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Reflection on this Sunday's scripture readings
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Isaiah 42:1-7
Psalm 28
Acts of the Apostles 10:34-38
Matthew 3:13-17
Today we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus, God's Beloved on whom God's favour rests. The words of the Gospel echo the opening words of the "Servant Song" of the prophet Isaiah who wrote in 6th century BCE while the people of Israel were in captivity in Babylon. Isaiah preached a message of salvation to the beleaguered people to help them understand that God was about to liberate them. Although the identity of the servant is not entirely clear, it probably refers to the people Israel. Once liberated, they will be a light to the nations revealing God's redemptive powers.
In the Gospel we hear how Jesus came to John for baptism. This baptism was essentially a religious rite of cleansing and purification, associated with certain Jewish groups, which became a model for Christian baptism. Although Jesus had no need of cleansing, Matthew tells us that the Lord wanted to do perfectly all that was right and just in order to obey the will of God. The descent of the Spirit of God upon Jesus declares him to be the chosen one, reminiscent of the servant of Isaiah, a light to the nations through whom God will reveal his redemption, as Peter was to preach later to Cornelius.
Can you hear God call you his chosen one, his beloved in whom he delights?
Can you hear God call you to serve him in your own situation?