Faith

Friday, January 9, 2026Faith

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... Jesus' power will not be in the demand for obeisance or the domination of others. His power is found paradoxically in the surrender to the will of the Father.

Archbishop Richard G.
Henning

What does "dominion" mean? In Genesis, during the Creation, God creates humanity in God's Own image and commands human beings to be fruitful, multiply, fill and subdue the earth and have dominion over every living creature (1:27-28). Does this command give license to people to drain every resource in the search for wealth and exercise absolute power over the earth and its non-human inhabitants? The Hebrew term used in the verse does suggest the exercise of control in the sense of subduing and enslaving. On the other hand, another image of bondage, that of a "chain," is the image behind the concept of the covenant, which "binds" the people to the Lord. And that covenant is not God's attempt to dominate or use people, but rather the Lord's desire to serve the good of all creation. So, if God's exercise of dominion is for unselfish service, what does that suggest about the dominion conferred upon us?

This Sunday, we will conclude the Christmas season with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. We will hear from Isaiah as his prophecy consoles a people who have experienced conquest and exile. Faced with the overwhelming military and economic power of the Babylonians, Judah collapsed. The people felt subdued and bound, not by the Lord, but by their foreign conquerors. That Babylonian conquest certainly looked like dominion in the usual sense of the word -- the exercise of raw power for selfish ends. The Babylonians were known to enrich themselves by the subjection of others. Nevertheless, Isaiah informs the people that even the apparently all-powerful Babylonians are subject to the authority of Adonai (The Lord). And Adonai has promised to liberate and restore His people. They must not despair but rather seek to renew their "bonds" of relationship to the Lord. In the passage at hand, we see that contrast between the selfish domination of human beings and the loving rule of the Living God.
The passage also describes a mysterious figure, a Servant of the Lord. This servant will not dominate or lord it over others. By contrast, he will exercise power in gentleness, not even breaking a bruised reed. He will not use power to take for himself, but in the service of the downtrodden. He will bring justice and truth, liberation to prisoners, light to the blind, and a renewal of the covenant. In other passages concerning this Servant, we learn that he suffers in obedient witness to the Lord. Even injustice and persecution will not draw violence or hatred from this individual.
Christians understood the servant as a prophetic foreshadowing of the Christ event. In Jesus, they saw just such a servant of gentle love, obedience in the face of terrible suffering, and the power of God's healing grace and justice.
The Sunday Gospel passage will be a passage from Matthew, in which we will see the beginning of Jesus' ministry. John the Baptist recognizes the importance of the moment and submits himself to the Lord Jesus. But Jesus' power will not be in the demand for obeisance or the domination of others. His power is found paradoxically in the surrender to the will of the Father. He will "fulfill all righteousness" in His ministry and even in His suffering and death. There is a terrible pathos to the words of the Father Who speaks of His "Beloved Son," the same Son Who will fulfill all righteousness on Calvary, as well as here at the Jordan. This is a Lord Who rules without domination, force, or self-interest. His rule, like that of the Father, is one of selfless service and brings new life and abiding hope to all and to creation itself.
In your own baptism, you were consecrated "priest, prophet, and king." God has conferred this dominion upon you and upon all of the baptized. No matter our influence or authority in the eyes of the world, we possess within us the only true and abiding power, the power of divine love. It is this power that forgives, redeems, and renews. His dominion, your dominion, is a dominion of love and mercy. Give thanks for the gift of baptism and that He has claimed you as His Own.

- Archbishop Richard G. Henning is the Archbishop of Boston