First Reading • Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
Psalm • Psalm 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10
Second Reading • Acts 10:34-38
Gospel • Matthew 3:13-17
Every year, we end the Christmas season with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
Because we usually associate baptism with babies, it might seem fitting that we would conclude our celebration of the baby Jesus with His baptism.
But something very different is happening. Jesus is baptized not as an infant, but as an adult. This feast does not mark His childhood – it marks the beginning of His public ministry.
On this day, the hidden years Jesus spent in Nazareth come to an end. He steps out of obscurity and begins His mission.
He goes from being an unknown day laborer in Galilee to a preacher and healer who will soon be known throughout the land.
The baptism John preached was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, in preparation for the coming of the Messiah.
That is why John is startled when Jesus comes to him at the Jordan. John knows that he should be baptized by Jesus. Yet Jesus insists: “Let it be so for now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Why does Jesus do this?
Jesus’ baptism reveals the heart of His mission.
When the Son of God became human, He took on our full human nature. He shares our weakness, our suffering, and even our death.
The one thing He does not share is our sin. Yet, to show complete solidarity with sinners, He steps into the waters alongside them.
He stands where we stand and chooses to carry the burden of our sin so that we might be forgiven and reconciled with the Father.
That choice will eventually lead Him to the cross. By entering the waters of the Jordan, Jesus also makes them holy.
Water alone cannot wash away sin. But water sanctified by the Son of God can.
Because Jesus entered those waters, the water used in baptism now has the power to cleanse us and restore our friendship with God. Jesus made the waters holy – so that baptism could make us holy.
As Jesus comes up from the water, the Holy Spirit descends upon Him. This fulfills the prophecy we hear from Isaiah: the Servant of the Lord would be the one upon whom God would place His Spirit.
Jesus is that Servant, the Messiah anointed by the Holy Spirit.
As Saint Peter tells us, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power.” And what was the result of that anointing? “He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil.”
That is the mission Jesus begins after His baptism – and it is the mission He shares with us. We are all baptised to take up His mission. [Hold the Shell] This is how most of us were baptized- not in a river, but with water poured in faith. In our own baptism, we receive forgiveness of sins, but we also receive the Holy Spirit.
We are empowered to do good, to witness to Christ, to care for the poor and the sick, and to show the same mercy and compassion God has shown to us.
We cannot do this on our own. Only the Spirit of God makes it possible. And that Spirit has been poured into our hearts through baptism so that God can work through us.
The Gospel reaches its climax when the heavens open and the Father declares:
“This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
In that moment, God not only reveals who Jesus is, but also who we are. Through baptism, we become adopted sons and daughters of God. That identity is deeper than any other label or status we may carry.
Because of baptism, we can call God Our Father. We never have to doubt His love, His care, or His faithfulness. He knows us, He hears us, and He walks with us always.
Today, as we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, we remember the day Jesus began His public mission.
And we renew our awareness of the mission we received in our own baptism – to live as God’s beloved children and to continue Christ’s saving work in the world, strengthened by the Holy Spirit and confident in the Father’s love.
