(11th January 2026) Homily for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord 

Read: (Isa 42: 1-4, 6-7; Acts 10: 34-38; Matt 3: 13-17)

Reflect: Baptism – a reminder to recall our original nature, live the baptismal promise and manifest the presence of Triune God in life…

Dear friends, today we celebrate the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.  The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is the commemoration of the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. This is as well called as Theophany, the manifestation of God about Jesus. The feast marks the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry and the end of Jesus’ hidden life for thirty-years. The feast reminds us as well the presence of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This day marks the end of the Christmas Season and opens the ordinary season of the liturgical year in the Catholic Church. So based on the liturgy of the word, I would like to share with you three points of reflection;

1.     A time to recall our nature:

We all of us have been invested with the divine nature at the time of birth, because we are created in the image and likeness of God. At the time of baptism, we obtain a special privilege of becoming God’s children by the sanctifying grace of God, the presence of Jesus and accompaniment of the Holy Spirit. So by the reception of baptism, we are washed clean from our sins; we are enveloped by the spirit of God; we are adopted as sons and daughters of God; we become members of the Holy Catholic Church; we are initiated to receive the rest of the sacraments; we obtain all the privileges and duties as members of the Church. Moreover, we are commissioned to proclaim good news of Christ and become partakers in the mission of Christ. It is because of the common priesthood we share with Christ by virtue of baptism that we received.  

In fact, the Second Reading from Acts of the Apostles Peter reminds us that God does not show any partiality. The one who fears God and does right is acceptable to God. Prior to this is the passage we have Peter’s vision, where God tells him what God has made clean, you must not call unclean. The baptism of Cornelius, a gentile, takes place and at the end of the same chapter we see Peter baptizing all as they received the power of the Holy Spirit. Yes, God is willing to take to himself those who are willing and do right as God feels and says. So God does not see partiality but wants everyone as his children. Today we have or see lots of divisions, even after having been baptized and received the same Lord, the same spirit of God. It is because we have not understood the importance of baptism or the role of the Lord and spirit in our lives.

Today, it is a time to get back to our original nature as God’s children. Just as our first parents did not listen to God, disobeyed God’s commands and cut off their relationship with God, so also we by not listening to God, not obeying God’s command through our parents, elders, authorities, we cut off our relationship with God, with family members, with others in the society and with oneself. Let’s remember that we are not photocopies or Xerox as made by human hands, we are created originals by God and we have the original nature within us i.e., God’s image. Let us then make every effort to regain the original nature of us through God’s grace and blessings. 

2.                A time to recall our Baptism and Baptismal promises:

Every sacrament in the Catholic Church reminds us of our bond and union with God; every sacrament has certain specific obligations that we are called to fulfill. Therefore, the feast of baptism of the Lord is a time to rethink about our baptism and Baptismal promises: many of us may not have been aware of what we had done at the time of baptism, because we were infants, unless we had received adult baptism. The importance of Baptism, baptismal consecration, baptismal promises, and its demands need to be taken seriously and we need to become conscious to live by it. 

Today our approach to sacraments and attitude towards it has become a kind of obtaining license for two or four wheelers in the RTO department. The sacredness and importance of baptism and baptismal promises are not taken seriously or not understood properly. It is because of our disinterestedness and lack of faith in the sacraments we receive. Some of us even at times get the sacraments just to be part of the Church, but its sacredness, priority and privilege is watered down.  So we should know our priorities and privileges that God offers us.

That’s what we see in the first reading from Prophet Isaiah, where we are reminded of the servant’s nature. The prophecy of Isaiah is about the servant, the chosen one in whom God delights, put his spirit upon, the one who will bring forth justice, the one who will not cry or lift up his voice or make it heard in the street or a bruised reed he will not break, he will not grow faint or be discouraged. The above words are God spoken words about the servant. The servant is understood to be Jesus Christ by biblical Scholars. Further, the following words, “The lord has made a covenant, given a light for the nations to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness,” are the words addressed to the servant by God. These words or sentences resemble the life of Jesus. We see in the life of Jesus that after the baptism, when he begins his public ministry, Jesus becomes a light for the nations, opens the eyes of the blind, relieves people from pain and suffering and gives them release from the prison of darkness etc. Yes, Jesus reminds us today to live the baptismal promises that we have uttered at the time of baptism to live to the full and make it a reality in life. 

Most of us, at the time of baptism, we make baptismal promises to renounce Satan and all his works and become God’s children. The baptismal promise ends there and then. It just becomes an empty promise. Perhaps there are some who take great care of the promises in bringing up the children in the catholic faith, but as time goes on, we become cool and casual, and don't pay much attention to the baptismal promises. It just remains an empty promise without fulfillment. So it is the duty of the parents and God-parents to nurture and nourish the children with the spirit and spirituality of catholic faith, so that we live and grow in the likeness of God’s image on earth.

3.        A time to manifest Trinitarian God in life:

To manifest a Trinitarian God in life would mean that we reflect and resemble the life and action of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The manifestation of Trinitarian God in life does not happen by knowing the doctrines alone rather by living the life they call us for. Father is the source of love, Jesus is the embodiment of love and Spirit is the communion of love among us. If we have the source, embodiment and communion of love in us and among us, we would be able to manifest our Trinitarian existence daily in our lives. 

We have one such passage in the gospel reading of the day for us to reflect, where we see the presence of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We have the voice of the heavenly Father, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”; the presence of the spirit of God descending like a dove over Jesus; The presence of Jesus in the river Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptist. It all speaks of the oneness of the triune God in union and communion with each other. We see the presence of the Trinity contributing to each other to empower oneself and to empower others. The Trinitarian God is manifested as one in order to do something powerful that is to bless Jesus to proclaim the nearness of God, to proclaim God’s love as Jesus begins his public ministry. 

Someone has very beautifully interpreted the passage of the Baptism of the Lord in following words, emphasizing the Trinitarian element present in the episode; “This is a very beautiful icon of the manifestation or revelation of the Trinity at the moment of Jesus’ baptism. However, it is presented in the Gospel not to be simply looked at or admired, as much as to mark the beginning of a true new life in the baptized Jesus, and in every person baptized in his name: the divine life, completely immersed in God who is one and triune. In other words, on the spiritual level, Jesus went down into the river not only so as to be in solidarity with every man and woman of that time and age who desired a renewed life purified of sins, but also to reveal to them the image of a unique holy life, to which all are called.” Yes, the solidarity of Jesus with us to make us holy and the presence of the Father and the Holy Spirit at the time of Baptism is to remind us of the Holy union that Jesus has with the Father and the Holy Spirit. 

Today, it is our chance to realize whether we have realized the holiness and Holy union that resided in Jesus at the time of Baptism. When we realize our holiness of life that we are called to live and the holy union that we have with the Holy Trinity, life will be full of devotion and dedication to the Lord. We bear in ourselves the image of the trinity. That’s what we receive at the time of our Baptism too, the blessing of the triune God for living a life in friendship and fellowship with the Lord. The reason why we tend to lose the divine touch or divine connection is that we fail to realize and recognize the Trinitarian image imprinted in ourselves. Let us pray that we may not lose sight of the Trinitarian image imprinted in us. When we become conscious of the presence of Triune God in and around us, we begin to manifest ourselves as children of God in character and behavior, inspiring everyone with virtues and values pertinent to the Kingdom of God. Let us manifest the aspect of union and communion of Triune God, love and holiness of Triune God in life and be witnesses of God on earth. 

Respond:

Do we recall our original nature that we are imprints of God’s image and we are duty bound to safe-guard the same in life? 

Do we recall our days of Baptism and the Baptismal promises and live them as once professed as infants?

Do we manifest the union and communion, love and holiness of the Trinitarian God in life?

Let us get back to our original nature, live the baptismal promises and manifest the union and communion of the Triune God in life. Amen. 

God bless us all! Live Jesus!

Fr. Ramesh George MSFS

(rameshvkmsfs@gmail.com)

9500930968