Homily for the Mass of the Baptism of the Lord

Sunday January 11 2026
Baptism of the Lord – Year A

Homily by Father Emmanuel Schwab

1^st reading: Isaiah 42,1-4.6-7
Psaume : 28 (29),1-2,3ac-4,3b.9c-10
2^rd reading: Acts 10,34-38
Gospel: Matthew 3,13-17

It's important to remember what John's baptism was to fully understand what was happening to Jesus. John was sent by God to prepare the people to receive the Savior, and what John asked of the people was somewhat drastic, since he was standing on the eastern bank of the Jordan River, that is, outside the Promised Land. They had to symbolically leave the Promised Land and receive this baptism. But this baptism didn't come out of nowhere. And I think we can draw a parallel with the baptism of proselytes: Gentiles wanting to join the grace of the people of Israel, wanting to enter into God's Covenant with Israel. Men weren't very keen on receiving circumcision as adults, and so this alternative rite of proselyte baptism was created: a rite to associate Gentiles with the grace of Israel. So asking the children of Israel to leave the Promised Land and receive baptism is a bit like telling them: "But in fact, you are not part of God's people, you have left the Covenant and you must enter it again"... The Pharisees will refuse to receive this baptism... 

John has a rather firm preaching style, urging people to live righteously, to reject sin, and those who come to John come to confess their sins. Then John plunges them into the waters of the Jordan as a sign of death: "Your sin leads to death," and he plunges the person into the water as a sign of drowning—you will drown in your sins. And he brings the person out of the water, saying to them, "Now go into the Promised Land, live righteously while waiting for the one who comes to save us." When John sees Jesus coming toward him, he is astonished, he is surprised. We don't know exactly what he already knows about Jesus, but in any case, he expects something from Jesus. And here it is Jesus who expects something from John… Jesus comes to receive this baptism first because John is a prophet and Jesus always does the will of the Father; therefore, he does what the prophet says. But then, what will Jesus confess? It is that from that moment, Jesus takes our sins upon himself. From that moment on, Jesus consented to die the death of the sinner. From that moment, being immersed in the Jordan, he consented to take on the death of sinful humanity. It is as if, in his baptism, Jesus took the lead of the people of sinners to guide them, through his Passion and his Cross, to the glory of the resurrection. 

This feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which concludes the Christmas season in the liturgy of the Latin Church today, clearly shows us how Jesus came to save us from our sins. The Word became flesh to save humanity from both sin and death. And he does this for each one of us.

Saint Thérèse was very sensitive to this personal dimension of Salvation. She expressed it on several occasions. She expressed it in the major event of her complete conversion at Christmas 1886 at Les Buissonnets, and she said it in this very simple sentence:

On that night when He made Himself weak and suffering for my love, He made me strong and courageous. (MsA 44 v°)

"For my love," said Thérèse. 

And a few years later, when recounting this event to Father Roulland in a letter, she told him:

On this blessed night, which is said to illuminate the delights of God himself, Jesus, who became a child out of love for me, deigned to bring me out of the swaddling clothes and imperfections of childhood. 

(LT 201 of November 1, 1896, to Father Roulland)

In poem 24, "Jesus, my Beloved, remember," on two occasions—and Pope Francis emphasizes this in his apostolic letter on Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus—Thérèse writes while contemplating Jesus in Egypt:

6. […] From your little hand that caressed Marie

You supported the world and gave it life.

And you thought of me

Jesus, my little King

Remember…

And towards the end of this poem, she contemplates Jesus in his Passion. She says to him:

21. Remember that on the evening of his deathbed […]

Jesus, that you saw me

In the middle of your lilies

Reminds you.

Do we have this clear awareness that the Word became flesh? for me When we contemplate the manger, let us strive to look at this mystery understanding that it is for me, not just for us, but for meWhen I look up at the cross of Jesus, when I truly consider that it is for meThis is not a selfish or narcissistic way of contemplating the mystery of the Word made flesh and the Pascalian mystery, the mystery of his death and resurrection; on the contrary, it is consenting to consider the value we have in the eyes of God. Each of us has such value in the eyes of God that the Word became flesh. for each of us.

We have our whole lives to consider it; it can't be done in a single moment… It's too vast in a way, but that's precisely what we must consider. Jesus receives this baptism from John for me. He commits his life to the cross, for me. He takes the path of his passion, for me. 

After this feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we will enter the time which is called in Latin Per annum or “during the year,” the so-called “ordinary” time, that is, with the numbered Sundays: it is about living with the Lord as a companion on the journey. It is about imitating Christ who came to show us what a human life is. And how does Peter summarize the life of the Lord? We heard it in the second reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles: Wherever he went, he did good. This is what we are called to do! Wherever we go, to do good through Jesus, with Him, and in Him. 

When meditating on this saying of Peter: "Wherever Jesus went, he did good." The words of a psalm came back to me:"Act well... and remain faithful"And when I went back to reread this psalm, I thought to myself: but deep down, it expresses well what Thérèse is also trying to make us hear. 

I conclude with these few verses which are at the beginning of Psalm 36(37):

Trust in the Lord, do well,

inhabit the earth and remain faithful;

Put your joy in the Lord:

It will fulfill the desires of your heart.

Direct your way to the Lord,

Trust him, and he will act.

He will make your righteousness rise like day,

and your right as high noon.

Rest in the Lord

and rely on him. (verses 3 to 7)

Amen