First Reading - Isaiah 42:1-4,6-7
Second Reading - Acts 10:34-38
Gospel - Matthew 3:13-17
The First Reading from Isaiah introduces the servant of the Lord, chosen and upheld by God. This servant does not shout or impose himself. He does not break what is already bruised or extinguish what is barely burning. God’s power is revealed in gentleness. Justice is brought not by crushing resistance, but by restoring hope. This servant opens blind eyes and frees captives, not by domination, but by faithful presence. It is a vision of strength that protects the vulnerable and lifts those who have been pushed aside.
The Second Reading from Acts confirms that this vision is not limited to one people or one place. Peter proclaims that God shows no partiality. God’s saving work reaches everyone. He summarizes the life of Jesus as one marked by the Spirit, by goodness, and by healing. Jesus goes about doing good and setting people free from what oppresses them. This is how God’s anointed one exercises authority: by restoring dignity and life.
The Gospel from Matthew brings these promises into a single, revealing moment. Jesus steps into the Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptist. This is unexpected. Jesus has nothing to repent of, yet he chooses to stand among sinners. He enters the water not to distance himself from humanity, but to fully identify with it. God’s Son begins his mission not above us, but with us.
As Jesus rises from the water, the Spirit descends, and the Father’s voice is heard: this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Before Jesus preaches, heals, or suffers, he is named and affirmed. His mission flows from relationship, not performance. This moment reveals who God is and who Jesus is: a God who delights in humility, and a Son who embraces solidarity.
Dear friends, many people feel pressure to prove themselves, to earn approval, or to appear strong at all costs. Today’s readings offer a different path. God’s affirmation does not come after success; it comes at the beginning. God meets us not when we rise above our weakness, but when we bring it honestly before him.
The baptism of Jesus also invites us to reflect on our own baptism. We, too, are named, claimed, and sent. We may not hear a voice from heaven, but the truth remains the same: we are God’s beloved, and our lives matter in God’s saving work.
The invitation today is to trust this quieter vision of faith. To choose humility over self-importance. To serve rather than dominate. To believe that goodness done quietly still changes the world. And to remember, especially when we feel small or uncertain, that God delights in those who are willing to step into the water and walk with others.
When we follow Christ in this way, we discover that God’s power is already at work in us, not breaking what is fragile, but healing it, and not overwhelming the world, but slowly making it new.
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