(Perugino, Baptism of Christ, Cathedral, Città della Pieve, 1510)

When the Lord was baptised, the heavens opened 

and the Spirit descended upon him like a dove, 

and the voice of the Father said: 

‘This is my Son, the beloved: 

in whom I am well pleased.” (Cf. Mt 3:16-17)

Sunday, 11 January 2026

BAPTISM OF THE LORD – YEAR A

Commentary on the Sunday Gospel

Mt 3:13-17

In this Sunday’s liturgy, the scene presented to us describes the baptism of Jesus. It is a scene that anticipates, in all its aspects, the final scene, the cross. Baptism is an immersion, a sign of death, chosen among sinners, in the Jordan as on Golgotha. It is the moment when God presents himself to men, in a way that is no longer frightening as it was in Adam’s time.

God does not present himself to men with his majesty, with his perfection. Just as in the cave of Bethlehem, today he chooses to stand in line with sinners, in silence. In the silence of everyday life, in a suburban town, with a normal job, in a life of discretion. And we, do we remember the day of our baptism? Do we celebrate the anniversary as if it were a birthday, with a cake and a party? How hard it is for all of us to accept a God like this, who is happy to stand in line with humanity! We are all like the Baptist, who protests. But God puts his justice above all else.

‘Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan’, in reality the original text would be ‘comes to the Jordan’, the present tense is used to indicate the succession of this scene to the preaching of the Baptist, to which we are also somewhat present now. He comes to be baptised, to immerse himself completely, to immerse himself in human reality, to have total sympathy for us. 

Is everything beautiful? Have we understood everything? “But John…” Here the Baptist immediately enters the scene and opposes him. There is a “but” that is our “but”. How many “buts” do we say, we super-observant Catholics, who have a distorted image of God in our unshakeable minds. How hard it is for us to recognise him in the poor, in the creatures he has moulded. We would like to be baptised by Jesus, but he never baptises; if anything, his disciples baptised. None of us are baptised ‘by’ Jesus, but ‘in’ Jesus.

“But Jesus replied, ‘Leave it alone for now. Leave it alone. How patient is this God who still says to us today, ‘Let it be done’! Let us strip ourselves of our convictions and let it be done. How much happiness there would be in the world if only we let this liberating word be done: Let it be done! He almost asks permission, let it be done, because ‘it is convenient’, it is convenient for everyone that it be so. Nothing is done for nothing. Something has to be convenient.

What is the justice that Jesus speaks of? Solidarity with all men and women, truly becoming our neighbour, standing in line with a sinful humanity that has come there to receive baptism. But Jesus goes further, showing us a wonderful path, starting with sister water, in which he chooses to die: ‘Jesus came out of the water’, he rises, bringing to earth a hope of life beyond death. Hope that, again with a dove, we tasted with Noah after the days of the flood, after death. 

“And behold, a voice from heaven.” God has no face, but is a voice, and that is enough. It would be enough for us to listen to this voice, to put into practice the certainty of following Jesus, his teachings, his style, his wisdom, and to build a truly more beautiful world! If we take Jesus as our model, God will also be able to say to us, “You are the beloved, you are my favourite!”

The prayer we want to address to God on this Sunday is to make us desire to encounter the humanity that teaches us today the silence of Jesus, with the gaze of Clare of Assisi, who said to the poor ladies: “Let us pray to God for one another, and thus, bearing the yoke of mutual charity, we will easily fulfil the law of Christ.” (FF 2918).

We wish you a happy Sunday.

Laudato si’!