Reflection for Sunday 11th January, 2026

The Baptism of the Lord - Feast

Jesus entered the river with sinners (Matthew 3:13-17)

Jesus came from Galilee to be baptised by John the Baptist. Seeing Jesus entering the water, John tried to stop him. “It is I who need baptism from you, and yet you come to me.”
Jesus replied, “Leave it like this for the time being; it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that righteousness demands.” What did he mean by righteousness?
John had attracted great crowds of people who were anxious to turn a new leaf by cleansing their sins. The Baptist then dipped them one by one in the flowing water of the Jordan as a symbol of their new life. In those days, the Jewish ablutions used still water, kept in tanks or large jars, but the Baptist chose flowing water as a symbol of a new way of living.

“He was pierced through for our faults, crushed for our sins … and through his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 54:5)

The Jewish religion at the time was very much based on the perfect observance of hundreds of laws. This was the only way to righteousness, being fully at rights before God. Later, in his public ministry, Jesus had several encounters with the legal experts about the strict legalism which squeezed the joy out of religion. It was a sin to heal a withered hand on the Sabbath! When religion is dominated by the concept of a strict, exacting God, it can drive people to an obsessive guilt complex, especially with anything to do with sexual thought or action. God is then feared but not loved: and religion strives to be very correct, but is also very cold. Saint Paul admitted that in his time as a Pharisee, he strove for perfection but could never observe all the laws. Coming to know Jesus Christ released him.

The river of human frailty

To understand what Jesus meant by righteousness, the best commentary is in today’s First Reading. Isaiah (42: 1-4, 6-7) foretold a chosen servant of God, endowed with the spirit and bringing true justice to the nations. Jesus did not stand aloof from sinners but came close to them. He came, not to condemn, but to heal and give hope. Although sinless, he entered the river of human frailty and submitted to the ritual washing given by the Baptist.
Later, in his public ministry, he sat with sinners, listened to them, ate and drank with them, an act that scandalised the strict legalists. He would not cast stones at the woman condemned for adultery but he told her to go and sin no more. His gentleness is beautifully described by Isaiah.
“He does not break the crushed reed
Nor quench the wavering flame.”

To put my eyes into your eyes

This Christian approach is exemplified in the life of Pope Saint John XXIII. He was visiting Regina Caeli prison in Rome, but when he saw the assembly of broken humanity in front of him, he felt a lump in his throat and was unable to deliver his prepared speech. Eventually he recovered and spoke from the heart.
“Men,” he began, “I have come here today to put my eyes into your eyes.” He had come to understand rather than condemn. He told them that he had a cousin in jail. It had an extraordinary effect on the prisoners. Pope John died not too long after that. On a television programme about him, one of the prisoners said that although he was still behind bars, he had been interiorly liberated that day.
Pope Francis resembled John XXIII in many ways. In his first public document he wrote that mercy is the foundation of the Church’s life. He described the Church as a hospital for all who were wounded in the battlefield of life.
Pope Francis resembled John XXIII in many ways. His first public document began: “Jesus Christ is the face of God’s mercy.” He described the Church as a hospital for all who were wounded in the battlefield of life. One of his favourite sayings was, “Allow God to love you.”
When Jesus entered the Jordan river to be baptised by John, he was expressing his solidarity with fallen humanity. At the end of his mission he was arrested, subjected to false accusations, and nailed to the cross between two criminals. “He was pierced through for our faults, crushed for our sins … and through his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 54:5)
He prepared for his mission by entering the river with sinners. He died on the cross as our Saviour and Redeemer. But in dying he destroyed our death and in rising he restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory.