THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD (A); January 11, 2026

Is 42:1-4,6-7.  Ps 29.  Acts 10:34-38.  Mt 3:13-17

Deacon Jim McFadden

         Today we are celebrating the Baptism of our Lord Jesus.  Baptisms have a special place in my heart as it is one of my cherished ministries as a deacon.  Many years ago on a missionary visit to Sumbuwanga, Tanzania I had the privilege of baptizing over 60 children and adults during Holy Mass, which was celebrated in Swahili.  While I didn’t know the language, the presiding priest was astute enough to give me a cheat card to repeat the Trinitarian formula, which I eventually had memorized after several baptisms.

         The reason it holds such a special place is that, according to our beloved pope Francis, “Baptism is the most important day of  our life.” How so?  At baptism we are initiated into the mystical Body of Christ, the Church and  as a member we therefore  become a beloved child of God, which  is what Jesus heard at his own baptism.  Our body now becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit as we begin our journey in Christ Jesus to live in the Kingdom of God,  moving towards our final destiny, eternal life with the Triune God, the Communion of Saints, and all the choirs of angels.  That’s why baptism is the most important day of our life; everything else is now a footnote.  In short, baptism establishes our identity, that we are a new creation centered in Christ Jesus.  Our life is now about Him and not about us. 

         This is the central motif of the Catholic spiritual life, which is so contrary to our culture which is so self-centered: it’s all about me and my choice.  There was a billboard in Southern California, for example, that appeared during the euthanasia debate, which blared: “My life, my death, my choice.”  That’s the dominant consciousness of our society, which is all about me.  But that attitude is directly repugnant to the Bible, which is revealed in the baptism of our Lord Jesus in which he comes to the full realization of knowing who he is in relationship to his Father.   

         We hear that when Jesus had received baptism from John in the Jordan River that “the heavens were opened” to him (Mt 3:16).  This fulfills the prophesy, especially what the prophet Isaiah invoked which the liturgy repeated during the season of Advent: “O that thou would rend the heavens and come down” (Is 64:1).  When the heavens are opened, that is a symbolic way of saying that the divine reality is now being revealed.  If the heavens remained closed, what we experience in our earthly life remains dark and without hope.  Instead, in celebrating Christmas, once again faith has given us the certainty that the heavens have been rent with the coming of Christ who is now forever in our midst because he is Immanuel: “God is with us.” 

         When the Word became flesh, it is now possible for us to see reality from the perspective of the Risen Christ, which is what the Beloved Disciple did when he laid his head on Jesus’ breast at the Last Supper.   As we dwell within Christ Jesus,  It is now possible for each of us  to be suffused with God’s love, to be transformed by it.  Let us now be immersed in God’s love and share that love with  the world!

         One may ask, however,  if Jesus is the Son of God and thereby without sin, why did he undergo a baptism for the “repentance of sin.”  Since Jesus is divine, the second Person of the Trinity, he is without sin and has no need for conversion, but he underwent John’s baptism showing solidarity with  the wounded, fallen people who ARE in need of repentance.  And, when he was baptized, God the Father made his voice heard from heaven: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (v. 17).  Jesus receives full approval from his heavenly Father and in his human nature comes to full realization of who he is.  Jesus was given to us by the Father for our salvation which means that he had to accept our human condition, our poverty.  Sharing the true way of love of God and our neighbor, Jesus does not disassociate himself from us, but considers us his adapted brothers and sisters and he shares his very being with us to such extent that as St Peter proclaimed, that we are empowered to “be partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

         At his baptism Jesus came to full realization that he is the beloved Son of God.  By virtue of our own baptism, he makes us sons and daughters, together with him, of God the Father.  This is our true identity, which means  my life is no longer me but is about God.  God is the center of my being; He is my Ultimate Concern, not my puny ego with all of its petty interests, plans, and agendas.  This is the revelation and source of true love revealed in Jesus’ baptism.   And,  revelation is the great time to celebrate God’s unbounded mercy for each and every one of us. 

         Let us ask the Holy Virgin to support us by her intercession in our commitment to follow her Son, Jesus, on the way of faith and charity, the path traced by our Baptism.  Amen.

Reflection Questions:

1. Pope Francis once said, “Baptism is the most important day of  our life.” Is that true for you?  What is your baptismal date?  Do uou celebrate it?
2. What’s our reaction to the secular quote: My life, my death, my choice.” 
3. Even though Jesus is without sin, He submitted to John’s baptism for the repentance of sins.  What does that say to you?

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