Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Mt. 3:13-17) “ Towards Disarming Peace”

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Mt. 3:13-17) “ Towards Disarming Peace”

            “Peace be with You.”  When the risen Lord first appeared to the apostles Easter morning, this was his greeting to them.  Jesus’ whole earthly existence was meant to heal the rift between the material world and the divine creator.  Jesus, the Son of God, descended to the earth on a mission of reconciliation. 

                We reflect on the Baptism of the Lord today as we close the Christmas season during which we celebrated the Incarnation of the Lord. Jesus gave up all his heavenly power to bring salvation.  How did he come?  Did he come with an army to impose his will on the world?  He could have.

                We are reminded of that in the Gospel of Matthew 26:53. When Jesus was faced with arrest in the Garden of Gethsemani, some of his followers took up swords to defend him, but he tells them, “Put back your swords. Those who use the sword are sooner or later destroyed by it…..Do you not suppose I can call on my Father to provide at a moment’s notice more than twelve legions of angels? But then how would scripture be fulfilled?”

Jesus didn’t want to convert the world by force but by his vulnerability.  He came into the world as a baby to show his peaceful intentions.  Who can be threatened by a baby?

                Jesus’ mission was consecrated when he was baptized in the Jordon by John.  The Gospels relate how the barrier between the heavens and the earth was dissolved by the Christ event.  God’s voice said, “This is my son in whom I am well pleased.”  God didn’t come to make war on humanity but to wage peace.  Jesus’ peace is unique.

                We need to hear this message of peace more than ever.  We have a world that is torn by conflict.  Someone has said we are in the middle of World War III fought piecemeal.  The boundaries of this conflict aren’t clear.  Somehow it is hard to decide who is wearing white hats and black hats.  What we are experiencing is frightening.  Where there is fear, peace is impossible.

                We also have increasing violence in our streets. Battle lines are drawn. We have people who are verbally and physically violent. Again, it is hard to decide who is on the side of good and who is on the side of evil.  We also have leaders that stoke the fear.  Sometimes that is even done by appealing to religious belief.

                Who is a voice we can trust?  The voice of Jesus is that voice, but who interprets what Jesus taught.  The church needs to. At times, the Church’s moral leadership is compromised by sin.  But at other times virtuous leaders have taught timeless lessons about peace.  We think of people like Francis of Assisi.  We also have Church teaching that is universally applicable. We especially remember the social justice doctrine of the Church which has developed in the last 150 years. One figure who emerged onto the world stage last year is Robert Prevost. What were his first words when he stepped out on the balcony at St. Peter’s as Pope?  His first words were, “Peace be with you.”  He has tried to be a peacemaker through teaching. He is thoughtful. He knows Church tradition well.

                He recently wrote a document for the World Day of Peace on January 1st.  The subtitle was “Towards an unarmed and disarming peace.”  This four-page document is very readable. I invite everyone to Google it because it shares the thinking of the church in modern times on waging peace.  Pope Leo presents many thought-provoking ideas.

                He points out that the Church has continuously called for disarmament since the advent of the nuclear age. He points out that we are to journey toward the light. Unfortunately, we are encouraged to remain in darkness. He says, “Many today call realistic those narratives devoid of hope, it seems they are blind to the beauty of others and forgetful of God’s grace…..  Let us open ourselves to peace! Let us welcome it and recognize it, rather than believing it to be impossible and beyond our reach.  When we treat peace as a distant ideal, we cease to be scandalized by war.”

                He points out the proliferation of military spending. Pope Leo reminds that deterrence isn’t a lasting recipe for peace.  Trust leads to lasting peace.  He reminds us of the words of St. John the XXIII, “People are living in the grip of constant fear.  They are afraid that at any moment the storm may break upon them.”  God doesn’t want us to live this way.

                Pope Leo comments on the type of leadership that is needed today.  He says, “Those entrusted with the highest public responsibility must give serious thought to the problem of achieving more humane relations between States based on mutual trust……the way forward is through the disarming path of diplomacy, mediation and international law which sadly is often undermined.”

                Our Pope reminds us that Jesus came to heal fallen humanity.  Jesus came to wage peace.  Christians know Jesus’ voice when we hear it in the public square. We all know the voice of the prince of lies.  The conundrum is always the same. Which voice will we follow?