January 12, 2025 ☩ The First Sunday after The Epiphany

The Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ

Jesus’ Baptism has us recall our own. For Jesus, it marked the start of his ministry (see Luke 3:23). For us, it is the same. May we pray as Jesus had, and feel the Holy Spirit descend upon us to strengthen us for our ministry. Image Source

on
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

“You are God’s Beloved”

Today is the observance of The Baptism of our Lord.  This notable liturgical day is always the First Sunday after The Epiphany.  This liturgical feast is appropriate near the beginning of a new year.

Each new year, people have a habit of making promises to themselves to become better, do better, or live better.  There is an opportunity to strive to have a fresh start once the number of the year changes.  We yearn for newness, for renewal, and maybe even finding truly where we are meant to be or what we are called to be.

We know this Gospel reading is telling us about a similar occurrence.  The very next verse in Luke says: “Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his work.” [Luke 3:23].  So, Jesus’ Baptism marked a change in His life.  We appreciate the Sacramental nature of the last two verses of the Gospel.  Our own Book of Common Prayer tells us in the Catechism that Sacraments are “outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace.”  [BCP, p.857] 

The Gospel makes evident the outward signs and inward grace.  Seeing and feeling water as a symbol of cleansing and renewal is obvious.  Understanding the spiritual side is the greater challenge.  Yet, Luke gives us this glorious imagery of “the Holy Spirit descend[ing] upon Him in bodily form like a dove.” [Luke 3:21]  Luke is emphasizing the spiritual nature of the Sacrament of Baptism.  Luke knows that God’s grace reaches into the depth of our very being to change us from the inside out. 

While we might strive for external changes in habits outside of ourselves, Luke is saying that change comes from within.

There is a strong focus thus far on how this Gospel might apply to us in not just what we do – the external product of our lives – BUT who we are – the inward and spiritual side of our lives.  There is a clear point that Luke makes beyond this application to our own lives, that Jesus was appointed to bring forth the Spirit of God into our lives in a very real, concrete, and powerful way.  For it was only Christ through whom the Spirit descended in such a dramatic fashion, both outwardly like a dove and inwardly as the true Spirit.  The inward status of Jesus is acknowledged through the audible voice of God declaring Jesus as “the Beloved” [Luke 3:22] AND cherishing the inherent value of Jesus.  God tells Jesus: “with you I am well pleased.” [Luke 3:22]

So, on this day we focus upon Jesus’ Baptism, a moment that marked God’s grace and presence within Him.  We focus upon John the Baptist’s proclamation that Jesus is more powerful than he.  We hear the witness of how the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus.  In all, we listen to the account that points to Jesus as the exemplar of embracing rituals to mark moments in our lives of change in order to begin something new AND points to Jesus as the One who carries God’s grace into the world.

John the Baptist uses language about the judgment of God, that Jesus will come bearing a metaphorical “winnowing fork” [Luke 3:17], a tool used to separate the good, usable parts of grain from the chaff – the husks or useless part of the plant.  John still always focuses on the Good News... 

Note that grain and chaff grow together.  They are different parts of the same plant.  We may have good and bad, within us – different parts of the same person.  The Roman Catholic tradition names seven deadly sins, what might be consider the chaff within us, as pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth; and the seven heavenly virtues, or the good grain within us, are humility, charity, chastity, gratitude, temperance, patience, diligence.  Yet, Jesus can purify us while telling us, especially when we might feel at our worst, that there is something good and special within each of us.  And that goodness is SO valuable that it is worth the time and effort to sift to the surface, to lift up, even to raise up (on the last day). 

Now, the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ is one of the traditional days for welcoming new members into the Holy, Catholic (universal) Church through the Sacrament of Baptism.  It is not simply a welcome, but a marking of their lives as beginning something spiritually new in dwelling in God’s Word and engaging in Christ’s ministry in the world to renew and restore all to God and one another.  For those of us already Baptized, we recall our promise to enter into this new way of living with renewed fervor, passion, and intentionality.  Whether there is a Baptism or not, we as a community affirm our Baptismal promises to renew our focus and passion of our lives, to re-direct our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls toward the ministry God has laid before us.

Additionally, hold steadfast to the context of Jesus’ experience in His Baptism – the Holy Spirit came to Him while he was praying.  Imagine what we might experience differently if we were entrenched in constant prayer.  As Saint Paul encourages us in his first letter to the Thessalonians: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18] 

We need not wait for a new year to ‘try again’ in making necessary changes or resolutions for our own lives.  We need only to acknowledge the Spirit that has descended upon each of us in our own Baptisms.  Today we will renew our own Baptismal Vows reminding us of God’s favor in our lives through Jesus Christ via the spiritual grace afforded to us by this holy Sacrament.

[The Renewal of Baptismal Vows are found
on pp. 292-293 in The Book of Common Prayer.]