You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased

 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire." 

And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.  But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison. 

When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.  And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."

- Luke 3:15-22

In yesterday's reading, we were given the introduction of Luke, and then started upon the third chapter:   Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed. * * * Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.  And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.  Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"  Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?"  He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."  Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"  And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."  Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?"  So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages." 

Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."   My study bible explains here that fire in this context has the primary meaning of the gift of the Holy Spirit.  This is given to the world at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4).   It moreover declares the judgment of Christ, in which the faithless will burn (see 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10; 2:8).  We note that this fire, seemingly with cross-purposes, is one.  It is the same Power and the same Spirit that both enlivens the faithful and destroys the faithless. 

And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.  But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.  Herod had divorced his own wife, and then married his brother Philip's wife Herodias, while Philip was still living.  This John the Baptist says is against the Mosaic law.  We note that the text says Herod was also rebuked by John for all the evils which Herod had done.  The crowning evil is to shut John up in prison.

 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.  And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."  My study bible notes that Jesus does not need baptism.  But in being baptized, Christ accomplishes several things:  He affirms John's ministry; He is revealed by the Father and the Holy Spirit to be the Christ, God's beloved Son; He identifies with His people by descending into the waters with them; HE prefigures His won death, giving baptism its ultimate meaning; He enters the waters, sanctifying the water itself; He fulfills the many "types" which are given in the Old Testament, such as when Moses led the people from bondage through the Red Sea (Exodus 14) and when the ark of the covenant was carried into the Jordan so that the people could enter the Promised Land (Joshua 3; 4); and finally, Christ opens heaven to a world that is separated from God through sin.  In the Eastern Church, this Baptism is celebrated on January 6th, and it is commonly known as Epiphany, or Theophany, which means "God revealed."  The Son is revealed by the descent of the Holy Spirit and the voice of the Father.  Therefore this is the greatest and clearest manifestation of God as Trinity in the history of human beings.  My study bible adds that the words which are spoken by the Father apply to everyone who is baptized and lives faithful, as sonship is bestowed by adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  The Holy Spirit appearing as dove is not a type of incarnation, but is rather a visible sign for the people.  It is furthermore a fulfillment of the type prefigured at the Flood.  Theophylact comments, "Just as a dove announced to Noah that God's wrath had ceased, so too the Holy Spirit announces here that Christ has reconciled us to God by sweeping sin away in the flood waters of baptism."

In the commentary on Christ's Baptism, we can read how the Church has historically viewed the life of Christ.  His life and ministry reflect moments already known in Jewish spiritual history, given to us in the Scriptures of the Old Testament.  The New is therefore a reflection and fulfillment of the Old.  In other words, the God who spoke to the Hebrews and guided the people is manifest in Christ.  Indeed, Christ is called Lord as He is the Lord of the Old Testament.  John's Gospel reveals this to us when Jesus makes the statement, "Before Abraham was, I AM" (see John 8:58).   The Lord is the commonly used term for the name God reveals to Moses when God declares God's name to be "I AM" (Exodus 3:14).  But the Baptism gives us more understanding of this God.  It gives us God the Trinity:  Christ is revealed as Son via the voice of the Father declaring Him so, and the Holy Spirit appears as a dove, also giving us a sense of God speaking to us or giving messages, just as the dove was a sign of the end of the Flood (Genesis 8:6-12).  It is an announcement of God's reconciliation with human beings.  It is important that we understand this historical way in which the Bible has been read from the earliest times of the Church.  Indeed, the New Testament did not exist at the time the Church was born, but is a "Book of the Church."  It was compiled by the Church, its books selected as canonical, and taking on the form in which we know it in the late 4th century.  The Gospels were written in the 1st century.  Therefore what we understand in the development of the Church is that the Scriptures which the earliest faithful had were the Old Testament Scriptures, read in worship services from the beginning.   It is most important that we look at the stories of Christ's life not simply as histories or anthropological, historical sources for information about Jesus, but in the ways that the Church understood them:  God manifest among us, the God of the Scriptures that existed before Christ was born.  These reflections and echoes of events of the Old Testament are called "types".  They teach us that Christ is the fullness of something, the manifestation of prophesy, that which was glimpse and foreshadowed.  He brings us the fullness of truths that had been grasped at, prefigured, understood, and now more fully revealed (see Matthew 13:16-17).  It is in this way that we need to see the Trinity manifest in the Baptism, of the purpose of Christ's ministry in the world as that which will flesh out truths reached for, cloaked in the worship of the temple and awaiting further revelation.   Christ is found in the light of the pillar of fire that led the Israelites through the darkness (Exodus 13:21-22) and in the "living water" flowing from the rock struck by Moses (Numbers 20:2-11).  The Scripture gives us the truth of the presence of God and God's reaching toward us.  It opens us to the communion we need, the understanding of God at work in the world reaching to us and seeking a place in our lives and our love.  There is no other way to read Scripture but one which must include all the meanings which may be present for us here.  Let us gather what God has given us in beauty and poetry, reflection and wisdom, because it has all been given from God's love and desire for us.

And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down

After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. Then a great multitude followed him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little." One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?" Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost." Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."

Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.

- John 6:1-15

In today's readings, we turn back in the Gospel of John, from Chapter 8 where we were last week, to Chapter 6, and to Jesus' discourse on the Bread of Life. Today's reading begins Chapter 6, with the miracle of the loaves and fishes. My study bible says, "The theme of Christ as the Giver of Life is continued throughout this chapter. Jesus, who gives Himself 'for the life of the world' (v. 51), is depicted as the Bread of Life which is received through faith and sacrament." Today's reading follows the last of Chapter 5, here.

After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. My study bible notes that the Sea of Galilee is actually a lake, about 7 miles wide and 13 miles long. But the crossing of the sea itself, as is so much about this reading, is important and symbolic, a fulfillment of "type." It is reminiscent of the crossing of the Red Sea by Moses and the Israelites into a new land.

Then a great multitude followed him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. The multitude follows because of what they have seen. This episode of the feeding of the multitudes is reported in all four Gospels - it is so important and essential to the story of Christ. It is the fourth sign in John's Gospel. Healing is an essential way to understand all of what Christ does incarnate as Jesus, and central to the entire understanding of His ministry and continued presence with us, and the workings of the Holy Spirit in our world.

And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little." One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?" We are near the Feast of the Passover, a time in which the Jewish families were "passed over" by the angel of death when under captivity in Egypt. The haste with which they were to leave Egypt was commemorated in the Feast of Unleavened Bread. My study bible notes that this feast also commemorated the first food from grain eaten in the Promised Land after the crossing of the Jordan. Jesus fulfills the "types" that echo in this passage by asking where the bread will come from to feed them -- as the ancient Israelites, they are in the wilderness, up on a mountaintop. The manna from heaven comes from God. From whence comes the multiplication of this bread? The questions written explicitly in the Gospel point to the earthly perspective of the apostles (in the persons of Andrew and Philip) as they, too, gradually have their eyes opened to the nature of Christ who is their master.

Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. Of course, Jesus teaches them what they must do; after all, He is the One who knows what will be done -- despite His questions in the previous verses, which were used to pointedly draw out His disciples. To "give thanks" is from the verb eucharisto in the Greek, from which we receive our word "eucharist" in English. Everything is miraculously abundant, multiplied. First distributed to the disciples, who then distribute to the masses -- a true preview of the eucharist we understand. The key word here is abundance; this is the Bread of Life from He who is Life itself. The multiplication is the endless resource of God.

So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost." Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. This bread is precious, and none of it will be lost (as with the manna in the wilderness, see Ex. 16:16-21). There is more than abundance here -- there are twelve more baskets full, one for each disciple.

Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone. My study bible says, "The Galilean Jews, with their misguided messianic enthusiasm, equate Jesus with the Prophet of Deut. 18:15-19, whom they expect to be an earthly, political leader who will lead them against the occupying Romans, as Moses led his people out of bondage. Because He is not to fulfill these expectations, Jesus withdraws from the crowd." And so, in the fulfillment of "types," from the old to the new, we have another contrast. We also know what Jesus is not, and that He is to reveal Himself as a Messiah in ways that are unexpected, but yet teach us about the God who loves us so.

The depth of contrast in this passage is in some sense quite extraordinary. Jesus is the One who can fulfill all things in one action, multiplying the loaves and fishes to fill a multitude, as He Himself is the Bread of Life, the source of Life itself in its image of infinite multiplication. And at the same time, there is a reminder of the tremendous sacrifice this incarnate Messiah will make on the Cross. He is not to be king, not an earthly ruler with earthly powers, but here to show us love, to reveal God's nature of love. John's Gospel also tells us of the love that God has for the world - for all of us, each of us in the multitude of His creation: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). A Savior has come to the world to teach us love, and to leave us with one new command, to love one another as He has loved us. How can we fulfill that promise? How do we fulfill with faith the gifts He has given to us of love?