This is what John the Baptist proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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The verb baptize literally means, “to plunge; dunk; or submerge.”
Christians borrowed the word from the Greeks to describe what John was doing at the Jordan River – literally plunging people into water as a sign of their repentance.
For this we call him, “John the Baptist,” but we could also call him, “John the Plunger!”
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The first instance scholars have found this verb – “baptize” – being used is from a pickle recipe.
The recipe states, “You must boil water. Add cucumbers. When they become tender, remove them from the water and baptize them in vinegar.”
If you simply dip a cucumber into vinegar and remove it, it isn’t a pickle. It’s more like a quickle. (A half-pickle).
If you want to turn a cucumber into a pickle, then you must baptize it, allowing it to soak in the vinegar before it becomes a fully-fledged pickle.
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In today’s Gospel, John says that Jesus will “baptize” us with the Holy Spirit. Most Christians receive this divine gift shortly after their birth – and anyone baptized at that age certainly has no recollection of it.
So, if we are to become fully “pickled” Christians, then we must remain in the Holy Spirit through prayer, worship, and charity.
A person who isn’t practicing their faith is like a quickle, a half-pickled Christian.
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How do I practice my faith? How do I remain soaked in the Lord?
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“I baptize you with water,” John says, “but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
If we’ve already received this divine gift, then our faith journey is all about churning that gift into an ever-greater sense faith, hope, and love.
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Image credits: (1) The Baptism of Christ, Andrea del Verrocchico (2) Jar of Pickles, Fine Art America (3) Cruciform Church of Christ
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.” Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.” After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Every so often, I see a car riddled with bumper stickers. They can tell you a lot about a person – what they think or value.
Some bumper stickers are as benign as which exit you’re from on the Parkway. Others are a bit edgier, such as who you want to be president. Then there are seasonal stickers, like, “Keep Christ in Christmas,” and, “Wise men still seek him.”
This last example, “Wise men still seek him,” is perhaps my favorite, because it refers to the Magi in today’s Gospel.
The Magi were “wise,” not because of what they knew, but because of what they asked.
“Who is this newborn child? Is he our King?”
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Often when I hear the confessions of high school students – just beyond the age of Confirmation – they pose the same existential questions as the Magi.
“Who is God? Is he real?”
These basic questions inevitably branch out into more particular ones, such as: “Is there more than one God? Is Jesus God? Does God know me? Do Catholics believe the truth?”
I always tell high schoolers, “It’s a good thing – a wise thing – to ask questions. If we don’t, then we’ve never really thought about our faith. But when you ask a question, you should also take the responsibility of pursuing the answer.”
It’s this – the search for Truth – that inspires the Magi in today’s Gospel, making them truly wise, setting an example for all of us to follow.
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Consider their journey.
We first encounter them near the end of their travels. The Magi have arrived in Jerusalem from a faraway place. The Gospels do not tell us exactly where they came from, only that it was from the “east.”
Scholars believe this caravan of travelers may have come from as far away as Persia. Meaning, their trip to Bethlehem was not a weekend getaway; it was literally a journey of a thousand miles.
It’d be like riding on a camel from Rome to Paris today.
Imagine taking that thousand-mile journey in search of the truth…
These seekers would’ve encountered a number of obstacles along their way: thieves, robbers, and wild animals lurking in the night; desolate places without much water; spontaneous storms; even the wrath of King Herod.
They arrive safely in Jerusalem only because of their persistence. Even then, their journey is not over. Bethlehem, where Jesus lay, was five miles away – a fact the Magi would not have learned without consulting the scribes and chief priests, who reveal the scriptures to them.
As the prophet Micah foretells, “And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah… from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
When the Magi reach Bethlehem, they finally encounter the Christ-child and worship him, laying gold, frankincense, and myrrh at his feet. Then they return home by another way to share the Good News.
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The Magi teach us two things:
The importance of asking questions… and the correlating responsibility of seeking the answer.
What questions do I have about my own faith? About God?
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I remember asking a crucial Catholic question in college, “Is that piece of bread – the Eucharist – really Jesus?”
I prayed, pondered, researched, and prayed some more for over a year until finally it became clear to me: yes, that is, in fact, our Lord.
So, as a second-year student, I converted to Catholicism – a road that’s led me to becoming a Catholic priest.
Or consider our new crucifix suspended behind the altar. It’s undoubtedly the first thing you see once you enter into the church.
It almost demands that we pause and ask, “Who is this man? What does he have to do with me?”
Like the Magi, have we come to worship him?
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Every so often, I see a car riddled with bumper stickers. Perhaps the one I’d be most likely to put on mine – if not a St. Pius X sticker – would be:
“Wise men still seek him.”
That sticker – and by extension, the Magi – reminds us to ask the bigger questions, and to never stop searching until we find the answer.
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Image credits: (1) Women’s Health (2) Wikipedia (3) The Atlantic
Jesus decided to go to Galilee, and he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter.Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” But Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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I’m sure we all have a favorite picture or family portrait hanging on a wall at home. Maybe it’s a picture from your wedding day; a photo of a family reunion; a picture of your pet.
Mine is an icon of Jesus.
I pray before it every morning before I leave the house to come celebrate Mass. His is the first face I see. It’s a picture I’ve had for a few years now, yet every time I see it is as if it’s the very first time.
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When looking at your favorite picture, one thing you might not think about is the nail behind the frame. Once that nail was driven into the wall and latched onto the frame, it was no longer visible. Naturally, we tend to forget about it.
But without that nail, the frame would slide off of the wall, shattering the glass all over the floor.
A nail, in that sense, serve two purposes: it brings two separate objects together – in this case it attaches a picture frame to a wall – and it provides enduring support, holding a frame up.
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In today’s Gospel, the Apostle Philip plays the role of a nail.
First, he brings his brother, Nathanael, to Jesus by inviting him to, “Come and see.” Then he provides enduring support for his brother on his journey of faith.
That’s what we’re all called to do – to invite people to, “come and see,” then provide enduring support along their faith journey.
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Think of yourself like a nail. It’s okay to be in the background. It’s okay to let something – or someone – else receive the attention. What matters most is that we bring people to Jesus.
Who might I invite today?
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Image credits: (1) (2) Christ Pantocrator, St. Catherine’s Monastery (3) Ancient Faith Blogs-Ancient Faith Ministries
