Holy Friendship Day [Thursday] Rosary
The Luminous Mysteries
First Luminous Mystery: THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD
'I did not know him myself, and yet my purpose in coming to baptise with water was so that he might be revealed to Israel.' And John declared, 'I saw the Spirit come down on him like a dove from heaven and rest on him. I did not know him myself, but he who sent me to baptise with water had said to me, "The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is to baptise with the Holy Spirit." I have seen and I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.'
- John 1: 31-34
Reflection:
Today let us reflect on the virtue of HUMILITY. First on the side of John the Baptizer. He was considered as a prophet and was respected as such by the people. The authorities themselves did not try to argue with him because they were afraid of the people who believed in him. He had some kind of influence and power. But he knew that it was not his but that it came from God. He did not have the right to claim it for himself and to be proud of having such influence and power. He did not claim the respect and honor that the people were giving him. Fact is, when it was Jesus' time to begin his ministry, John did not hesitate to tell his followers that "he must decrease while Jesus must increase". Secondly, the Lord Himself showed humility when He subjected Himself to be baptized by John though John did not want to do so because He knew that He was greater than him. But then the Lord tells John that they must do what is necessary. While in an earthly setting, many people of influence and power would rather enjoy their advantage to the detriment or even damage to the proper and legal processes, here we have the Lord humbly letting Himself, God made man, be baptized by John, a mere human, lower than His stature. We seldom see men and women of influence and affluence bow down to those lower in rank even if these people have the duty to subject them to processes and procedures. Thirdly, John does what he had to do because he had to do it. It would have been false humility not to obey the Lord just because he thinks He is greater than him. Whatever our role in this life is, we must fulfill it even if we have to subject someone of influence or affluence to the rules and regulations for even the Lord who is clearly above all made Himself subject to what is necessary in accordance with the Father's will.
Image from dominicancooperatorbrother.blogspot.com via google.com
Biblical passage from Jerusalem Bible at catholic.org
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