Gospel: Baptism of the Lord

Today we celebrate the Feast ofcthe Baptism of the Lord. In most years, this feast is celebrated on the Sunday after Epiphany. The Gospel passage will be lifted accordimg to St Mark (1:7-11).

In the course of his preaching he said, "After me is coming someone who is more powerful than me and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals.

I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

It was at this time that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John.

And at once, as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him.

And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests on you."

In today's Gospel, we hear St John the Baptist differentiate his baptism of repentance with the baptism that Jesus will inaugurate. St John the Baptists says that he has baptized with water, but that the one who is to come will baptize with the Holy Spirit. St John the Baptist's baptism was not yet a Christian baptism; it was a preparation for Christian baptism we celebrate today, and through which sins are forgiven and the gift of the Holy Spirit is received. In accepting St John's baptism, Jesus, though sinless, united himself with all sinners.

The baptism of Jesus is reported in each of the three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). Clearly, Jesus' baptism was an event of great significance for Jesus and for early Christian community.

The baptism of the Lord is also an important manifestation of God in the person of Jesus, which is considered as another epiphany. Jesus' baptism inaugurates his mission. St Mark's Gospel moves quickly from the report of Jesus' baptism to Jesus' temptations in the desert to his ministry in Galilee after St John the Baptist's arrest. The end of the ministry of St John the Baptist is the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. In an analogous way, our baptism is the start of our mission as Christians.

Surprisingly, in this last day of the Christmas Season, the Gospel does not tell a story from the childhood of Jesus. Instead, today's Gospel reveals Jesus' relationship to God: the Son of Mary is also God's own Son. It is in this regard that when we are baptized, we are also made children of God.

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The Gospel is sponsored by Jollibee Burger Steak.