Is. 42:1-4, 6-7; Acts 10:34-38; Mt. 3:13-17
The Eagle Has
Landed is a book by Jack Higgins set during World War II. Hitler proposed the
idea of capturing British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Lieutenant Colonel
Kurt Steiner was forced to accept the mission.
Steiner and his
men were relocated to an airfield on the north
western coast of Holland, there they were to familiarize themselves with the British weapons and equipment. The team would be air dropped into Norfolk. The commandos outfit themselves as Polish troops. Their plan was to infiltrate into the village, Studley Constable, complete their mission, and make their escape.
western coast of Holland, there they were to familiarize themselves with the British weapons and equipment. The team would be air dropped into Norfolk. The commandos outfit themselves as Polish troops. Their plan was to infiltrate into the village, Studley Constable, complete their mission, and make their escape.
At first, the
plan went off without a hitch. Then, one day one of Steiner's men saw two local
children fallen in a water wheel. His first instinct was to jump into the river
to rescue them. But, he knew that his action would reveal who they were and
would defeat their mission. Any attempt to rescue them was risking his life and
the life of his fellow soldiers. The sight of the children being drawn to the
water wheel could not hold him back. He jumped into the water and rescued them.
During the rescue operation he was killed and his German uniform, worn under
the Polish uniform, was seen by the local people. That revealed the identity of
Steiner and his men. All of them were shot dead in the encounter that followed.
The German
soldier risked his life in order to give life to two of the local children.
The Baptism of
Jesus was the public announcement that Jesus was going to risk his life for
giving life to the whole humanity. Jesus knew well about his mission and the
reaction that he would have to face. There are around a hundred Prophecies in
the Old Testament that are commonly referred to as being fulfilled by Jesus.
The Old Testament prophesied about the messiah’s birth, ministry, death,
resurrection, and eternal glory. Isaiah had prophesied that Jesus would
commence his ministry in Galilee (Is 9:1-2). There are passages about His
meekness (Is 42:2), His working miracles (Is 35:5), His patience and silence
under suffering (Is 53:7), His being rejected by the Jewish rulers (Ps 118:22),
His Death (Is 53:12) and His resurrection (Is 26:19). So, when, at Baptism
Jesus made the public announcement of His mission, He was well aware that He
was going to risk His life for the salvation of mankind.
During the First
Reading from the Book of Isaiah, [Is. 42:1-4, 6-7] we heard the prophecy that
the promised Messiah would be God's chosen Servant in Whom the Divine Soul
would delight. [Is. 42:1] The Messiah would have the Spirit of God upon Him,
bringing forth justice to all the nations.
Today's reading
from the Gospel of Matthew [Mt. 3:13-17] recreated the event surrounding the
Baptism of Jesus: "And when Jesus
had been baptized, just as He came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were
opened to Him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a Dove and alighting
on Him." [Mt. 3:16] "And a voice from heaven said, 'This is My Son,
the Beloved, my favour rests on him.'" [Mt. 3:17]
In the Old
Testament, the image of a dove symbolized many things. The dove was the symbol
of love, symbol of deliverance, symbol of peace and symbol of God’s glory.
The dove is a
Symbol of Love. The dove's beauty and its traditional faithfulness to its mate
were taken by the ancients to be a symbol of human love and beauty. Jesus
commanded the disciples to express in their lives the love and gentleness of
the dove (Matt. 10:16). At the time of Baptism God declared, "This is my
Son, whom I love". The symbol of love, the dove, and the word of love
merged in the baptism of Jesus. God's love was flowing down to His Son. In
Jesus a channel was found through which God's love could reach us; He was
anointed to function as the means through which God's grace is available to us.
The dove is a
Symbol of Deliverance. The rapid flight of the dove became a symbol of
deliverance from one's enemies or from threatening circumstances. The psalmist
writes: "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at
rest" (55:6). The Israelites returning from the Exile are described as
those "that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests" (Isa.
60:8; cf. Hosea 11:11).
The dove is a symbol of peace in Christianity
and Judaism. When after the flood, Noah released a dove in order to find dry
land it came back with an olive branch in its beak, which indicated that the
waters were abating, and God had withdrawn His wrath and was at peace with
mankind again.(Genesis 8:11).
In the Jewish
tradition the dove appears as a symbol of God’s glory. The cloud signifying the
glory of God and the dove are connected. Therefore, at the Baptism of Jesus, on
the part of God, Jesus was declared as the one who would mediate God’s love for
the humanity, as the one who would bring
deliverance for his people, as the one who would establish peace and as the one who would show
God’s glory to His people. On the part of Jesus, Baptism was the acceptance and
inauguration of His mission as God's suffering Servant.
With Baptism
Jesus was empowered for his public ministry. In today's Second Reading from The
Acts of the Apostles, [Acts 10:34-8] we heard Saint Peter tell us that
"God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; and
because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all
who had fallen into the power of the evil.
As Jesus was
empowered for the Public Ministry at baptism, each one of us is empowered to
continue the work of Jesus through our baptism. So Isaiah taught: “The Lord God
stated that He has called us to righteousness. He has taken us by the hand and
kept us. He has given us as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations to
open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from
the prison those who sit in darkness. [Is. 42:6-7]”. If we accept this mission
and make effort in accomplishing it, one day God will declare, “This is my
son/daughter, the Beloved; my favour rests on him/her.
Satish