11 Jan 2026 – The Baptism of the Lord – 1st Sunday
11 Jan 2026 – The Baptism of the Lord – 1st Sunday
(1) Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
A courageous servant of God will help others to keep the Covenant
Thus says the Lord:
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow faint or be crushed
until he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
a light to the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.”
Responsorial: Isaiah 12:2-6
You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Truly, God is my salvation,
I trust, I shall not fear.
For the Lord is my strength, my song,
he became my saviour.
With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation. (R./)
Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name!
Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples!
Declare the greatness of his name. (R./
Sing a psalm to the Lord
for he has done glorious deeds,
make them known to all the earth!
People of Zion, sing and shout for joy
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. (R./)
(2) Acts 10:34-38
After his baptism of Jesus went about doing good. Baptism sends us out to do good
Peter said to Cornelius and his household: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”
Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17
After being baptised, Jesus was filled with the Spirit, to do the work of God, his Father
Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.
And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom am well pleased.”
Making his aims our own
On several occasions I’ve had the privilege of being on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. An experience that I specially remember was wading into the river Jordan, where I and each of my fellow pilgrims renewed the promises of our baptism. It was a moving moment, and one could envision the Spirit descending, and the Father confirming each of us as his son or daughter. Many of those who experienced it remember that moment with great emotion, and with a sense of renewed commitment.
The baptism of Jesus is a moment of special grace in our story of salvation. Not only did he join us in our sinful state, but the Father and the Spirit are seen and heard to be there with him. The gospel uses the simple phrase that “the heavens were opened,” but it is a powerful statement. Later on, when Jesus completed his life-journey on Calvary, we read how “the veil of the Temple was rent in two.” Now at last we were free to enter the Holy of Holies. Today’s gospel is the beginning of a journey, which, through our own baptism, each of us is asked to travel. It is a journey full of purpose.
Even if we seldom think of it, each person needs a sense of purpose and pattern in our living. When I set out on a journey I need to have a definite idea of where I intend going, and how to make the journey. Peter summarised the purpose and pattern of Christ’s life when he said, “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” We are invited to make his purpose our own.
A man was down the country travelling along by-roads where the signposts were few and far between. After a while, unsure of his directions, he decided to ask the first person he saw. When he came across a farmer driving his cows home for milking he stopped the car and asked if he was on the right road to Mallow. The farmer told him that he certainly was on the Mallow road. The driver thanked him and was about to move forward when the farmer added, in a nonchalant way, “You’re on the right road, but you’re going in the wrong direction!’
Key Message:
Our Jesus was humble!!
Homily:
Let us imagine this scene: Our Lord Jesus, the Son of God, walks toward St. John the Baptist at the River Jordan and asks to be baptized. John the Baptist identifies that the person standing before Him is God Himself. So he immediately refuses. And our Lord forces him saying, “Let it be so now; it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.”
Our Lord Jesus Christ, our great God humbled Himself in front of a human and received Baptism.
This is a great teaching for us on humility. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but not thinking others less than you.
Though our Lord knew who He was, He still accepted the position our Almighty Father had given to St. John the Baptist. He did not feel that He was becoming less there in front of everyone or going down below His status as God.
He was not even worried about it or having a thought that He was going to be Baptized by a human. Our Jesus just happily stepped down and knelt before St. John the Baptist.
Pride says, “I should not have to do this.” Humility says, “If this pleases the Father, I will do it.”
Which among these thoughts strikes us generally?
Also, we notice that Heaven also waited for our Lord Jesus to humble Himself. The Heavens opened only after Jesus humbled Himself. The Holy Spirit descended on our Lord only after obedience. And our Almighty Father’s voice was heard only after Jesus chose the low place.
Our Almighty Father lovingly said, “I am pleased with My Son”. What had our Lord Jesus accomplished till then?
Our Lord Jesus was just obedient and humble.
God always lifts the humble.
We often want blessing before obedience. But our God thinks the other way.
Being humble does not mean that we need to walk with our head bowed down or speak in a low voice. Our Lord Jesus was also a leader. A humble leader.
When He had to keep opposing the leaders of those times, He courageously opposed them.
When He had to wash the feet of the Apostles, He washed their feet.
So our Lord Jesus did not refuse to step up and oppose or step down to serve. He neither thought less of the women caught in adultery.
He never thought less of anyone.
Can we take an oath not to think less of anyone following our Lord Jesus?
Dear All,
With grace of God, I am grateful to share that I have written a new devotional book, “Daily Devotional for Women: Your 1-on-1 with Jesus”.
The purpose of this book is to enable a closer walk with Jesus daily. Though many women start their day with morning prayer, they often feel unconnected with the Lord Jesus. So the question asked, “What should I do in my morning prayer to feel connected with Jesus?”
I am trying to answer this question by developing a personal 1:1 conversation with Jesus, through a quick daily reflection and meditation.
This book is available from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GBWBZ4VB