The Baptism of Christ by Saint John the Baptist … an icon cross by Alexandra Kaouki for last Tuesday’s celebrations of Theophany or Epiphany in Rethymnon in Crete (© Αλεξανδρα Καουκι, 2026)
Patrick Comerford
The 40-day season of Christmas continues until Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation (2 February), and today is the First Sunday of Epiphany (Epiphany I). Later this morning, I hope to sing with the choir at the Parish Eucharist in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford.
Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
An icon of the Baptism of Christ, worked on a cut of olive wood by Eleftheria Syrianoglou, in an exhibition in the Fortezza in Rethymnon in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Matthew 3: 13-17 (NRSVA):
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ 15 But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’
‘Will you strive for justice and peace … and respect the dignity of every human being?’ … a reminder of the Baptismal Covenant in the Episcopal Church during a protest in the US
Today’s Reflections:
The three traditional events in the life of Christ that are associated with Epiphany are:
1, The visit of the Magi (Matthew 2: 1-12), which we recalled on Tuesday (6 January), and which was read in many churches last Sunday (4 January).
2, The Baptism of Christ by Saint John the Baptist in the River Jordan, which we read about today (Epiphany I, 11 January 2026, Matthew 3: 13-17) and next Sunday (Epiphany II, John 1: 29-42, 18 January 2026).
3, The miracle at the Wedding at Cana, which we read about in two weeks time (Epiphany IV, 1 February 2026, John 2: 1-11).
Today’s Gospel reading this morning (Matthew 3: 13-17) tells us of the Baptism of Christ in the River Jordan by Saint John the Baptist. It marks the beginning of Christ’s public ministry, but it also presents Christ as the fulfilment of the Law and the prophets and presenting this Epiphany event as a new creation.
This is a Sunday that is also an appropriate opportunity, at the beginning of a new year, to think about the meaning of our own Baptismal promises, and many churches and parishes include the renewal of these Baptismal promises in today’s services.
Saint John the Baptist is at the River Jordan, calling the people to repentance, to turn back to God’s ways, to return the way of life to which the people committed themselves in the Covenant with God.
And this leads us to the Baptism of Christ, which is an Epiphany or Theophany moment, and it is a Trinitarian moment.
At first, Saint John tries to dissuade Christ from being baptised. But Christ insists, he wishes to fulfil the Father’s will; this Baptism shows Christ’s continuity with God’s will that has been revealed through the Law and the Prophets.
The words spoken by the voice from heaven, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased’ (verse 17), sound like the words of Isaiah at the opening of the first reading (Isaiah 42: 1-9): ‘Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights’ (Isaiah 42: 1).
Christ is the Suffering Servant, the messenger of God, who will suffer for others. He is God’s Son, chosen for ministry to God’s people, and he prepares his people for the coming crisis.
In this Gospel story, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit come together, acting as one, with distinctive personal roles: when Christ is baptised, heaven opens, the Holy Spirit descends upon Christ ‘in bodily form like a dove.’ And the voice of the Father comes from heaven declaring: ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; with whom I am well pleased’ (Matthew 3: 17).
This Gospel reading is also the story of a new beginning in every sense of the meaning.
After the waters are parted, and Christ emerges, just as the waters are separated, earth and water are separated, and then human life emerges as in the Creation story in Genesis (see Genesis 1: 1 to 2: 3).
Here too the Holy Spirit appears over the waters (see Genesis 1: 2), and God says ‘I am well pleased,’ just as God sees that every moment of creation is good (see Genesis 1: 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25) and with the creation of humanity it becomes ‘very good.’
Saint John tells the people that the Kingdom of God is near, that the time has come for the fulfilment of God’s promises to people. A new era is arriving, when God rules.
This morning’s Gospel story is also a reminder of our own Baptisms, and it is the story of a new creation.
The Baptism of Christ is about new beginnings for each of us individually and for us collectively as members of the Body of Christ, the Church.
But this Gospel reading also poses two sets of questions for me.
My first set of questions begins by asking:
• What would a parting of the waters and the promise of a new beginning, a new creation, mean for us today?
• Do we believe that what God has made is ‘very good’?
• Are we responsible when it comes to the care of the creation that has been entrusted to us?
And my second set of questions begins:
• What would a parting of the waters and the promise of a new beginning mean for people caught as refugees in the English Channel between France and England in this winter weather or in the cold waters of the Mediterranean?
• Would they be able to believe in the hope that is offered at Epiphany?
It is at the very end of the creation cycle, after the creation and separation of the waters, when God has created us in human form, that God pronounces not just that all is good, but that all is very good.
In our Baptism promises, we not only affirm our faith in God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but we also promise to be faithful in our prayer life, in our sacramental life, as members of the Church and the Body of Christ, to resist evil, to show our faith in word and deed, to serve all people, to love our neighbours as ourselves, to pray for the world and its leaders, to defend the weak and to seek peace and justice.
In our promises at Baptism, we take responsibility for creation and for humanity. Those responsibilities are inseparable. They are at the heart of the Epiphany stories if we show that we truly believe that the best is yet to come.
The Baptism of Christ by Saint John the Baptist … a fifth century mosaic in the Neonian Baptistry in Ravenna (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Prayers (Sunday 11 January 2026, Epiphany I):
The theme this week (11-17 January 2026) in
Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Gaza Crisis Response’ (pp 18-19). This theme is introduced today with a Programme Update from the Diocese of Jerusalem:
Walid, a young man from Tubas, a small village near Nablus, arrived at Saint Luke’s Hospital in visible distress. He was suffering from intense abdominal pain and laboured breathing. On clinical examination, signs pointed to an urgent and serious condition.
But Walid’s struggle wasn’t only medical. Due to the ongoing war in Gaza, he had recently lost his job. He came not just in need of medical care, but also seeking mercy – pleading for exemption from the costs of the life-saving surgery he could not afford. Moved by his situation, the hospital administration waived the fees, an operation was provided free of charge. Thanks to timely intervention and the dedication of our surgical team, Walid made a swift recovery.
In the words of one of the doctors: ‘The patients in need know that this Christian hospital will give them support without discrimination. This is our Christian mission. We never send any patient away.’ This story, like many others that USPG receives through our partners in the Diocese of Jerusalem, is a sign of the power of a simple act of humanity.
USPG is part of an Anglican coalition supporting hospitals like Al Ahli in Gaza and Saint Luke’s in the West Bank. We invite you to join us in prayerful solidarity or consider giving at
uspg.org.uk
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Sunday 11 January 2026, Epiphany I) invites us to read and meditate on Matthew 3: 13-17.
The Collect of the Day:
Eternal Father,
who at the baptism of Jesus
revealed him to be your Son,
anointing him with the Holy Spirit:
Grant to us, who are born of water and the Spirit,
that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Lord of all time and eternity,
you opened the heavens and revealed yourself as Father
in the baptism of Jesus your beloved Son:
by the power of your Spirit
complete the heavenly work of our rebirth
through the waters of the new creation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect:
Heavenly Father,
at the Jordan you revealed Jesus as your Son:
may we recognize him as our Lord
and know ourselves to be your beloved children;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Yesterday’s Reflections
Continued Tomorrow
When Jesus had been baptized … the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him (Matthew 3: 16) … a fresco in a church in Maroulas, near Rethymnon in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
http://nrsvbibles.org
