Scripture Reflections for the Baptism of the Lord

“Our faith should not be reduced to accepting theoretically what the Church tells us, but rather seeking to open ourselves in a humble and trusting way to God”

“So while in Christmastide it is vital that we confess the truth that Christ is God, we must also confess that he is God-with-us, and God for us”

“At his Baptism, the Saviour chooses to be with us where we are, to enter into solidarity with us, sinners as we are”

“We need to pray about what our baptism means and what we’re called to do, just as Jesus did. Because while it is a gift, and a gift we need for our salvation, it also means we have a responsibility to do more with our lives.”

“Christ encouraged all of us to be baptised and he identified himself with sinful humanity as the one who will act on our behalf to save us”

“The Christmas season began with the Incarnation which shows God’s love for our humanity. It ends with the feast of Christ’s baptism in which Christ publicly identifies with sinners to the approval of Father and Spirit. He will keep company with sinners to the very end of his life on the cross.”

“Baptism confers life, but it is also connected with death; in order to gain new life, we must die to the old. The baptism of Christ foreshadowed his death. It was his mission to suffer, die and rise again.”

"Friends, when we are baptized, we are grafted onto Christ, who has anointed us all as priests, prophets, and kings. Let’s live out that identity."

"Dr Monica Dutton is the Spirituality and Mission Animation Leader for the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, and works at the Congregational Offices in Glebe, Sydney. Monica has a background..."

"Although Christianity is the fullness of Truth, other religions, to a certain degree, participate in that Truth. The Magi, coming from Gentile cultures, seek the truth and find it in..."

"Last week, I spoke of the many “family resemblances” between Christianity and the other great religious traditions. This week, I look at the other side, all the points of disagreement...."

“With our baptism we each received the Holy Spirit—the SAME Holy Spirit that Jesus received...GOD HAS ALSO ANOINTED US to have some version of Jesus’ Mission Statement”

“If we seek a relationship with Christ, if we have faith in Him, if we pray, and if we look to Him first and foremost in our lives – He will lead us out of whatever trial or affliction we find ourselves in”

“We too are to be people of prayer. We too are to be formed and guided by the scriptures. We too are to take seriously our baptism. We too are to find a new way of being and a new way of offering God’s life and love in the places where we live.”

“God comes to console a broken and wounded people. In comparing them with sheep, Isaiah is not making them out to be useless: sheep are curious, and this curiosity is sometimes misplaced and leads them to get lost and trapped. Like us.”

“The way Jesus handled each and every situation in which he found himself was an epiphany of what it meant for God to live out his life in our world as one of us”