BELOVED AND SENT: BAPTISM AS IDENTITY AND MISSION

Homily for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Year A

Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch

Readings: Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7; Acts 10:34-38; Matthew 3:13-17

A young entrepreneur once shared how, in the midst of success and admiration, he felt strangely unsure of who he really was. Titles changed, achievements faded, and expectations kept shifting. One day, while attending the baptism of a niece, he was struck by the words: “This is my beloved child.” He later said, “For the first time, I wondered if my deepest identity was not what I do, but who I am before God.” The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord invites us into that same discovery.

The feast of Baptism marks the official end of the Christmas season. The baptism of Jesus marks a decisive transition from hidden life to public mission. Jesus steps into the Jordan not as a sinner in need of repentance, but as the Sinless One who chooses solidarity with sinners. This is already a revelation of God’s way: redemption begins not with distance, but with closeness. By entering the waters, Christ sanctifies the waters of baptism and enters fully into the human condition.

The First Reading from Isaiah illuminates this mystery. God presents His servant as one who is chosen, upheld, and filled with the Spirit - not to dominate, but to bring justice quietly, faithfully, and universally. This servant does not break the bruised reed or quench the smoldering wick. Here, baptism is revealed not as a display of power, but as a commissioning for gentle, redemptive service. Jesus embodies this prophecy at the Jordan.

The Gospel account deepens the revelation. As Jesus is baptized, the heavens open, the Spirit descends like a dove, and the Father’s voice declares: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” This moment is profoundly Trinitarian. The Father reveals the Son; the Spirit empowers Him. Before Jesus performs any miracle or preaches any sermon, He is affirmed in love. This is crucial: identity precedes mission. Jesus does not earn the Father’s love through action; He acts from the security of being loved.

This has direct implications for our own baptism. Too often, we define ourselves by performance - success, failure, usefulness, or approval. But baptism anchors us in a deeper truth: we are beloved children of God. Before we are called to do anything for God, we are claimed by God. Christian life flows from belonging, not anxiety.

The descent of the Spirit also signals anointing for mission. Just as Jesus emerges from the waters and moves toward his public ministry (teaching and healing) and ultimately the cross, so baptism sends us into the world. Baptism is not a private rite or a cultural ceremony; it is a lifelong vocation. To be baptized is to be drawn into Christ’s mission of teaching, restoring, reconciling, and renewing.

Saint Peter, in the second reading affirms this when he says that God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power, and that He went about doing good. This is the pattern baptism establishes: anointed, sent, and sustained by the Spirit.

Finally, the opened heavens at the Jordan assure us that the distance between God and humanity has been bridged. In Christ, heaven touches earth. Every baptism echoes this moment: God bends toward us, names us as His own, and entrusts us with His work.

Dear friend, today’s feast invites us to remember our baptism - not as a past event, but as a present reality. In a world that constantly questions our worth and identity, the voice from the Jordan still speaks: You are my beloved. And from that truth flows our mission - to live, love, and serve as sons and daughters sent into the world.