Greeting
Today, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan; The Father recognized him as his beloved Son; The Holy Spirit prepared him for his mission of service. May the Lord’s Spirit of sonship and service be always with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
Today, on the feast of the Lord’s baptism, Jesus, though he
was without sin, made himself one with sinners, with outcasts, with the poor in
any way, to bring them God’s forgiveness and life. He accepted that difficult
mission. At our baptism, we have become one with him. Do we too, like him,
accept our mission to be good servants of God and people, even when this is a
difficult task? After all, we are Jesus’ disciples.
Penitential Act
We too are God’s beloved sons and daughters since the time
we were baptized. Have we answered God’s love? Let us ask the Lord to forgive
us. (pause)
Lord Jesus, servant of God, You taught us how to serve. Lord,
have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, beloved Son of the Father, through you we
became his daughters and sons: Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ,
have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you made yourself one with all sinners and with
the weak: Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord, and take all our sins away. Make us
live as people loved by God and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray that with Jesus we may be faithful servants of
God and people (pause)
God our Father, with Jesus, you call us to be your beloved
sons and daughters and with him you give us the mission to become humble and
dedicated servants. Grant that we may not break those crushed by sin and
sorrow. Help us to serve always the cause of right, to be eyes to the blind and
a voice for the downtrodden. May we please you in all we do. We ask this in the
name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading: Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
Here Is My Beloved Servant; My Spirit Rests On
Him: The prophet announces that God’s Spirit will guide his
faithful servant to bring justice and compassionate, respectful love to the
world. This prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus. His mission is also ours.
Second Reading; Acts 10:34-38
The Good News Is For All: Peter tells
us that the Spirit of God rested on the Lord Jesus and that his Good News is
destined for all.
Gospel; Matthew 3:13-17
This Is My Beloved Son: Jesus’ baptism
in the Jordan is the occasion to make him known as the promised Savior: the
Father calls him his beloved Son; the Holy Spirit will guide him.
Prayers of the Faithful
Today, let us pray to our Father in heaven, who sent his Son
among us as a servant to set us free and to make us new. Let us say to him:
R/ Lord, hear your people.
– For the Church and its leaders, that they and
we may not seek compromises with wealth and power but serve and help the poor,
let us pray: R/ Lord, hear your people.
– For all those who do not know Christ or who
are estranged from the Church, that the way we live Christ’s Gospel may reveal
to them the love of the Lord, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear your people.
– For us Christians and for all people, that the
Holy Spirit may guide us to respect all who are little and defenseless; that we
may not crush them but give them justice, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear
your people.
– For all those who are baptized, that they may
follow Christ and that, like him, they may learn to serve rather than to be
served, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear your people.
– For us and all our Christian communities, that
the Eucharist may strengthen in us the gifts of the Holy Spirit and make us
ever more faithful to our vocation as God’s beloved children, let us pray:
R/ Lord, hear your people.
Lord our God, you have called us to become new when we were
baptized. Forgive us our cowardice and keep renewing us through your Spirit,
that we may have the courage to go with Christ all the way, for he is your Son
and our Lord for ever. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Our God and Father, these gifts of bread and wine will become
your beloved son Jesus on whom your favor rests. Strengthen us with his body and
blood and let his Holy Spirit renew us as people who live without compromise the
message of justice and love and the very life of your Son. In this way, may we truly
be your beloved sons and daughters on whom your favor rests, now and for ever. R/
Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
Let us give wholehearted thanks to the Father for having made
us in baptism his beloved sons and daughters together with Jesus our Lord.
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer
Baptized in the Holy Spirit and children of the Father through
Jesus, his beloved Son, we pray with all trust Jesus’ own prayer. R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us Lord, from every evil and grant us your peace in our
day. Revive in us the grace of baptism and guide us by your Holy Spirit, that we
may be loyal to our mission of living the life of Jesus in this world, as we wait
in joyful hope for the coming in glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For
the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus our Lord, the beloved Son of the Father, on whom
God’s favor rests. Happy are we to be invited to share his table and to live his
life. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Our God and Father, you have opened heaven to us to strengthen
us with the bread of life and to fill us with the Holy Spirit. Make us new and call
us away from our certainties and attachments. Send us out to go forward without
fear on the road of justice and peace, that we may be your beloved children together
with your faithful Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
At his baptism in the Jordan Jesus was invested with his mission
of bringing God’s liberating love to people. The Spirit guided him to carry out
that mission in uncompromising faithfulness. At our baptism with water and the Spirit,
we have received the mission to live like Jesus, to go about doing good as he did,
to be faithful and just to God and to people. May the God in whose name we have
been baptized protect, guide and bless you for this task:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us go in the name of the Lord. R/ Thanks be to God.
****
REFLECTIONS
At the Jordan: Where God Crosses Over to Be With Us
Today’s Gospel invites us to begin at a place of deep biblical
and theological meaning: Bethabara, traditionally identified as the site
of Jesus’ baptism. Located on the eastern bank of the Jordan River, about nine kilometres
north of the Dead Sea in present-day Jordan, Bethabara literally means “the house
of crossing.” It is the place where Israel once crossed the Jordan to enter
the Promised Land after the Exodus. Geography here is never accidental; it carries
the weight of salvation history.
The Jordan River itself, frequently mentioned in Scripture, was
never a source of political or economic power like the Nile or the Euphrates. Yet
in the Bible, it marks a decisive boundary: between slavery and freedom, between
the old life and the new. This is why John the Baptist chose this place to preach
conversion. His call was radical. He did not summon pagans, but the people of Israel
themselves—those who believed they were already saved by virtue of being children
of Abraham.
By asking them to cross the Jordan again and receive baptism,
John challenged a dangerous illusion: the belief that religious identity alone guarantees
freedom. True slavery, he insisted, is not political but spiritual—bondage to pride,
injustice, infidelity, and hardened hearts. Conversion meant dying to the old self
and being reborn, as symbolized by immersion in water.
It is precisely into this context that Jesus arrives from Nazareth.
This is startling. The Messiah joins sinners, stands in line with them, and asks
to be baptized. John resists, unable to reconcile this gesture with his image of
a righteous, judging Messiah. But Jesus insists: “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting
for us to fulfil all righteousness.” Here, Jesus reveals a new understanding of
righteousness—not separation from sinners, but solidarity with them.
In this moment, the heavens are opened. Matthew draws on Israel’s
ancient longing, voiced by the prophets, that God would “rend the heavens and come
down.” That prayer is now answered. God’s silence ends, and the barrier between
heaven and earth is permanently torn open. Since the Son has entered fully into
our human condition, the door of the Father’s house will never again be closed.
The Spirit descends upon Jesus like a dove—a biblical image of
gentleness, peace, and new creation. This is not the Spirit of violence or judgment,
but of tenderness and healing. God does not crush the weak or extinguish the flickering
wick. He restores, accompanies, and gives life.
Finally, the voice from heaven declares: “This is my beloved
Son, with whom I am well pleased.” In biblical language, “Son” means one who perfectly
resembles the Father. To see Jesus is to see the face of God. From this moment on,
the Gospel will invite us to contemplate Jesus’ words and actions as the definitive
revelation of who God is.
At the Jordan, a new exodus begins—not away from humanity, but
into its depths. God crosses over to be with us.
***
The Baptism of the Lord
Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 29; Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17
Having so many infants for baptism today gives us something special
to celebrate. Today, the Church celebrates the solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord.
A baptism on this day is more than special; it is triumphant. The Church rejoices
as a person is baptized into the Church and into their own unique relationship with
Jesus, as they are sealed and marked as Christ’s own, forever. Even if there is
no baptism in this congregation today, it’s a good opportunity to renew our Baptismal
Covenant, the promises we made, or, if we were infants, the promises others made
for us. This is a day to renew our commitment to Christ and to each other. The readings
today particularly stress the nature of Jesus’ baptism and our own. The passage
from Isaiah gets to the heart of the matter: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights.”
The second reading today is St Peter’s dramatic speech about
life in the Spirit, and his realization that God shows no partiality. In our baptismal
vows, we take that realization seriously as we promise to “seek and serve Christ
in all persons, loving our neighbours as ourselves.” We also promise to respect
the dignity of every human being. The reality of many migrant workers among us brings
this issue to the forefront of our minds and hearts. We approach all persons, especially
the alien and the stranger, as gifts from God to us, and we extend our hospitality
to them because “anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”
In the gospel reading, we see our Lord’s humility, as he says,
“it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.” Righteousness has
to do with the way God intends things to be, and God obviously intends us to submit
to one another in service and sacrifice.
This is what baptism can lead to: a strong sense of servanthood
and a mission that fulfils what it means to be righteous. While the baptism of a
child is precious, an event that leaves us all smiling and joyful, we cannot know
what God has in mind for this person if they are nurtured in the love of the Lord.
Often we don’t get to see “the rest of the story”; but if we did, we would be amazed.
There are countless stories of people who go on to a servant’s vocation, backed
by their baptismal vows and their bond to Christ and his Church. Take a moment now
and reflect on where your baptismal journey has brought you.
What have you done as a result of your life in Christ? How has
Jesus led you to use your talents and gifts for righteous actions? What has been
joyful for you on this journey?
Then look around at your sisters and brothers, and give thanks that together you can celebrate your life in Christ and look forward to further adventures.
