January 06, 2017

Gospel: Mk 1:7-11 (or Lk 3:23-38)
He preached to the people, saying, “After me comes one who is more powerful than I am;
I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.“
At that time, Jesus came from Nazareth, a town of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
And the moment he came up out of the water, heaven opened before him, and he saw the Spirit coming down on him like a dove. And these words were heard from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved, the One I have chosen.“

REFLECTION:
When we love a person we want to know as much as we can about him or her. We want to know his or her family as well. It is the same with our relationship with Jesus. We are invited to get to know Jesus and his family, his roots!
The Gospel of Luke, which we follow here, traces the ancestry of Jesus through the ancestry of Joseph. The Gospel of Luke, (unlike that of Matthew who goes only to Abraham,) goes as far back as ADAM, who is recognized as being FROM GOD! This family tree of Jesus that goes back to “Adam who was from God“ tells us that Jesus shares in our human lot. The Good News is that we have a Master who understands our human frailty. We have a Master who can be compassionate with us!
As we are introduced to the family tree of Jesus, so we may likewise introduce our own to Jesus. We might want to let the Lord even heal our wounded family tree. The Lord cares now only for us individually but also our families!