Dear Preachers:

The baptism of Jesus is not simply a moment in his life; it is a revelation meant to shape ours. In today’s Gospel, Jesus enters the Jordan not because he needs repentance, but to stand fully with a searching, vulnerable humanity. He steps into the water to make it holy, revealing a God who meets us where we are – not after we have tried and failed to purify ourselves in a futile effort to become “worthy.”

At his baptism, Jesus reveals both who He is and who God is for us. The heavens open, the Spirit descends, and God’s voice declares, “You are my beloved Son.” The Trinity is present and active. Baptism, then, is more than membership in a community; it is a declaration of identity. Before we are called to follow Jesus or sent on mission, we are named and claimed as God’s beloved children.

The baptism of Jesus marks the beginning of his mission – and, through him, ours. Immediately afterward, he goes forth to proclaim God’s kingdom, to heal the broken, and to confront injustice. So, it is with us. We are not baptized for private holiness alone, but into a shared vocation: to live the Gospel publicly through mercy, forgiveness, truth, and self-giving love.

Jesus does not emerge from the waters to claim privilege or power over others. His way is humility and obedience to God’s will. Our baptism, then, is not about status but about service – service shaped by compassion and sustained by hope.

The opening of the heavens at Jesus’ baptism signifies that the divide between God and humanity has been bridged. As baptized people, we are invited to trust that the heavens remain open – that God’s Spirit is at work in us even when the waters of life feel cold, uncertain, or unwelcoming. Our reading from the Acts of the Apostles helps us understand why this feast matters, both personally and as Church.

Peter is in the home of Cornelius, a Gentile who had been directed by an angel to summon him. There Peter proclaims the heart of the Gospel: “God shows no partiality.” He then offers a brief summary of the kerugma: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”

This proclamation reaches back directly to the baptism of the Lord, when Jesus was anointed by the Spirit and publicly revealed as God’s chosen one. Today’s feast celebrates not an isolated event, but the beginning of a Spirit-driven life of service. The Spirit is revealed not in sentiment, but in action – doing good, healing, and liberating. The Spirit is purposeful and concrete.

Peter’s declaration that “God shows no partiality” deepens the meaning of this feast. Jesus’ baptism reveals a mission that is universal. Just as Jesus stands in the waters with all humanity, Peter now stands in a Gentile household announcing that God’s saving work is for everyone. Our baptism, then, calls us to dismantle barrier – racial, cultural, social, and religious – and to reflect God’s inclusive love in our lives and in the Church.

This feast holds up a mirror to our own baptism. If Jesus was sent by the Spirit to “go about doing good,” then baptism is not a once-for-all initiation, but a lifelong calling. We are anointed and sent into our workplaces, parishes, families, prisons, hospitals, and streets to be instruments of healing, justice, and peace.

Peter says of Jesus, “God was with him.” At Jesus’ baptism, heaven opened to proclaim God’s presence. In our baptism, that same promise is made: we are never sent alone. We are called to continue what began when Jesus stepped into the Jordan and emerged on mission for us.

Jesus’ baptism assures us that we are beloved, sent, and accompanied by the Spirit. We are invited to live each day as people who have heard God’s voice spoken over our lives: “You are my beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

One final word from today’s reading from Isaiah. The prophet promises that God’s servant will “bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon those who live in darkness.” We know that dungeons are not only places of concrete and iron bars. Many carry what might be called a “portable prison” – darkness inherited from anxious beginnings, broken relationships, or the accumulated weight of a troubled world.

Just as Jesus entered the Jordan alongside the repentant, so he enters our places of darkness and confinement today. He is the one promised by Isaiah, who brings prisoners into freedom. He goes to the hidden places that keep us locked in, to the restricted patterns of living we excuse by saying, “That’s just the way I am.” Jesus does not remain a distant observer. He steps into the waters and into the darkness with us, helping us face what binds us and leading us out – just as God promised through the prophet Isaiah.

Click here for a link to this Sunday’s readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011126.cfm