Reflection for Sunday January 11 The Baptism of the Lord: Matthew 3:13-17

Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17

Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him, saying,  "I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?" Jesus said to him in reply, "Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed him. 

After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying,  "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

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Reflection:

If we were asked, “When were you baptized?” many of us might not be able to answer right away. We might need to look for our Baptismal certificate—if we have even kept a copy of it. And what if we no longer have it?

Unlike our birthdays, which we never fail to remember each year, we often forget our baptismal day—yet this day is far more important than the day we were born into this world. In Baptism, we were born again through water and the Holy Spirit.

It was on that sacred day that we became children of God, members of the Church, and sharers in the mission of Jesus. From that moment on, our lives were no longer meant to be lived only for ourselves, but for God and for others. As baptized Christians, we are called to humbly proclaim and live out the teachings of Jesus and of His Church.

In the Gospel, we see Jesus Himself stepping into the waters of the Jordan to be baptized by John. John hesitated and said, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” He was filled with awe, for he knew he was standing before the Savior, the Holy One of God.

Why would Jesus, the Son of God, choose to be baptized by an ordinary man? Why not simply begin His mission at once? Yet Jesus insisted, because His baptism was the sign that His mission of love, obedience, and self-giving had truly begun. In that moment, heaven was opened. The Holy Spirit descended upon Him, and the voice of the Father was heard: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

From that day on, Jesus began His public ministry. He proclaimed the Good News, healed the sick, lifted up the brokenhearted, fed the hungry, and brought hope to the hopeless. And in the end, He did not turn away from suffering, but offered His life completely out of love for us.

Brothers and sisters, our own baptism united us to this same Jesus and to this same mission. We, too, were anointed, chosen, and sent. Our baptism was not only a moment in the past—it is a call that continues to echo in our hearts today.

So let us pause and ask ourselves: Are we truly living as baptized people? Are we faithfully carrying the mission of Christ in the way we love, serve, and forgive? Or has our baptism become only a forgotten date, instead of a living commitment? – Marino J. Dasmarinas