Introduction
As we conclude the church’s celebration of Christmas and return to work, to
school, and to life as usual, we enter the Ordinary Time of the liturgical year.
But life is never ordinary for those who are led by the Holy Spirit, our gift at
baptism.
First Reading: Isaiah 40:1-5.9-11
Isaiah prophesied that the glory of God would be revealed in the reshaping
of land and the witness of people. Deserts and wastelands would become
paved paths, and all people would see it together. Exiles would return and
God would appear with power.
“The glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all mankind shall see it.”
Responsorial Psalm: Ps: 103
R/. Bless the Lord, my soul! Lord God, how great you are.
Second Reading: Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7
At the end of his life Jesus commanded his disciples to baptise all nations.
Paul’s Letter to Titus recalls this connection. “He saved us by the cleansing
water of rebirth and by renewing us with the Holy Spirit.”
Gospel Reading: Luke 3:15-16.21-22
It was while Jesus was in prayer that heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit
descended upon him. In this way, Jesus shows us the way to be in touch with
God. When we pray, the Holy Spirit comes to us. Baptism has opened up a
relationship between God and us. The Father is well pleased with us too and
proclaims us his beloved children when we look upon him in prayer and call
him “our Father”.
As we conclude the church’s celebration of Christmas and return to work, to
school, and to life as usual, we enter the Ordinary Time of the liturgical year.
But life is never ordinary for those who are led by the Holy Spirit, our gift at
baptism.
First Reading: Isaiah 40:1-5.9-11
Isaiah prophesied that the glory of God would be revealed in the reshaping
of land and the witness of people. Deserts and wastelands would become
paved paths, and all people would see it together. Exiles would return and
God would appear with power.
“The glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all mankind shall see it.”
Responsorial Psalm: Ps: 103
R/. Bless the Lord, my soul! Lord God, how great you are.
Second Reading: Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7
At the end of his life Jesus commanded his disciples to baptise all nations.
Paul’s Letter to Titus recalls this connection. “He saved us by the cleansing
water of rebirth and by renewing us with the Holy Spirit.”
Gospel Reading: Luke 3:15-16.21-22
It was while Jesus was in prayer that heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit
descended upon him. In this way, Jesus shows us the way to be in touch with
God. When we pray, the Holy Spirit comes to us. Baptism has opened up a
relationship between God and us. The Father is well pleased with us too and
proclaims us his beloved children when we look upon him in prayer and call
him “our Father”.
Our first reading today from the Prophet Isaiah is a call to the people to rise up and be consoled for their liberation is now at hand. The Lord has now come to them and he will gather them together as a shepherd gathers his sheep. It is an appropriate text for the celebration of the Lord’s baptism because with his baptism Jesus began his public ministry – at his baptism he was revealed to the people and God signalled his approval of him. At the Epiphany we celebrated the revelation of our salvation to the Magi but now we celebrate his revelation to all the people and the preaching of the Good News. Our gospel passage recounts Christ’s baptism by John in the Jordan as told by Luke. In it, the Father witnesses to his own Son and says that he is the Chosen One in fulfilment of the text from Isaiah. In the second reading, St Paul tells us that Christ became a sacrifice for us simply because he had compassion for us – we had done nothing to merit it. Now however, we must live good and religious lives in this present world while we wait for the blessings of the world to come. At our own baptism we became God’s chosen ones in a special way and by living out Paul’s instructions in the second reading we will help to bring Christ’s glory to the whole world.