‘You are my Child, the Beloved; my favour rests on you’
Today’s feast of the Baptism of Our Lord follows on from the Epiphany. It can be seen as a second manifestation of Christ, as the heavens are opened before the whole world. Through Christ’s baptism, in which the entire Trinity is present (Gospel), the world is made into a second creation.
In the First Reading, from Isaiah, we hear how God’s word will bear fruit in us. The one we see being baptised in the Gospel is the Word and, by carrying out the Father’s will perfectly, all creation is restored.
This is why we can join with the Psalmist: ‘With joy we shall draw water from the wells of salvation’!
St John develops this theme (Second Reading) when he says that because Jesus overcame the world by water and blood, so we, with the Spirit living in us, can be saved.
This coming week, let’s strive to deepen our trust in the Father, who is our salvation; to nurture our faith in the Spirit, who works in us to ensure we do not return empty-handed; and to strengthen our joy in the Son, through whose incarnation and baptism we are made into God’s children.
