January 11, 2026
Revised Common Lectionary
Isaiah 42:1-9
Psalm 29
Acts 10:34-43
Matthew 3:13-17
Lectionary for Mass (RC)
Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
Psalm 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10 (11b)
Acts 10:34-38
Matthew 3:13-17
Life comes forth from the waters. So it was at creation’s first moment, at Jesus’s baptism, and at our own.
The biblical story of creation begins with God’s breath over the waters: “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep while a wind from God [or ‘the spirit of God’] swept over the face of the waters” (Gen 1:1). Life springs from God’s breath moving over primordial waters—a pattern both ancient scripture and modern science recognize, as life first emerged from earth’s oceans nearly three and a half billion years ago.
The Jesus story likewise begins with water. All four canonical Gospels open the adult Jesus’s ministry with his baptism by John at the Jordan River. Scholars regard the infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke, along with the very beautiful prologue of John’s Gospel, as introductions to the real story which begins here, at the water. With those introductions out of the way, Jesus plunges into the water, God’s voice is heard, and the Spirit of God comes upon him. He emerges with his identity confirmed and proclaimed.
Like Jesus, Christians are plunged into the water at their baptism. How does the story of his baptism lead us to a deeper understanding of that ritual event and its continuing importance in our journey of faith?
First, as the voice from the heavens identified Jesus as the beloved son, so too our identity as children of God is affirmed in baptism. In a world where many of us have received negative messages in childhood and throughout our lives, God’s voice is clearly heard: “This is my child, my beloved.”
This message is critical for people who have been made to feel throughout their lives that they are less than—including, sadly, many LGBTQ+ children and youth who have been told they don’t belong. God speaks from the heavens to claim us as beloved children. Disciples of Jesus are called to heed that voice by recognizing our own worth and offering that same affirmation to those who have been marginalized.
Second, the story of Jesus’s baptism reminds us that we, like Jesus and John the Baptist, have been called to “fulfill all righteousness” (Mt 3:15). To accept the gift of baptism means submitting to God’s will as Jesus did. We become disciples of Christ, called to live as he has taught us. The core of that teaching will follow in the Gospel of Matthew just two chapters later, when Jesus delivers the Sermon on the Mount.
In that powerful sermon we learn how to be a disciple of Jesus, by following the way of the beatitudes: becoming peacemakers in the face of rallying cries for war and lethality; comforting and supporting mothers whose sons are shot in our streets; bringing the message of mercy to a society that demonizes immigrants and incarcerates young men of color at an astonishing rate; acting as reconcilers in our own families and communities; forgiving others as we wish to be forgiven. Like Jesus, we have been empowered for this work by the Spirit who in baptism has come upon us, who continues to abide in us, and who gives us strength each day for witness and action.
Baptism is of course just the starting point. The baptism that Jesus received in the Jordan was his first baptism. He later tells his disciples that he has another baptism to receive—his death. When James and John vie for places of honor, he challenges them as to whether they can be baptized with that baptism also. Yes, Christian baptism is about identity, discipleship, and mission, but it is also about being joined to Christ in his dying and rising. In his letter to the Romans, Paul tells us that “all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death.” We have died with Christ, the apostle tells us, so that “we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:3-4). If you want to live, you have to die.
Our life begins in the water but continues in the Spirit. Just as the breath of God blew life into being, just as the Spirit came upon Jesus at his baptism, so too the Holy Spirit becomes our companion and guide in daily living, in time of trial, and even in the face of death.
A Hymn for Today: “The strong and gentle voice”
Once we’ve emerged from the water, then what? Following the passage we heard today, the very next verse in Matthew’s Gospel says, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” His baptism and the stirring of the Spirit prepare him to face a time of testing and to begin his mission of proclaiming God’s reign.
Mennonite hymn writer Adam M. L. Tice, FHS, reflects on the way in which the Spirit guided Jesus in his journey from the water to the desert and how the Spirit that we received in baptism continues to guide us.
The strong and gentle voice,
The swift, descending Dove
And Jesus, rising from the stream,
Met joyfully in love.
The Three were found as One
By Jordan’s rugged shore
Where John the Baptist preached the way
Of justice for the poor.
And was the Dove content
By Jordan to remain?
She guided Jesus on to know
Temptation, thirst, and pain.
He faced a three-fold test
That no one else could bear.
The desert beasts remained with him
And angels gave him care.
Baptismal waters dry,
A moment’s bliss will fade,
But with the Dove to lead us on
We need not be afraid.
Text: Adam M. L. Tice, b. 1979, © GIA Publications, Inc. Used by permission under OneLicense #A-729857
Tune: NEW RESTORATION, FESTAL SONG
Image Credit: Baptism of Christ, Dave Zalenka, 2005
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