The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord concludes the celebration of the Christmas season. After today, our churches will take down their festive Christmas decorations including the prominence of the manger scene. The baptism of Jesus marks the shift in the focus of the liturgical year from the infant Jesus to the adult Jesus. The heavenly voice proclaims Jesus to be "my beloved Son." With his baptism in the Jordan by John, Jesus begins his adult ministry of preaching, teaching, and healing. He proclaims the Kingdom of God in word and deed.
I imagine that few of us remember our baptisms, although we may have watched videos of the event! Most of us were just a few weeks, or a few months, old at the time. Yet, like Jesus, at our baptisms, we too are proclaimed to be sons or daughters of God, upon whom God's favor rests. As with Jesus, our baptism announces to the world that we belong to God and have a special role to play in building God's kingdom. We are called to proclaim the Kingdom of God in word and deed, in ways that are as unique as each of us.
As we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord today, we thank God for calling each of us to be beloved children. As Jesus begins his ministry, we go forward in our ministry to bring the Good News of the Gospel to all we meet.