Dear Parishioner,

Jesus’ baptism marks a turning-point in his life – that is clear in all four Gospel accounts, though the details differ. After his baptism, Jesus’ public identity as a carpenter in Nazareth will change as he begins his mission as a wandering teacher, healer and prophet of the kingdom of God.  The catalyst for this change is the experience Jesus has of the opening of the heavens, the descent of the Spirit and the affirmation: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” 

Many Scripture scholars now hold that Jesus spent more time with John the Baptist than the Gospels seem to convey.  He took time to listen to John’s message of expectation and of repentance in view of judgement, and saw John’s lifestyle and fixed position near the river Jordan, with people coming to him. Will Jesus continue in that prophetic tradition?  At his baptism by John, Jesus is affirmed as God’s beloved Son and this clarifies that his way of mission will necessarily be different – his mission will be as the prophet Isaiah foretells in today’s First Reading: he will go out to people, proclaiming and making visible the God that he knows, God who is a loving Father to all, who shows no partiality, as our Second Reading says. Following the desire of his Father, Jesus will seek out the lost and the weak among his brothers and sisters, and with love and mercy he will affirm them in their true identity as God’s children, called to fullness of life according to God’s dream for how all people are called to live. 

In our own Christian baptism, we believe that the same things happen: the heavens open, the Spirit descends and the voice of God recognises us as a son or daughter. At our Baptism, we publically acknowledge that we know we are a child of God, and we agree to assume the responsibility that this knowledge implies. That ‘knowing and accepting’ is a blessing and privilege that not all God’s children have, because they haven’t all received that good news and haven’t been baptised. Baptism, therefore, always involves a call to mission, the same mission that Jesus received from his Father, and with the help of the same Spirit in us – to live as true children of God.  

The Readings of today present us with an invitation for our daily life: to live out consciously and practically our baptism as children of God and brothers and sisters to all others.  What difference will doing that make in my life this week and this new year?

St. Catherine Booth  M.Afr