Baptism of Our Lord Sunday
Matthew’s gospel is the story of Emmanuel, God with Us. Jesus’s baptism marks God’s solidarity with humankind. The voice that speaks from the heavens is a voice not for Jesus alone, as in Mark and Luke’s gospels, but is a voice for the people: “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love…” (The Message). The gospels provide a lens for us to see what a life lived within the love of God might look like. In the waters of the Jordan Jesus receives the affirmation of God’s love and takes on the mantle of being God’s beloved in the world, alongside of us.
