A Beacon Of Light . . . The Light Shines In Darkness

• 3 years ago

By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON JR.

(Editor’s Note: Fr. Richard D. Breton Jr. is a priest of the Diocese of Norwich, Conn. He is currently the parochial vicar of St. Andrew Parish in Colchester and St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Lebanon. He received his BA in religious studies and his MA in dogmatic theology from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Conn.)

• + + On Sunday, January 10, 2021 we celebrated the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. This feast ends the Christmas Season. This is done in a unique way. The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord unites the moment of the Incarnation and the manifestation of Christ to all nations through the Magi. This unification brings about a second “Epiphany,” if you will, where we are introduced to the Trinity. What do I mean by this?
  
  In the story of Creation we meet God, who is the spoken word. From the first day of the creation story, to the last day, we know God only as the “spoken word.” We are reminded this in the Prologue to St. John’s Gospel where it says:
  
  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This one was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and apart from him not one thing came into being that has come into being. In him was life, and the life was the light of humanity. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:1-5).
  
  God spoke and everything came into being. He commanded the skies and the oceans to be created, and they were. He commanded the land and the animals to be created, and they were. He commanded that the birds and the sea creatures be created, and they were. He created man, and Adam came into being. He recognized that Adam needed a helpmate, and Eve was created.
  
  All of this happened through the spoken word of God. We never see God; we hear His voice. We don’t know what God looks like; all we know is His voice. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve don’t see God; they only hear Him speak. In fact, after they fall from God’s grace, they are overcome with fear because they hear Him rustling in the garden but do not see Him.
  
  The word spoken in the garden is soon made manifest to creation. We no longer just hear His voice, through the Incarnation of the Christ Child, we see Him!
  
  The Solemnity of the Incarnation of Christ is the moment the word becomes flesh: “And the Word became flesh and took up residence among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . No one has seen God at any time; the one and only, God, the one who is in the bosom of the Father — that one has made Him known” (John 1:14, 18). The birth of Christ in Bethlehem is the first time we see God! It is the beautiful appearance of the word becoming flesh.

The Cry Of Humanity

How can we understand the moment of the Incarnation? The birth of a child is embodied with grace-filled moments. As a child is born, the first moments are captured with the beautiful cry of humanity! That cry reminds me of the voice of God. It is not until after hearing the cry, do the parents set their eyes upon the beautiful new child they have received from God.

The same thing happened in the Incarnation, the word of God that was heard in creation, in the Garden of Eden and through the prophets, is now visibly seen in the infant lying in the manger. It was such a manifestation the angels proclaimed the moments by singing hymns of praise: “Glory to God in the Highest, and peace to people of good will.”

Shepherds, the ordinary people of the region were amazed at what they saw. Truly the Word has become flesh and God would begin to reveal Himself to His chosen people.

There would be a second manifestation, however. This time it was to the Magi, the Kings of the East. Through the glow of a Star they would be led to the Child Jesus. Their encounter would reveal another aspect of this manifestation. For they would experience the transforming power of the Messiah, as seen in the Child of Bethlehem. This experience of transformation would lead the Magi to return home by another way. They could not return from whence they came, because they were forever changed.

The Feast of the Epiphany would become for humanity a feast of conversion. All of humanity, the chosen ones and the not chosen, would participate in a manifestation of divine proportions. This Epiphany leads all of us to the way of conversion.

A Threefold Way

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord completes the Christmas Season by introducing us to the Blessed Trinity. The Word becoming flesh, the visible sign of God dwelling among us leads humanity all the way back to the God of our creation. How does the Baptism of Christ do this? It is done in a threefold way.

First, Jesus descends into the waters of the River Jordan, and makes them holy. The descent into the water sanctifies the waters of Baptism, enabling a re-generation of man.

Second, we are introduced for the first time to the Holy Spirit. As Jesus is in the water, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descends from the heavens and hovers above Him.

Third, we hear once again the spoken word of God: “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). Through the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan River, we are introduced to the Trinitarian God of the Christian faith and are united to Christ. Our Baptism opens our ears to hear the word of God, we are saved by the person of Christ in the waters of the font of Baptism, and the Holy Spirit dwells in us to begin His work within us. The Baptism of Christ in the Jordan reveals the “Christification” of Christ and that we are united through Him, with Him, and in Him.

I think that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI explains this well:

“Looking at the events in light of the Cross and Resurrection, the Christian people realized what happened: Jesus loaded the burden of all mankind’s guilt upon His shoulders; He bore it down into the depths of the Jordan. He inaugurated His public activity by stepping into the place of sinners” (Joseph Ratzinger, Jesus of Nazareth, Bloomsbury 2007, p. 18).

The voice of the Father and the descent of the Holy Spirit, at Jesus’ Baptism, anoints Him as the Messiah. This anointing enables Jesus to begin His public ministry. The whole purpose of Jesus was to be a visible sign of the Lord in the world. Jesus didn’t hide who He was, but rather, He proclaimed the Kingdom. Like Jesus we are anointed through Baptism as participants in this same Kingdom.

Our Baptismal promises invite us to be Christ-like in the world. How do we do this? It is quite simple really! We do this by remaining faithful to Christ and by living the faith. The world needs to know who Jesus is again. We have that capacity to teach the world who Jesus is. Our faith is meant to be lived and not hidden.

This year the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is an opportunity to renew our relationship with the Blessed Trinity. The voice of God was heard saying: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

God was “well-pleased” with His Divine Son and He is also well pleased with us. Jesus has already revealed Himself to the nations; we have heard His voice, we have seen His Face, we saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Him, we know who Jesus is!

May the New Year ahead be a time for God to be revealed once again to all the nations!