The Baptism of the Lord

First Reading

Is 42:1-4, 6-7

Thus says the LORD:
Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
upon whom I have put my spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
A bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait for his teaching.

I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

Second reading

Acts 10:34-38

Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered
in the house of Cornelius, saying: 
“In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly
is acceptable to him.
You know the word that he sent to the Israelites 
as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, 
what has happened all over Judea, 
beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached, 
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good 
and healing all those oppressed by the devil, 
for God was with him.”

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.”

Sermon

Dear sisters and brothers in faith,

To be honest, I don't particularly like days when the sky is overcast and everything appears gray. On days like these, I long for the sun. And I am happy when it finally breaks through the clouds again and the sky gradually opens up.

The sky is also an image for the soul of us humans. It knows those moments when everything seems to be overcast, everything appears gray, as if veiled and covered.

“When Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens opened...” That is how it is said to have been at Jesus' baptism in the Jordan. How often, however, the heavens remained closed to Jesus, we can only guess. I think of the experience Jesus had to go through with his disciples. They left everything behind to follow him, and when it came down to it, they simply ran away and abandoned him. I think of the countless disputes with the Pharisees and scribes. How often was Jesus persecuted? How often did they try to trap him? Finally, I think of the last hours of Jesus' life. Hours of fear and loneliness. Moments of greatest distress and despair.

Our own lives also consist of light and dark, of being alone and together, of now and forever. Opposites form the rhythm in which our lives unfold. But I also know that it is precisely in the difficult and dark moments of life that opportunities arise that would not otherwise exist. Of course, the sky above me darkens when someone hurts me. But could it be that what they say to me is true? Could it be that without wounds and without being affected, I would learn nothing and continue to live unchanged? Of course, the sky above me darkens when I begin to doubt myself. But could it not be that this brings me closer to others? Their doubts become my doubts, their uncertainty becomes my uncertainty. And the questions that trouble them, I then find again in my own heart.

“And behold, the heavens opened...” That is how it is said to have been at the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. That is how it can happen in my own life when I dare to light a light in the darkness with my being, with my gifts, with my love.

I find it a beautiful image: the heavens are open above Jesus. And from these open heavens—there are no moral appeals, no instructions on how we humans should live, but from these open heavens comes a declaration of love: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

When God says something like this, he certainly does not mean Jesus' appearance, his form or anything like that, but God surely means to say: I am pleased with the way this Jesus will live. I am pleased with the way he will treat people.

The feast of the baptism of Jesus sums up once again what we celebrated at Christmas:

In Jesus, God has appeared visibly in our world. And just as this Jesus is, how he acts and speaks—so is our God.

Yes, in Jesus, God unreservedly puts his arms around people, and that means all people—including us.

He accepts us as we are—with our contradictions, with our light and dark sides, with everything that life as human beings can bring.

A declaration of love from an open heaven—at the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. A declaration of love that continues to apply—to Jesus and to all who look to this Jesus.

This is God's promise that he himself will repeatedly tear open the covered and overcast sky within us, allowing his light to shine through the clouds. Thus, alongside the incarnate divine child in our Christmas cribs, the image of the “open sky” is another very important Christmas symbol. For just as over Jesus at the Jordan, God also opens the heavens over us because he has taken pleasure in you, in me, in each and every one of us.

Helene Renner (2020)

Where the heavens open,
God becomes accessible.

Where the heavens open,
the lonely find community.

Where the heavens open,
all meaninglessness comes to an end.

Where the heavens open,
everything can become new.

Where the heavens open,
people receive unexpected opportunities.

Where the heavens open,
the earth is filled with the Spirit.

Where the heavens open,
transformation takes place,

then,
when we open ourselves to it.