Homily Nativity Baptism A: The reason for the Baptism of Jesus and our own baptism

Homily for the Baptism of the Lord 2026

Introduction

Today we come to the end of the Christmas season with the Baptism of Jesus by John at the Jordan River. From the manger to the Jordan River, the Church has been slowly revealing to us who Jesus really is.

·      On Christmas Day, we heard the angels reveal the baby Jesus in the manger to the shepherds of Jerusalem.

·      On the feast of the Holy Family, Jesus the Son of God was also revealed as a child in danger, fleeing to Egypt as a refugee with his father and mother.

·      On New Year’s Day, we celebrated the Solemnity of Mary, the Blessed Mother of God, the simple Jewish woman whose body was the channel for bringing God’s Son into the world.

·      Last Sunday, on Epiphany, we returned to the baby Jesus, who was revealed not to the Jewish shepherds, as at Christmas, but to the wise men from the East—essentially to the Gentile world.

·      Finally today, we close this chapter of the Christmas story with the baptism not of the baby Jesus, but of the adult Jesus, who is about to begin his public ministry, an occasion at which John reveals him as the Messiah.

An immediate question, however, arises: why does Jesus ask to be baptized?

Scripture and Theology

Even John the Baptist immediately sees the problem, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?” For John’s baptism was for sinners—people who were repenting, people who needed to change their lives. Jesus had no sin, no need to change. So why does he ask to be baptized? Why does he insist on it? Let me offer two answers from the Catechism.

The first answer is found on the lips of Jesus himself in Matthew’s Gospel, when he says: “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (3:15).

“Fulfilling all righteous” what does it mean? The Catechism tells us that “Jesus’ gesture is a manifestation of his self-emptying” (CCC 1224). In other words, he is doing what a righteous Jewish person was expected to do: going to the synagogue on the Sabbath, going to the Temple, paying taxes—and now coming to John for a baptism of repentance. When, in the Creed, we profess that Jesus became man, we affirm that he was fully divine as well as fully huan. If he was truly human, then he had to act like it—act like a righteous man. By undergoing this baptism, Jesus shows that he is indeed a righteous man.

The Catechism gives us a second reason Jesus undergoes John’s baptism. By his baptism, Jesus was accepting and beginning his “mission as God’s suffering Servant” (CCC 536). As we know, Jesus’ mission was to die for our sins. And so, “He is already ‘the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.’ Already, in this humiliating baptism, he is anticipating the ‘baptism’ of his bloody death” (CCC 536)—what he will later do on the Cross.

Even in the Christmas story, we have already seen his humility: born of lowly parents, born in a stable, forced to flee as a refugee. Later in his ministry, he will continue to identify himself with tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners. This same theme of humility and solidarity with sinners is already present in his baptism. By undergoing this baptism, Jesus humbles himself and identifies with those who needed it. He goes down into the water and sanctifies it, so that we may be purified by it.

The truth and importance of this event are confirmed by the fact that the evangelists chose to include it in the Gospel. They could easily have left it out, just as they pass over Jesus’ teenage years, especially since—at first glance—it seems to place Jesus in a subordinate position to John the Baptist. Yet they include it precisely to show us the fullness of the mystery of Jesus Christ. His baptism changes nothing about who he is as the Son of God; in fact, it is the very moment when God the Father publicly reveals him as his beloved Son.

Christian Life

What does this event—the feast of the Baptism of the Lord—mean for us?

Every year on this feast, I like to ask the congregation a simple question: Do you know the date of your baptism? I ask this not because I want you to throw another party, but so that you realize how that day changed everything for you. On the day of your baptism, heaven opened for you too.

You may not remember it. There may have been no dramatic signs. But something eternal happened—what the Church calls the four effects of baptism.

First, baptism forgives our sins. At your baptism, you were cleansed not just on the surface, but at the root. Original sin was taken away. The obstacle of sin that stood between you and heaven was removed.

Second, baptism gives us new life, for we are born again. When baptism removes our sin, it does not leave that place empty. The same Spirit who descended upon Jesus was given to you, along with the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. In short, you were given what you need to complete your journey to heaven.

A third effect of baptism is the indelible mark of being a child of God. Baptism marks us permanently as God’s children, configured to Jesus Christ, his beloved sons and daughters. That is why, even when we occasionally fall away from God—even when it happens for long periods and in serious ways—we do not need to be baptized again. Because of this indelible mark, we can always return. We already belong to him.

The fourth effect of baptism is that it incorporates us into the Body of Christ, the Church. Although baptism is received individually, it immediately places us into a community of believers, where we support one another and are supported by one another on our pilgrimage to the Father.

Unfortunately, too often we treat baptism as merely a cultural ritual or something in the past—a family photo, a certificate, a tradition. But baptism is not just something that happened to us; it is something we must live from.

We live out these four effects of baptism by living the baptismal promises made on our behalf, if we were baptized as infants, or made by ourselves, if we were baptized as adults.

·      We promised to reject sin and Satan and to live as children of the light.

·      We were given a white garment—not to hang in a closet, but to keep clean through daily choices for God.

·      We were given a candle—not to admire, but to keep burning in our works.

Jesus’ baptism marked the beginning of his public mission. Our baptism does the same for us. We are baptized not only to be saved, but to be sent—to live differently, to love differently, and to witness to Christ in ordinary life.

Conclusion

Today, as we close the Christmas season, we stand with Jesus at the Jordan River. We look at him, humble and obedient. We hear the Father’s voice. We see the Spirit at work. And we remember who we are: children of God journeying together toward heaven.

If we live faithfully the grace of our baptism—rejecting sin, trusting God, and walking in humility—then one day, when our earthly pilgrimage is complete, the Father will say to us the very words he spoke over his Son: “You are my beloved son. You are my beloved daughter.  With you, I am well pleased.”