Are you a babe and the Church your babysitter?
A Gospel Enquiry
Introduction
Do we act with the Church as our mother? Or do we think of the Church as being like a babysitter? In one of his homilies in 2013, Pope Francis described life in “a coddled Church,” which is like “trying to get the children to fall asleep.”
Going to Mass before Vatican II happened (1962-1965) was like being a passenger in an aeroplane, or on a bus, or train. The priest stood at the altar with his back to the people, leading them towards heaven. The laity were the passive recipients of all that they needed to experience heavenly bliss.
The world and the Church are in the sixtieth year after Vatican II and Pope Francis reminds his flock that by virtue of our common baptism, we are all called to be missionary disciples. No longer can we be an audience absorbed in or bored by what happens in the sanctuary. Rather, our baptism propels us forward on a mission to be God’s instruments in the work of salvation.
And we carry out the work of salvation wherever the Holy Spirit leads us.
The Gospel
Seeing Jesus coming towards him, John said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. This is the one I spoke of when I said: A man is coming after me who ranks before me because he existed before me. I did not know him myself, and yet it was to reveal him to Israel that I came baptising with water.’ John also declared, ‘I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him. I did not know him myself, but he who sent me to baptise with water had said to me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is going to baptise with the Holy Spirit.” Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.’ (John 1:29-34)
The Enquiry
See
Examine the context for this Gospel reading. Make a list of the elements of the event we enter through this Gospel. Use a map of Israel during the time of Jesus to establish where the event takes place.
What has happened that prompts John the Baptist to speak of Jesus in this way? What examples can you give of the differences between John’s baptism and Jesus’ baptism?
Why did John and Jesus baptise people? How was their ministry regarded by those in authority in their society?
Judge
What do you think about Jesus and his baptism? Was his baptism intended for a “babysitter” Church?
How is your faith supported and challenged by what John the Baptist says about Jesus and his baptism?
Ideally, how should the baptised faithful be in their families, in their workplaces, in their communities and in the world?
Act
What change do you want to make in the Church that you experience so that people live and work with the power of their baptism?
What action can you carry out this week that will contribute to the change you would like to see?
Who can you involve in your action, when, how often and how?
Image source: David Zelenka (creator): Jesus is baptised in the Jordan River by John, Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Worth reading: Encountering Truth: Meeting God in the Everyday, by Pope Francis, especially Chapter 17: “May the laity rediscover the responsibility of the baptized”.