THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD - Gospel (Lk 3:15-16.2 -22) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.” (Lk 3:22)

FIRST READING - Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11

First reading from the Book of Isaiah

Comfort, give comfort to my people,

says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her

that her service is at an end,

her guilt is expiated;

indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD

double for all her sins.

A voice cries out:

In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!

Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!

Every valley shall be filled in,

every mountain and hill shall be made low;

the rugged land shall be made a plain,

the rough country, a broad valley.

Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,

and all people shall see it together;

for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Go up on to a high mountain,

Zion, herald of glad tidings;

cry out at the top of your voice,

Jerusalem, herald of good news!

Fear not to cry out

and say to the cities of Judah:

Here is your God!

Here comes with power

the Lord GOD,

who rules by a strong arm;

here is his reward with him,

his recompense before him.

Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;

in his arms he gathers the lambs,

carrying them in his bosom,

and leading the ewes with care.

SECOND READING from the Letter of St. Paul to Titus - Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7

Beloved:

The grace of God has appeared, saving all

and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires

and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age,

as we await the blessed hope,

the appearance of the glory of our great God

and savior Jesus Christ,

who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness

and to cleanse for himself a people as his own,

eager to do what is good.

When the kindness and generous love

of God our savior appeared,

not because of any righteous deeds we had done

but because of his mercy,

He saved us through the bath of rebirth

and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

whom he richly poured out on us

through Jesus Christ our savior,

so that we might be justified by his grace

and become heirs in hope of eternal life.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

From the Gospel according to Luke

The people were filled with expectation,

and all were asking in their hearts

whether John might be the Christ.

John answered them all, saying,

“I am baptizing you with water,

but one mightier than I is coming.

I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

After all the people had been baptized

and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying,

heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him

in bodily form like a dove.

And a voice came from heaven,

“You are my beloved Son;

with you I am well pleased.”

THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD - Gospel (Lk 3:15-16.2 -22) THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

In the Word of God today, God announces to all humanity and the universe that Jesus Christ came to earth to become a human being to love and to accompany humanity.

This love comes from the love of the Holy Trinity present in the image of Jesus Christ being baptized. This is what humanity must absolutely believe in the Mystery of the Holy Trinity. Until the end of the world, He will always accompany people to love and be with them.

In all things that Jesus Christ does in this world, there is always the presence of the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He does not do anything alone in the universe.

All the activities, thoughts, words, and deeds of Jesus Christ are always united with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. This shows how great the power and authority of the Almighty Father is!

God reveals that humans would never fully understand the Mystery of the One God in Three Persons! Because of the weakness, fragility, simplicity, and lowliness of humans, God wants humans to be humble, self-abasement, prostrate to listen to God's Word, have absolute faith in His teachings, and do exactly what He tells us to do.

Because God is the Almighty and Powerful, He humbles Himself to take on human nature, to be baptized with all people, in the Holy Spirit with the work of God the Father on the very person of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel describes that When Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove. The heavens opened, and the voice of God the Father saying: 'You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.'

With this word, God also wants His children to obey Him at all times and in all places, to annihilate ourselves like the Son of God, to fulfill our mission, and be faithful to God until our last breath to receive God's praise: "With you I am well pleased."

This is the voice of God the Father calling all humanity in this world, from the beginning to the end, to listen to the Word of God taught in the Gospel. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, God gives the Realistic Word to humanity, this word combined with the Eternal Word in the Bible echoes into the hearts and minds of humankind, helping mankind to convert our lives.

Therefore, we must fear God, obey Him, and absolutely believe that in this universe, in this world, in the heavens as well as in the depths of hell, only God the Father is the Master; There is only One God who is Love and Almighty, the King of the entire universe.

Apart from Him, there is no other God and no other king. Therefore, God the Father calls us to know to turn to God and always obey Him in all places and at all times; to bow down before His authority, allow Him to cleanse us, for Him to grant us the Holy Spirit to take control of our life, body, and soul; to emulate the obedience of Jesus Christ to God the Father, and obeying the work of the Holy Spirit, trust and have absolute faith in Him.

Today's Word of God, through the event of Jesus Christ's baptism, under the power of God the Father and the work of the Holy Spirit, God calls all His children living in this world to know how to prostrate ourselves in worship and submission to God the Father, to humbly bow down so that He can cleanse our bodies and souls with the Wells of Salvation and with the fire of the Holy Spirit.

God reveals that The baptism of Jesus Christ under the influence of the Holy Spirit with the power of God the Father is the image of the Sacrament of Baptism. This is a symbolic image that speaks of the recipient's submission to the will of God the Father.

Therefore, through that, God cleanses the body and soul of humankind from all stains, eliminating the evil acts that Satan has imprisoned the body and soul of mankind for so long.

Humanity must quickly return to Him through the Sacrament of Baptism of the Church, so that God Himself, under the power of the Holy Spirit and the protection of the Holy Trinity of Almighty God, can purify one's body and soul, to become a pure creature as God created it in the beginning.

Today, under the action of the Holy Spirit, God the Father wants all His children to believe in the Word of Jesus Christ taught in the Gospel, and to believe in the Realistic Word of God under the influence of the spirit of the Holy Spirit, and put it into practice in daily life.

Thanks be to God. Amen.