FIRST READING            Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11

Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.  Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; indeed, she has received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.  A voice cries out:  In the desert prepare the way of the Lord!  Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!  Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; the rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley.  Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.  Go up on to a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings; cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news!  Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah:  Here is your God!  Here comes with power the Lord God, who rules by a strong arm; here is his reward with him, his recompense before him.  Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care.

SECOND READING                  Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7

Beloved:  The grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good.  When the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared, not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy, He saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.

GOSPEL                Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

The people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ. John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming.  I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”  After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove.  And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

My sisters and brothers in Christ,

The mystery of the Baptism of the Lord–with His Epiphany–are at the heart of our faith.  These mysteries are less known in the Western Church than the mysteries of Christmas and Easter.  In almost every way, the mysteries of the Epiphany and the Baptism are the same as the mystery of Christmas, the Nativity of the Lord.  Christmas has enormous emotional overtones throughout the world and because of that, very often the mystery of salvation is forgotten.

Christmas in the Western Church is often caught up in present giving, in emotional feelings and in not so very good music.  The Epiphany and the Baptism focus us on the meaning of Christmas:  a Savior is born for us and revealed to the nations.  The Epiphany focuses on this revelation to the nations when Christ is still a baby.  The Baptism of Christ focuses us on this revelation at the beginning of His public ministry, the time of His Baptism by John.

There were lots of people flocking to John the Baptist to seek a way to be faithful to God.  The baptism of Christ takes place in the context of people wondering if maybe John the Baptist is the “anointed one” who is to come and save the people.  Jesus had already started to become recognized as a spiritual leader.  When John the Baptist is baptizing and Jesus comes to be baptized, something most unusual happens and it is recorded in the Gospels:  heaven was opened, the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove, a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

This revelation of Jesus as Son of God is an epiphany in the full sense of the revelation of the baby Jesus as God and Savior.  It is clear from the Gospel accounts that not everyone understood what was happening, but many realized that some very special happening was taking place.

The first reading today, from the Prophet Isaiah, explains what it means to be the beloved Son:  Here is your God!  Here comes with power the Lord God, who rules by a strong arm; here is his reward with him, his recompense before him.  Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care.

Jesus begins to fulfill this prophecy and begins his ministry with love, compassion, strength and by gathering the lambs with care.

The second reading, from the Letter to Titus, explains even further:  When the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared, not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy, He saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior.

As we are still beginning this Year of Mercy, we can see here one of the great scriptural references to mercy:  God saves us through His mercy, not because of anything we have done.

We return to the scene of the Baptism of Christ.  We are invited to recognize in Jesus not just a good man, not just a good teacher, not just a compassionate human being.  No, we are invited to believe in Jesus as the one, unique and only God.  And He has come to save us.  If we are baptized in Him, let us share His mercy and walk with faith.

Your brother in the Lord,

Abbot Philip