The public launch of the Lord’s ministry in the synagogue in Nazara is described in today’s Gospel, which contains the very first lines of St Luke’s Gospel: the proclamation of God’s word, demonstrated in Nehemiah (First Reading), coming to perfection in the Word made Flesh.

There are echoes of the Christmas season in today’s Gospel, where Jesus lets his glory be seen at the wedding feast of Cana, just as he did at the Epiphany and on the day of his baptism. As on those days, we ‘proclaim the wonders of the Lord anong all the peoples’.

On this feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Christians remember Jesus’ baptism and the start of his public ministry, and pray that all who believe may be his true followers.