The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Feasts
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Overview and Connections
Although not titled a Feast, today is, in fact, a feast day. It both closes the Christmas season and opens the season of Ordinary Time. It is very much a liturgical hinge and transition. It’s also a time of transition in the story of the life of Jesus: he’s going from obscure country boy to a major prophetic figure with an itinerant ministry. Major life transitions are always a good time to stop and take stock of things.
The Old Testament and New Testament readings for this feast are always the same, although each have multiple options so you may hear different readings at Mass. I will cover the principle, default readings below.
Isaiah 42:1-4,6-7
Alternate reading Year B Isaiah 55:1-11, year C Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
This reading comes from “Second Isaiah,” written to people who are in exile with an encouraging message: stay strong, keep up your hope, something is coming.
It is one of the “suffering servant songs,” describing someone who brings hope and salvation. In their original context, these songs describe a nation rather than an individual. This is because the society was collectivistic, with an emphasis on family and groups, as opposed to our individualistic society with an emphasis on the person. These are traits of a whole group of people. It wasn’t until Christians read back through this material that they picked it up and applied it to a single person. The application of the suffering servant songs to Jesus is some of the oldest theology in the New Testament.
Everywhere these suffering servant songs appear, they interrupt the narrative flow of the surrounding text. If removed, the flow is restored. It’s almost as if they were not native to the text and someone just stuck them in at random places. This passage looks forward to the ideal world of the future in which justice will reign and the covenant will be observed perfectly.
In context, this passage should be interpreted as a description of what the nation of Israel is called to, how they are called to be. We can understand this to be God’s hope for them. A hope they never quite lived up to as a collective it would seem. But we must also consider the lectionary setting of the passage. It is used for the baptism of Jesus and, so, we must interpret this as telling us something about Jesus. As such, it presents a beautiful picture of the kind of person Jesus was: full of the spirit, setting things right, gently caring for the ones whom the world has crushed, never giving up in his mission.
He brings justice, but not in the way that we might expect. It’s a gentle justice that respects all, especially the weak and vulnerable. And he brings people from darkness into light – that is his mission.
V1 links us to the gospel reading: “my chosen one with whom I am well-pleased.”
V2 tell us this servant won’t be an obnoxious person out on the street corner yelling at anyone who will listen! And then v3 brings in the metaphor of a bruised reed. This image in the ancient world symbolized the ease with which a ruler could punish someone who displeased him. But the Israelite nation, the ideal nation, is portrayed as gentle, as a people who would not punish even a bruised or broken person.
The second image in v3 is a wick, which is what makes the light. If it is dimly burning or produces too much smoke it will be discarded and replaced. This is a metaphor about the care for the vulnerable: these people are not to be discarded, but rather treated with tenderness. Just as Christ does not discard us for our infirmities but rather works with them. There is a gentle respect for all.
V5 is left out of the lectionary; it makes a shift to talk about God and who God is. Vv6-7 talk about God’s purpose for choosing the nation of Israel: to embody the covenant; to be a light for the nations; to heal the blind; and to release the prisoners. All these things, of course, will be part of Jesus’ ministry and cement the interpretation of this material as referring to the Messiah.
Imagine a candle wick that is just about to go out. Now imagine the care with which someone might nurse it along, to burn as long as possible. Ask God to bring to mind a weakness in you that God has worked with to strengthen and gently encourage.
Acts 10:34-38
Alternate reading Year B 1 John 5:1-9, Year C Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7
It helps to be familiar with the surrounding story for this passage. Chapter 10 is all about the Roman centurion Cornelius. Cornelius has a vision and the story is careful to say that it’s at the 9th hour of the day. This would have been the time of day when sacrifices were being offered in the temple. Of course, as a Gentile, Cornelius wouldn’t have been able to be a part of those. But he has this vision at that exact time and God says he’s heard Cornelius’ prayers and watched his way of life: “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.” In other words, the sacrifice he is not allowed to make at the temple is quite acceptable to God. God tells him to send for a man called Peter.
The next day Peter has a vision and he sees all these foods that are forbidden to Jews, but God tells him “take and eat. What God has cleansed you must not call unclean.” And then Cornelius’ messengers show up to get Peter. Peter ends up sharing a meal with Cornelius which completely breaks the Jewish dietary laws. That’s where the passage today picks up.
We take many things in our faith for granted because they have been a part of it for so long. But this question: can Jews actually eat with Gentiles? This was an astoundingly crazy idea to even consider, much less ask. Before this episode, Peter would have said that’s crazy, of course we can’t. But it’s a new era. Things changed with Jesus. Now everyone is “in” and God doesn’t show partiality. Every nation, every person is acceptable.
The passage today is Peter sharing the truth of this insight with Cornelius. Mind you, God has already revealed the truth to this Gentile man. I often try to imagine what it was like for Cornelius to listen to someone passionately share something as completely new when Cornelius already knew it. It must have required some patient listening on his part. Sometimes people have to come to the articulation of truths on their own.
V38 is a connection to this feast: God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit at his baptism, commissioning him for service. Later in this passage, we see the same Spirit coming on Cornelius and his Gentile household, baptizing them for service as well.
Ask God to bring to mind someone with whom you disagree in some fundamental way. Someone who believes something in a way that you consider just wrong. If you dare, ask God to show you what “no partiality” looks like. Ask God to show you how he loves and cares for this person in just the same way as he loves and cares for you.
Luke 3:15-16, 21-22
This is the recounting of the baptism of Jesus. Let’s think about that for a minute. Why are we baptized? And why would Jesus need to be baptized?
It’s worth noting that the first written gospel was Mark written around 70AD, and Mark, in his customary style, just says that John baptized Jesus with no further commentary. This probably became a source of embarrassment to the early church because they claimed that Jesus was divine and why would a divine being need to be baptized? So Matthew and Luke come along about 15 years later, and they both add some details to try and mitigate that embarrassment. By the time we get to the gospel of John at the end of the first century, he doesn’t even mention the baptism. Although John does provide a fuller explanation of what his baptism meant: “I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” (John 1:31)
What we see documented in the pages of the New Testament is a development of theology and how the early church wrestled with the baptism of Jesus. That said, calling today’s feast the “baptism of the Lord” obscures its focus.
It’s worth noting that January 6 is Epiphany, and in the Roman church, the readings that day focus on the visit of the magi. Epiphany is a Greek word meaning a manifestation of something otherwise invisible or unknown; an unveiling of a mystery. In the Roman church, the manifestation is when Gentile rulers acknowledge Jesus as something more than a little baby. In the Eastern churches, the readings for Epiphany focus on today’s event – Jesus’ baptism. Making this story serve as a parallel to Christian baptism creates tensions and theological controversies. The idea that this baptism and the subsequent voice from heaven is the manifestation of Jesus’ identity – the unveiling of who he is – is a better approach to the question of why Jesus was baptized. Today is about the revelation of Jesus as Son of God, done just as he launches his public ministry.
The focus of this passage is on the manifestation of Jesus’ identity as he launches his public ministry. Also worth pointing out is that John’s baptism was about repentance and metanoia. John was calling people to make radical changes in their lives, to live in alignment with God’s will. Think about Jesus’ life up to this point: he’s lived in an obscure town, working as a carpenter. He hasn’t drawn much attention to himself. After this experience, he’s going to launch his public ministry – a pretty radical change in his life! If we can disassociate this event from the sacrament of baptism as we know it, we can view this as an experience that launches Jesus further along his inevitable path as Messiah. For me, it’s incredibly consoling that even Jesus might have needed a little nudge here and there to get him going on the right path.
Two events are narrated in today’s passage: John insisting he is not the Messiah, followed by Jesus’ identity revealed after his baptism. The incidents are connnected by the Spirit.
In v15, the people are wondering about John’s identity. Only in Luke and Acts was there recorded the idea that John the Baptizer might be the Messiah. This likely reflects an ongoing controversy within or at the root of Luke’s community. In addition to this verse, see also Luke 7:19 and Acts 19:3.
John says that one “mightier” is coming, a word which implies physical strength; stronger. Jesus is The Strong One. The Jews of the time had a vision of the Messiah as a political figure, a king who would conquer the enemy and establish a new kingdom. Calling Jesus the Strong One might reflect this understanding even of John: a strong king who would conquer the oppressor.
John says, in contrast to The Strong One, he is not worthy to even loosen the thongs of Jesus’ sandals. This is a way of expressing the most menial person. Today we might say “I’m not worthy to clean his toilet or change his bedpan.”
In Mark (the first gospel written), John proclaims a baptism of fire only. The addition of Spirit here may be a post-Pentecost addition.
How easy it would have been for John to capitalize on his fame! People came from all over to hear him, they lauded him, even wondered if he might be the long-awaited Messiah. It could have all gone to his head.
The lectionary leaves out vv17-20, probably because they distract from the main theme and also because they make the passage difficult to follow when you are listening to it. V17 uses harvest imagery (gather, burn) usually associated with the last days, when the Messiah would establish God’s physical reign on either. John’s imagery is rather… forceful: winnowing fan (pitchfork), wrath (v7), axe (v9). This is diametrically opposed to Jesus’ ministry of healing and reconciliation. An interesting aside, John says that the fire will be unquenchable, from the Greek ἄσβεστος asbestos.
Vv19-20 are used to establish succession by having John exit center stage. It also avoids subordination of John: he was important for the duration of his ministry, and now his ministry is over.
Take a moment to read v21.
Sometimes what’s important in scripture is what’s there – what is stated in the text. Sometimes what is even more important is what’s not there – not stated explicitly. What’s missing in v21?
What’s missing is the moment of Jesus’ baptism. Matthew and Mark situate the descent of the spirit and the words of God in the context of Jesus coming up out of the water after his baptism. Luke just says he was baptized. For Luke, it’s what happens afterward that is important. And what happens afterward is that Jesus is praying. Only in Luke is Jesus praying at the moment of the confirmation of his identity. Prayer is central to Luke’s gospel.
As with many such “discrepancies” in scripture, we might be tempted to ask, “Which Gospel is ‘right’?” Because our culture has a fixation on factual history, we want to know exactly what happened. The ancients were far more comfortable with fluidity. Perhaps not living in the age of instant replay gave them a deeper appreciation for the fact that we all experience life in our own way, and perceive events colored by our own history. Keep in mind that each Gospel writer set out to tell a story about a facet of who Jesus is. They sometimes adapted events to fit in their framework. It’s also true that each Gospel writer was inspired by the Holy Spirit in his (or her!) endeavor. To the extent that each Gospel invites us into a deeper relationship with God, each one is “right” in its own right.
Another thing to pay attention to in v22 that is not explicitly stated: who is being addressed? Whom does God address with these words? We could say they are addressed to everyone around him – in which case this is a manifestation of his identity to other people. But you could also make the argument that Jesus is alone when this happens. Luke doesn’t explicitly say that here (in other places he will state that Jesus is alone while praying). But perhaps Jesus is alone and perhaps these words are addressed only to him. Why? Remember that Jesus was/is fully human and fully divine. What does it mean to be fully human? A core part of growing up and maturing is figuring out who you are. Some people have a clear sense of identity early on and don’t have any doubt of their path. But most of us dream, first of this, then of that. We make many false starts. Jesus is 30 at the time of this event. Perhaps he had attempted ministry before. Perhaps he had discerned who he was, but maybe early efforts at living that out had led to dead ends. Maybe it is at this moment that God affirms to Jesus all that he suspected about who he is. And maybe God is affirming Jesus’ path. Again, I find it deeply consoling to think of Jesus groping his way around, trying to figure out who he was and how to live that out. Has God ever affirmed your identity or vocation? Such affirmation, I think, often comes through the people in our lives – friends and family whose opinions mean a lot to us. And I suspect most of us need affirmation of the path for all the twists and turns our whole life.
Psalm 2 is a Messianic Psalm. God’s words in v22 evoke v7 of that Psalm: “You are my son, today I am your father.” The rest of God’s words evoke v1 of today’s Isaiah reading: the servant in whom God is well-pleased.
The story of the baptism of Jesus, understood as a manifestation of Jesus’ identity, is ripe for imaginative prayer. Imagine Jesus having wrestled for years over who he was and what he was called to do. Picture a series of false starts that felt like one failure after another. Imagine all that driving him out to the wilderness to hear this wild preacher. Imagine him walking towards the river water, something indescribable impelling him. Then picture him going off by himself to pray and suddenly receiving divine confirmation of his identity and his path. What feelings ran through him? Ask God for the grace to walk that path with him, feeling what he felt, and experiencing it with him.
Like Jesus, we are beloved children of God. And, like Jesus, God is well-pleased with his creation, with us. Take some time today to revel in that: you are beloved of God and God is well-pleased with you. Before you ever did anything – wrong or right – God loved you and was well-pleased with you. Nothing you can ever do will change that.
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© 2025 Kelly Sollinger