What was Jesus’ Praying After Baptism? 耶穌受洗後的祈禱是甚麼？

Feast of Baptism of the Lord, Year C
Theme:What was Jesus’ Praying After Baptism? 耶穌受洗後的祈禱是甚麼？

Prayer is an essential part of religious life. Believers pray to deities for various reasons. Some beg for things they need such as health, wealth, success and delivery from dangers etc. Others thank their gods for wishes granted and there are also altruistic people who intercede for the needy etc. Whatever people pray, they expect their prayers to be heard and hopefully answered. Prayers are actually encounters with our God whose closeness varies from person to person. Rather, it is our ability to feel His closeness that varies from person to person. Anyway, however far apart we are from God we are full of expectations in our prayers and in our encounters with Him. God is real and He will definitely answer us though we may not always understand the answer.

In the pandemic at this very moment, we have great expectations on people in power, viz. Government officials, scientists and pharmaceutical companies etc., to relieve us of our sufferings. Have they met our expectations? We can’t expect too much from them. After all, they are mere mortals flawed with concupiscence. What about the God in whom we believe? Has God answered our prayers? Or have we misunderstood God’s answer?
In the first reading today, the prophet says, “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service has ended, that her guilt is expiated, that she has received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.” (Isaiah 40:1-2) Is this God’s answer? Is it relevant to the present situation?

First of all, God affirms once more that we are His people and that He is faithful. He wants the prophets to convey His wish to comfort us. What kind of comfort is it? If the pandemic is the “service/servitude/exile” mentioned in the prophecy, it is supposed to be fulfilled and HAS ENDED! But we don’t see any signs of the end of this pandemic. We see new virus mutants surfacing month after month. We see the number of people infected soaring and governments are locking down the major cities in Christmas etc. … Despite all these realities, I believe that this is the beginning of the end of pandemic because the virus is getting more infectious and at the same time less lethal! Many people are infected without showing the slightest signs of infection. Regrettably, the mortality due to new mutants has not yet been released to the public. Probably, the governments don’t want the commoners to know the truth. If it were high, it would generate panic. If it were low, people would relax their alert. Either way, it is bad for governments! Either way, mankind have no way to eradicate the virus. We must learn to live with it! The pandemic is arguably God’s rod to chasten our faults: egoism, consumerism and secularism. He wants us to be more outgoing and more caring towards the needy. Has our guilt been expiated? Probably not! It’s because some powerful people are colluding with each other to fatten themselves at the expense of the commoners in this pandemic which has opened up political advantages for the powerful to grasp. So, God has answered but who is able to discern?

The gospel text we read today during Mass is an excerpt. The verse about John’s arrest is skipped. If it is read in full, it seems that Jesus was not baptized by the Baptist because he was no longer present. So, Jesus was probably baptized by the disciples of the Baptist! Actually, Luke’s narration does not refute the fact the Jesus was baptized by the Baptist. The other two Synoptic gospels bear witness to this (Matthew 3:13; Mark 1:9). Biblical scholars opine that Luke uses this literary device to present his understanding of the Salvation History. The Baptist marks the end of the Age of Promise or the Age of Israel. Jesus’ baptism marks the beginning of the Age of Fulfilment whereas the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost marks the beginning of the Age of the Church. Thus, during the election of Matthias to replace Judas, Peter delineated the scope of the Gospel: beginning from the baptism of John until Jesus’ ascension (Acts 1:22).
Therefore, the baptism of Lord Jesus Christ marks the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, the beginning of the fulfilment of all the prophecies in the Old Testament. Secondly, Jesus’ baptism makes our Christian baptism effective. Our creaturely status is elevated to Sonship through baptism. The Father’s words also apply to us, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22) Thirdly, the Son of God is without sins. Yet He humbly received baptism not just confirming His genuine human nature but also set up an example of humility for us to follow. If you claim to be a Catholic but refuse to be baptized, are you greater than Jesus Christ?

Only Luke mentions that the Holy Spirit and the Father’s voice appeared while Jesus was praying (Luke 3:21). The other Synoptic gospels focus on something else. Matthew wants to show the importance of Christian baptism which even the Baptist wanted to receive (Matthew 3:14). Mark employs strong wordings: the heavens “being torn open” to show the power of the Son of God and His baptism was the breaking-in of the kingdom of God (Mark 1:10). So what was Jesus’ praying in Luke? We can only speculate. Most probably Jesus was saying the Lord’s Prayer “Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.” (Luke 11:2-4)!

Let’s meditate what it is like for the Son of God to say this prayer and how it is related to us! Remember that the Son of God is the Word (John 1:1) who created and sustains the known universe. When a word is uttered, it shall be accomplished.

1. What will it be like when you address God directly as “Father”? We’ll never be able to fully understand this mystery. Suffice to say that we are responding to God’s love when we call Him “Father”. We also acknowledge our finitude and our lower position. At the same time, all humanity is united under His fatherhood which makes us genuinely siblings. Therefore, we have the responsibility to become keepers of our brothers (Genesis 4:9) when we call God “Father”.
2. What will it be like when all humanity hallow God’s name? God is intangible. The only way for humanity to represent God is God’s name. In other words, we’re looking forward to all humanity hallowing God and to the day when all of us express our piety and do homage to Him. Since we are all children of God by calling Him “Father”, how can we hallow God but hate our brothers and sisters at the same time? Such a person can only be a liar and a hypocrite (1 John 4:20)! The dignity of human persons is as holy as God and has to be protected at all costs. That is to say, hallowing God is at the same time respecting human dignity! Believing in God does not cheapen human nature. Instead, human nature is elevated through belief in God as our Father.
3. What will it be like when God’s kingdom comes? Today, how much do we desire to see God’s kingdom come and how much do we want to see God’s justice done! The situation today is chaotic and full of incompetence and injustice. My God, come to clean up the mess and deliver us …

You’ll probably wonder why Luke’s version is shorter. Why is “who art in heaven” missing? Why are two petitions missing? I’m sure a lot of biblical scholars must have written about this situation. It’s likely to be more original while the Matthew version is more liturgical. Bear in mind that Luke’s gospel is very prayerful. We should spend more time praying with Luke than reasoning with him.

Brethren! Probably you were baptized in your infancy and you aren’t able to remember your baptism. Thus, the feast today is a good opportunity for you to refresh your understanding of what honour and glory it brings to be baptized. As a baptized Catholic, let us follow the humility of Christ to pray and His commandment to love one another like He has (John 14:34).
God bless.
Photo Credit: bible.com
2019年反省