgement of the royalty and divinity of Jesus. Luke also adds the acknowledgement of Elizabeth (Lk 1:42-43), of the angels (Lk 2:13-14) of the shepherds (Lk 2:20), and of the aged Simeon and Anna (Lk 2:30; 28). All the Evangelists record the proclamation of the divine identity of Jesus by God the Father and the Holy Spirit present in the form of a dove. Matthew says clearly “This is” not “you are” my Son, the Beloved. Jesus is divine by nature and also the new Adam, the beginning of a new humanity reconciled with God as well as nature reconciled with God by means of Christ’s immersion in the waters. The heavens are reopened after being closed for such a long time by sin, and earth is blessed.

The descent of Christ into the waters prefigures His descent into hell and the words of the Psalmist come true (Ps 74:13-14), he crushes the head of the foe. The Baptism not only prefigures, but inaugurates and anticipates Satan’s defeat and the liberation of Adam.

However, it will not be easy to recognize the Messiah in His weakness. John himself has some doubts when in prison, and he sends his disciples to ask “are you the one who is to come or are we to wait for someone else?” (Mt 11:3).

6. For those who wish to go deeper into the liturgical and ecumenical aspects

In the tradition of the Eastern churches, the Baptism of Jesus is the most important liturgical feast of the Christmas cycle. On 6 January they celebrate together the baptism, birth, visit of the Magi, the wedding feast of Cana, as one fact. Rather than the historical development of the life of Jesus, they stress His theological-saving relevance. They do not dwell on the sentimental aspect, but on the historical manifestation of God and His acknowledgement as Lord.

Cyril of Jerusalem says that Jesus gives the waters of baptism “the color of His divinity” (III mystagogic catechesis, 1).

Gregory Nazianzen writes that the creation of this world and the creation of the spiritual world, once foes, reunite in friendship, and we humans, united in one choir with the angels, partake of their praises (PG 46,599).

The descent into the waters corresponds to the descent into the bowels of the earth symbolized by the birth in a cave. The destructive waters become waters of salvation for the just.

The Old Testament readings of the liturgical Vespers recall the saving waters: the Spirit hovers over the waters at the time of creation (Gen 1), the waters of the Nile save Moses (Ex 2), the waters open for the people of Israel to go through (Ex 14), the waters of Mara become sweet (Ex 15), the waters of the Jordan open before the Arc (Josh 3), the waters of the Jordan heal Naaman the leper (2 Kings 5) etc. Jesus then at the wedding feast in Cana transforms water into wine (Jn 2) as a sign that the time of salvation has come.

At this feast in the eastern liturgy, there is a tradition of blessing water in a spring or river by immersing the cross three times (the triple baptismal immersion). This recalls the prophet Isaiah: let the wilderness and the dry lands exult (Isa 35:1-10), come to the water all you who are thirsty (Isa 55: 1-13), draw water joyfully (Isa 12:3-6).

7. Psalm 114 (113)

Alleluia!

When Israel came out of Egypt,

the House of Jacob from a people of foreign speech,

Judah became his sanctuary,

and Israel his domain.

The sea fled at the sight,

the Jordan turned back,

the mountains skipped like rams,

the hills like sheep.

Sea, what makes you flee?

Jordan, why turn back?

Why skip like rams, you mountains?

Why like sheep, you hills?

Tremble, earth, at the coming of the Lord,

at the coming of the God of Jacob,

who turns rock into pool, flint into fountain.

8. Closing prayer

Jesus, source of life, who comes to cancel Adam’s sentence, in the Jordan You killed hatred; grant us the peace that is beyond all thought. Resplendent Word sent by the Father, after You have uprooted the sins of mortals, come and dissipate the long and sad hours of the night, and by your baptism, let Your children rise resplendent from the waves of the Jordan. May the human race clothe itself in white, come out of the waters as children of God and transform creation into the image of the creator. (From oriental liturgical “chants”)

From October 11 to 15 a meeting of bursars was held in St Joseph’s Retreat Centre in the hills outside Bali in Indonesia. The bursars from Indonesia and its commissariats and mission in China, from the Philippines and its mission in Papua New Guinea, from Australia and its mission in Timor Leste, from the St. Thomas province and Latin Delegation in India and from the mission of the St. Elias province, New York in Vietnam were joined by the General Councillor for Asia, Australia and Oceania, Fr Albertus Herwanta and the Bursar General, Fr Kevin Alban. Over the course of the four days information was exchanged regarding the financial situation in the various entities that make up the region. Several practical recommendations were made about communications, formation and fund raising which will be presented to the superiors of the region. The group agreed that the experience had been very positive and that there would be another meeting in October 2011 in the Philippines.

PHOTO

On Friday 8th October the construction of 141 housing units was officially inaugurated and blessed in the Carmelite parish of St Isidore, Labrador, Philippines. This was one of the hardest hit regions of the Philippines coastline in the floods of 2009. Around 100 parishioners died in the flood and the parish church was turned into a refugee co-ordination centre under the direction of Fr Tony dela Cruz O. Carm., a former provincial commissary of the Philippines. The Carmelite Curia was able to make a donation of 10,000 euros towards the reconstruction project which was blessed by Fr Kevin Alban O. Carm., Bursar General, with the assistance of several Carmelites from Manila, as well as the bursar of the mission in Papua New Guinea. The donation was made possible through the generosity of the Society of the Little Flower and its donors in Britain, Ireland and several European countries. Money for this project was also raised by Third Order groups in the provinces of St Elias, New York, and PCM.

PHOTO

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Father of heaven and earth,

hear our prayers,

and show us the way to Your peace in the world.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - Mark 16:15-18

Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

3) Reflection

• The signs which accompany the proclamation or announcement of the Good News. Jesus appears to the eleven disciples and reproaches them because they had not believed the people who had seen Him risen. Once again, Mark refers to the resistance of the disciples to believe in the witness of those men and women who had had an experience of the resurrection of Jesus. Why would this be? Probably to teach two things. In the first place, that faith in Jesus goes through the faith of people who give witness. Second, that nobody should get discouraged when incredulity comes from the heart. Even the eleven disciples had doubts!

• Then Jesus gives them the mission of announcing the Good News to all creatures. The requirement which He gives is the following: to believe and to be baptized. To those who have the courage to believe in the Good News and who are baptized, He promises the followings signs: they will cast out devils, they will have the gift of tongues, they will pick up snakes in their hands and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison, and they will lay their hands on the sick who will recover. This happens even in our own day.

- To cast out devils is to fight against the force of evil which destroys life. The life of many people has improved for having entered a community and for having begun to live the Good News of the presence of God in their life.

- To have the gift of tongues is to begin to communicate with others in a new form. Sometimes, we find a person whom we never have seen before, but it seems to us that we have known her for a long time. This happens because we speak the same language, the language of love.

- They will be unharmed if they take deadly poison: there are many things which poison living together, e.g. gossip, which destroys the relationship between people. The one who lives in the presence of God goes beyond this and succeeds in not being bothered by this terrible poison.

- To cure the sick: wherever there is a clearer consciousness of the presence of God, there is also a special attention toward oppressed and marginalized people, especially the sick  What helps the person to heal is to feel accepted and loved.

- Through the community, Jesus continues His mission: Jesus himself, who lived in Palestine where He accepted the poor of His time, revealed the love of the Father, this same Jesus continues alive in our midst, in the same way in our communities. Through us He continues His mission, revealing the Good News of the Love of God for the poor. Even today, the Resurrection takes place which urges us to sing, “Who will separate us, who will separate us from the love of Christ, who will separate us?” (cf. Rm 8: 38-39). No power of this world can counteract the force which comes from faith in the Resurrection (Rm 8: 35-39). A community which wants to witness to the Resurrection has to be a sign of life, should fight against the forces of death in a way that the world will be a favorable place for life, and should believe that a different world is possible. Above all in Latin America, where the life of the people is in danger because of the system of death which has been imposed, the communities have to be a living proof of the hope which overcomes the world without the fear of being happy!

4) Personal questions

• To cast out devils, to have the gift of new tongues, to be unharmed by deadly poison and by snakes, to impose the hands on the sick: Have you fulfilled any of these signs?

• Does Jesus continue His mission through us and through our community? Is He able to fulfill this mission in our community? In what way?

5) Concluding prayer

Praise Yahweh, all nations,

extol Him, all peoples,

for His faithful love is strong

and His constancy never-ending. (Ps 117:1-2)

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

All-powerful and ever-living God,

direct Your love that is within us,

that our efforts in the name of Your Son

may bring the human race to unity and peace.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

One God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - Mark 3:22-30

The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "By the prince of demons he drives out demons." Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, "How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin." For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."

3) Reflection

• The conflict grows. In the Gospel of Mark there is a progressive sequence. By the measure in which the Good News advances and people accept it, in the same measure it grows resistance on the part of the religious authority. The conflict began to grow and to influence all groups of people. For example, the relatives of Jesus thought that He was out of His mind. (Mk 3:20-21), and the scribes who had come from Jerusalem thought that He was possessed, that Beelzebul was in Him (Mk 3:22).

• The conflict with authority. The scribes slandered against Him. They said that Beelzebul was in Him and that it was through the prince of devils that He drove out the devils. They had come from Jerusalem, about 120 kilometers away, to keep an eye on Jesus’ behavior. They wanted to defend tradition against the new ideas that Jesus taught to the people (Mk 7:1). They thought that His teaching was against good doctrine. The response given by Jesus had three parts.

- First Part: The comparison with a divided family. Jesus uses the comparison of the divided family and the divided kingdom to denounce the absurdity of the slander. To say that Jesus casts out or drives out the devils with the help of the prince of the devils is to deny what is evident. It is like saying that water is dry, and that the sun is darkness. The doctors of Jerusalem slandered because they did not know how to explain the benefits worked by Jesus on behalf of the people. They were afraid to lose their power.

- Second Part: The comparison of the strong man. Jesus compares the devil to a strong man. Nobody, unless he is a strong person, will be able to take away the house from a strong man to rob it. Jesus is the strongest of all. And this is why He succeeds in entering the house and in dominating and overcoming the strong man. He succeeds in driving out the devils. Jesus wins over the strong man and robs his house. He liberates the people who were under the power of the evil one. The Prophet Isaiah had already used the same comparison to describe the coming of the Messiah (Is 49:24-25). Luke adds that the expulsion of the devil is the evidence of the coming of the Kingdom (Lk 11:20).

- Third part: The sin against the Holy Spirit. All sins are forgiven, except the sin against the Holy Spirit. Which is the sin against the Holy Spirit? It is to say, “The spirit which impels Jesus to cast out or drive out the devil, comes precisely from the devil!” The one who speaks in this way is incapable of receiving pardon. Why? Can the one who covers his eyes guess? He cannot! The one who closes his mouth, can he eat? He cannot. The one who does not close the umbrella of slander, can he receive the rain of pardon? He cannot! Pardon would pass by his side but would not reach him. It is not that God does not want to forgive. God always wants to forgive. But it is the sinner who refuses to receive pardon!

4) Personal questions

• The religious authorities close themselves up in themselves and deny the evidence. Has this ever happened to me, that I close myself off before the evidence or facts?

• Slander is the arm or weapon of the weak. Have you experienced this?

5) Concluding prayer

The whole wide world has seen the saving power of our God.

Acclaim Yahweh, all the earth,

burst into shouts of joy! (Ps 98:3-4)

Christmas Time

1) Opening prayer

Father, You make known the salvation of mankind

at the birth of Your Son.

Make us strong in faith

and bring us to the glory You promise.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - John 1:29-34

John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, 'A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.' I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel." John testified further, saying, "I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God."

3) Reflection

• In the Gospel of John, history and symbol join together. In today’s text, the symbolism consists in recalling texts of the Old Testament which reveal hints to the identity of Jesus of Nazareth. In these few verses (Jn 1:29-34) we find the following expressions which contain a symbolical description: 1) Lamb of God; 2) Who takes away the sins of the world; 3) He existed before me; 4) The descent of the Spirit in the form of a dove; 5) Son of God.

• Lamb of God. This title brings to mind the Exodus and the night of the first Passover. The blood of the Paschal Lamb, with which the doors of the houses were signed, was a sign of liberation (Ex 12:13-14). Jesus is the new Paschal Lamb who liberates His people (1 Co 5:7; 1 P 1:19; Rev 5:6-9).

• Who takes away the sins of the World. This recalls a very beautiful phrase of the prophecy of Jeremiah: “There will be no further need for everyone to teach neighbor or brother: “You will know the Lord, they will all know me, from the least to the greatest, says the Lord; since I shall forgive their guilt and never more call their sin to mind” (Jer 31:34).

• He existed before me. This recalls several texts of the Books of Wisdom, in which God’s Wisdom, which existed before all the other creatures and which was with God,  fixed her dwelling among the people of God (Pro 8:22-31; Eccl 24:1-11).

• The descent of the Spirit in the form of a dove. It denotes creative action where it is said that the “Spirit of God sweeping over the waters” (Gen 1:2). The text of Genesis suggests the image of a bird which flies over its nest. An image of the new creation is thanks to the action of Jesus.

• Son of God. This is the title which summarizes all the others. The best comment on this title is the explanation from Jesus himself: “The Jews answered Him: ‘We are stoning You not for doing a good work, but for blasphemy: though You are only a man, You claim to be God”. Jesus answered: “Is it not written in your Law: I said: you are gods?” So the word ‘gods’ refers to those people to whom the word of God was addressed (and Scripture cannot be set aside). Yet to someone whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world you say, “You are blaspheming because I said, I am Son of God? If I am not doing My Father’s work there is no need to believe Me, but if I am doing it, then even if you refuse to believe in Me, at least believe in the work I do; then you will know for certain that the Father is in Me and I am in the Father” (Jn 10:33-38).

4) Personal questions

• Jesus offered himself completely for the whole of humanity. What can I offer to help my neighbor?

• We have also received the Holy Spirit. How conscious or aware am I that I am His temple?

5) Concluding prayer

Sing a new song to Yahweh,

for He has performed wonders,

His saving power is in His right hand

and His holy arm. (Ps 98:1)