Daily Mass Reading Reflection (Nov 12, 2024)
It is staggering the amount of times baptism is referenced in the relatively short New Testament and how rich those references are. You get a glimpse of this richness in the many readings offered for Mass today as there are two options for every single one but the Gospel, which rightfully is the one reading that unifies all of the others together.
When I teach my students about the traditional way of reading the Scriptures with the mind of the Church, I would always use the Baptism of Jesus as my example because there is so much fruit one can clearly draw from these many different angles. The Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 116-120 lays out clearly the four principles, or “senses,” by which one can read any passage of Scripture in order to draw from it the many rich meanings God seeks to provide.
Here, we first find the “literal” sense, which must not be confused with literalism (CCC 116). This is not imposing our own meanings onto a Scripture passage, but letting the author speak in the style of his time and culture. If a Bible passage uses a metaphor, it does not cease being metaphorical just because it is in the Bible. One can see the Baptism of Jesus, as it is presented, in light of its historical significance. It is also one of the most widely attested events in the life of Jesus by Jewish, pagan, and later secular historians.
Then, there are the three “spiritual” senses, which allows for God to use realities as “signs” that point us into a deeper relationship with Him (CCC 117). The first of these spiritual senses is the “allegorical,” which the Catechism recognizes in the Baptism of Jesus as having fulfilled the Crossing of the Red Sea, where God used water to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, so too does He use the water of baptism to free us from sin (CCC 117.1).
Next, there is the “moral” sense, which helps us see how the Scriptures are guiding us in our own conduct (CCC 117.2). There is a moral issue in the Baptism of Jesus, presented in Matthew’s account, where St. John the Baptist says that it should be Jesus who baptizes him on account of Jesus’s sinlessness.
Finally, the “anagogical” sense refers to how a given Scripture passage points the reader to a better understanding of our final destiny in heaven (117.3). In the Baptism of Jesus, heaven is opened so that the voice of God can speak, declaring Jesus to be His Son. Similarly, heaven is opened to us at our baptism when God adopts us as his child, presenting us with a similar inheritance.
The Baptism of Jesus was the formal beginning of his public ministry and is the beginning of our own Christian life in the Church. We are equipped for this great calling through the graces and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, also present at the Baptism of Jesus. One way to dive deeper into the mystery of the Christian life is to dive deeper into the written Word of God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, especially paragraphs 116 and 117 on the four senses of Scripture, help us do that.