COMFORTING ONE ANOTHER - C: Baptism of the Lord

First Reading: Isa 40:1-5, 9-11 (9 January 2022)

On the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the liturgical calendar reverts to one of the first readings during the Advent Season (cf. Tuesday of the 2nd week of Advent) that concerns the prophecy of consoling the people of Jerusalem in Isaiah 40. The context then is to prepare the faithful to Christ’s second coming, which entails the remission of sins to be ready anytime for a meeting with the Lord. Now, in the Christmas Season, the same reading is used but not anymore in view of the eschatological moment but of the reception of God’s salvific grace by the indwelling of the Spirit.

Whereas the former uses the prophecy of consolation for personal cleansing, the latter employs it to refer to the overflowing of God’s goodness given to all.

Similarly, the Hebrew text of the prophecy of Isaiah that features the root verb n-ḥ-m can be construed in two ways. On the one hand, taken as a nifal verb, n-ḥ-m means “to regret, to become remorseful,” “to be sorry, come to regret something,” or “to console oneself” (cf. HALOT). These meanings are in line with the theme of the Advent season of purifying oneself for a fateful meeting with the Lord in the end of the days. This entails a spiritual cleansing of the soul by humbly admitting one’s sins, failures, or wrong decisions. Interestingly, there are many incidents in the Scriptures that even the Lord regretted or relented his actions, such as on his creation of humankind that became evil (Gen 6:6), his decision to make Saul king (1 Sam 15:11), or his initial toleration for an angel to destroy Jerusalem (2 Sam 24:16).

The important thing here is that the agent of n-ḥ-m realizes a profound truth from a previous experience that triggers him/her to mature in knowledge and decision-making in the future.

On the other hand, taken as a piel verb, n-ḥ-m means “to comfort (i.e., to encourage)” especially in an accident, “to express sympathy,” and to grieve in “the period of mourning” (cf. HALOT). Among the Israelites, God is known to be a dispenser of comfort to his people as recognized too by Isaiah: “Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth.... For the Lord has comforted his people” (Isa 49:13). Interesting, though, is the alleged etymology of the name of Noah that may be based from n-ḥ-m. In Gen 5:29, it is said that Lamech “named him Noah [n-ḥ], saying ‘Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the toil of our hands.” In Gen 6−9, Noah is the symbol of humanity’s hope by his life of holiness amid the default evil in the world and his obedience to God amid the unreasonableness of his plans. In fact, he is described as “a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God” (6:9).

After the Great Flood, God forged a covenant with him to make his descendants great along with his promise that he would not anymore destroy the earth (9:8-17).

Both meanings of n-ḥ-m are reflected in our day-to-day lives especially in this period of pandemic. We need to take this opportunity to right our mistakes and learn from the past. Furthermore, we should also make this event a moment to thank God for encouraging us and providing us peace and hope. Like Noah, we must then be resilient amid the rainy, stormy, lonely, and dark days inside the ark. But hopeful to survive life’s tests and hurdles at the end of the day. Having been tested recently positive of COVID-19, I personally enter into my own ark.

Yet, like Noah I stand to comfort all those infected by this virus that we shall victoriously survive the tempest, coming out soon with a beautiful sight of the rainbow in the face of a bright tomorrow. Let us pray for one another and we shall hold on together to our faith in God.

- Rex Fortes, CM