Baptism of the Lord (year A) [11 January 2026]

May God bless us and may the Virgin protect us! Today marks the end of the Christmas season, as we give thanks to Providence for having been able to celebrate this Mystery of Light and Peace in an atmosphere of serenity.

*First Reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (42:1-4, 6-7)

The Servant of the Lord and his universal mission. This text from Isaiah is rich and complex, but it can be divided into two main parts. In both parts, it is God who speaks, but in two different ways: in the first part, he speaks of his Servant, and in the second, he addresses him directly. First part: God describes the Servant as the bearer of justice and universal law: 'He will bring justice to the nations... he will not fail or be discouraged until he has established justice on earth; he will not falter until he has established it on earth'. 'I have called you for justice': here judgement does not mean condemnation, but salvation and liberation. The Servant will act with gentleness and respect for the fragile, he will not crush the weak or extinguish those at risk. His mission concerns all humanity, because God desires that even the distant islands aspire to his justice, to his salvation. In all this, the Servant is sustained by the Spirit of God: 'Behold my Servant, whom I uphold... I have placed my Spirit upon him'. Part Two: God clarifies the Servant's mission: "to open the eyes of the blind and bring prisoners out of the dungeon... those who dwell in darkness." Here, judgement becomes total liberation, a passage from darkness to light. The mission is universal: the Servant is the light of the nations, and God continues to sustain him: "I, the Lord, have called you... and taken you by the hand." Who is this Servant? Isaiah does not specify, because it was clear to his contemporaries: the Servant is the people of Israel, called to be the privileged instrument of salvation. Messianism in Isaiah is not individual but collective: the small faithful nucleus becomes light and guidance for the whole world. Jesus, at his baptism in the Jordan, takes the lead of this servant-people and fulfils the mission announced by the prophets. The key message is this: God's judgement is not condemnation but liberation and universal salvation. God supports the Servant and entrusts him with the task of bringing light and justice to all nations. God's faithfulness and creative power are the guarantee of our hope, even in the most difficult moments.

*Important elements: +Text divided into two parts: God speaks about the Servant and directly to the Servant. +Judgement of the Servant = salvation and liberation, not condemnation and universal mission: light for the nations, opening the eyes of the blind, liberation of prisoners. +Gentleness and care for the fragile: 'he will not extinguish a dimly burning wick'. +Support of the Spirit of God on the Servant understood as the people of Israel, collective messianism. +Jesus at his baptism takes on the leadership of the servant-people. +Hope based on God's faithfulness and creative power.

 *Responsorial Psalm (28/29)

 To understand this psalm, one must imagine the force of a violent storm, shaking the country from Lebanon and Hermon to the desert of Qadesh. The psalm describes the voice of the Lord as powerful, thunderous, lightning-like, capable of breaking cedars and frightening the desert. This voice recalls the revelation at Sinai, when God made his voice heard to Moses amid fire and lightning, and every word of the Law appeared as flashes of fire. The name of God (YHWH, the Lord) is repeated several times, emphasising God's living presence and his saving action. The repetition of 'voice of the Lord' recalls the creative Word, as in the first chapter of the book of Genesis: the Word of God is effective, while idols are powerless. The psalm insists on God's sovereignty: God is the only legitimate king, worthy of glory and worship, and soon everyone – people and false powers – will recognise his dominion. God's powerful voice also evokes victory over the waters and chaos, as in the time of the flood or the liberation from Egypt, demonstrating his saving and liberating power. The central theme is the glory of God, repeated several times, and the anticipation of a time when all humanity will recognise his kingship. The psalm is linked to the feast of the Baptism of Christ, when the Kingdom of Heaven draws near through Jesus: God is finally recognised as king and his salvation is announced to all.

*Important elements: +Powerful image of the storm: voice of the Lord, lightning, broken cedars and Reference to Sinai: Word of God as fire, Law and covenant. +Repetition of God's name: YHWH, sign of presence and power. +Creative Word: as in Genesis, the Word is effective, idols are powerless. +Universal sovereignty of God: the only legitimate king, worthy of glory. +Victory over the waters and chaos: flood, exodus from Egypt. +Glory of God: central theme, anticipation of his universal recognition. +Connection to the baptism of Christ: manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven and universal salvation

*Second Reading from the Acts of the Apostles (10:34-38)

In this account from Acts 10, we witness a truly revolutionary moment: Peter, guided by the Holy Spirit, breaks all the social and religious rules of his time and crosses the threshold of the house of a pagan, the Roman centurion Cornelius. Cornelius is a pious man who fears God, esteemed by the Jews for his almsgiving and justice, but he is not circumcised. He receives a vision: an angel invites him to send for Peter in Joppa, where he is staying with Simon the tanner. At the same time, Peter receives a vision from heaven: a large sheet filled with animals orders him to eat, but he refuses because, according to the Law, they are unclean. A voice answers him: What God has declared clean, you must not declare unclean. This prepares him to understand that no man is unclean in God's eyes and that faith is no longer limited by nationality or ritual laws. When Cornelius's messengers arrive, the Holy Spirit confirms to Peter: Follow them without hesitation, for it is I who send them. Peter goes down, welcomes them, and sets out for Caesarea with some Christians, aware of the importance of the meeting. The arrival at Cornelius' house is significant: Peter explains to everyone that God is impartial and welcomes anyone who fears him and does good, regardless of nationality. The Holy Spirit falls on all those present, even on the pagans, showing that the gift of the Spirit is no longer reserved for Jews alone. Peter concludes that these pagans must also be baptised, because they have received the Holy Spirit just like the Jewish believers. This episode fulfils what Jesus had promised: the apostles would be witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). The election of Israel is not denied, but salvation in Christ is now open to all nations.

*Important elements: +Missionary revolution: Peter crosses the threshold of a pagan's house by the will of the Holy Spirit. Cornelius, a devout pagan who fears God, is an example of spiritual openness. +Peter's vision: nothing is unclean to God, universal openness of faith, and the Holy Spirit guides Peter, confirming the call of the pagans. +Reception and baptism: even pagans receive the Spirit and the sacrament of water. +Universality of the Gospel: fulfilment of the mission to the ends of the earth. +Balance: election of Israel confirmed, but salvation accessible to all.

*From the Gospel according to Matthew (3:13-17)

The baptism of Jesus marks his first public appearance: until then, for many, he was just Jesus of Nazareth. Matthew presents him simply as Jesus, who comes from Galilee and goes to John to be baptised in the Jordan. This gesture becomes the first revelation of his true role as Messiah in the eyes of all. The main images in this text are: The march to the Jordan: Jesus travels through Galilee to the banks of the river, as do the other Jews who go to John for the baptism of conversion. The gesture of John the Baptist: initially surprised and hesitant, John recognises in Jesus the one who is greater than himself and who will baptise in the Holy Spirit and fire. The heavens opening and the dove: the open heavens symbolise the fulfilment of Israel's expectations; the dove represents the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus, recalling the divine presence over Creation and the promised Messiah. The main words are: John expresses his amazement: ' I need to be baptised by you!' recognising the greatness of Jesus. Jesus replies: Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness, that is, to conform fully to God's plan. This shows Jesus' humility and his complete solidarity with humanity. The voice of the Father from heaven: 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased' . With this phrase, Jesus is recognised as Messiah-King and Messiah-Servant, fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah and the Davidic promise: God declares his love and his saving mission upon him. And these are the theological and spiritual meanings: Jesus fully enters into the human condition, even though he is without sin, taking the place of sinners. Baptism represents a new creation: the waters of the Jordan symbolise purification and the journey towards the spiritual Promised Land, guided by the Spirit. The scene reveals the Trinity: the Father speaks, the Son is baptised, the Spirit descends like a dove. Baptism is the beginning of the building of the Body of Christ: all those who participate in baptism are integrated into this saving mission.

St. Gregory of Nazianzus writes: "Christ is baptised not to be purified, but to purify the waters" (Oratio 39, In Sancta Lumina).

*Important elements: +First public manifestation of Jesus: revelation of the Messiah. +Solidarity with humanity: Jesus places himself among sinners to fulfil God's justice. +Role of John the Baptist: recognises the Messiah and his baptism in the Spirit and fire. +Presence of the Holy Spirit: symbol of the dove, confirms the mission and the new creation and Voice of the Father: confirms the divine sonship and love for Jesus. +Messiah-King and Messiah-Servant: fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecies and the Davidic promise. +New creation and journey towards the spiritual Promised Land: baptism as entry into the Body of Christ. +Revelation of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit present in Baptism. +Universality of the message: Baptism opens the way to salvation for all humanity.

+ Giovanni D'Ercole

Epiphany of the Lord (year A)  [6 January 2026]

May God bless us and may the Virgin protect us! Happy Epiphany!

*First Reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (60:1-6)

In these dark days, here is an announcement of light! This text from Isaiah is filled with insistent images of light: "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you... The Lord shines upon you... His glory appears upon you... Then you will see and be radiant." It is precisely this abundance of light that makes us understand that the real climate is anything but bright. The prophets do not cultivate paradox, but the art of hope: they speak of light because the people are immersed in the darkest night. The historical context is that of the post-exile period (525-520 BC). The return from Babylon did not bring the expected prosperity. Tensions are high: between those who remained in the country and those returning from exile; between different generations; between Jews and foreign populations settled in Jerusalem during the occupation. The most painful issue concerns the reconstruction of the Temple: the returnees refuse the help of groups considered religiously unfaithful; this gives rise to a conflict that blocks the work and dampens enthusiasm. As the years passed, discouragement set in. It was here that Isaiah, together with the prophet Haggai (cf. 1:2-8, 12-15; 2:3-9), provoked a spiritual awakening. Sadness is not worthy of the people of the promises. The prophet's one great argument is this: Jerusalem is the city chosen by God, the place where He has placed His Name. For this reason, Isaiah can dare to say: 'Arise, Jerusalem! Shine forth'. Even when everything seems dark, God's faithfulness remains the foundation of hope. The almost triumphal language does not describe a situation that has already been resolved, but anticipates the day that is coming. In the night, we look for the dawn: the prophet's task is to restore courage, to remember the promise. The message is clear: do not be discouraged; get to work, rebuild the Temple, because the light of the Lord will come. Three final points: Faith combines lucidity and hope: seeing reality does not extinguish trust. The promise is not a political triumph, but God's victory, his glory that illuminates humanity. Jerusalem already points to the people and, beyond the people, to all humanity called to communion: God's plan transcends every city and every border.

*Important elements: +Post-exilic context (525-520 BC) and climate of discouragement. +Internal conflicts and blockage of the reconstruction of the Temple. +Language of light as an announcement of hope in the night. +Vocation of Jerusalem: chosen city, place of Presence. +Prophetic call to action: rise up and rebuild. +Hope based on God's faithfulness, not on political successes. +Universal openness: the promise concerns all humanity

*Responsorial Psalm (71/72)

Men dream and God carries out his plan. Psalm 71 ideally brings us into the celebration of a king's coronation. The accompanying prayers express the deepest desires of the people: justice, peace, prosperity for all, to the ends of the earth. It is the great dream of humanity throughout the ages. Israel, however, has a unique certainty: this dream coincides with God's own plan. The last verse of the psalm, which blesses only the Lord and not the king, offers us the key to understanding. The psalm was composed after the exile, at a time when there was no longer a king in Israel. This means that the prayer is not addressed to an earthly sovereign, but to the king promised by God, the Messiah. And since it is a divine promise, it is certain. The whole Bible is permeated with this unshakeable hope: history has meaning and direction. The prophets call it 'the Day of the Lord', Matthew 'the Kingdom of Heaven', Paul 'the merciful plan'. It is always the same plan of love that God tirelessly proposes to humanity. The Messiah will be its fulfilment, and it is He whom Israel invokes in praying the psalms. This Psalm describes the ideal king, awaited for centuries, in continuity with the promise made to David through the prophet Nathan: a kingdom stable forever, a king called the son of God. Over the centuries, this promise has been deepened: if the king is the son of God, then his kingdom will be founded on justice and peace. Each new coronation rekindled this expectation. Yet the ideal kingdom has not yet been fully realised. It may seem like a utopia. But for the believer it is not: it is a promise from God, and therefore a certainty. Faith is the anchor of the soul: in the face of the failures of history, the believer does not give up hope, but waits patiently, certain of God's faithfulness. The psalm announces a decisive reversal: power and justice will finally coincide. In God, power is only love. For this reason, the messianic king will free the poor, defend the weak and bring endless peace. His kingdom will have no boundaries: it will extend to the whole earth and last forever. For Israel, this psalm remains a prayer of expectation for the Messiah. For Christians, it is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and the episode of the Wise Men is already a sign of the universality of his kingdom: the nations come to him, bringing gifts and adoration.

*Important elements: +Psalm 71 as a prayer for the universal desires for justice and peace. +Coincidence between man's dream and God's plan. +Post-exilic composition: waiting for the king-Messiah. +Promise made to David (2 Sam 7) as the foundation of expectation. +History has meaning and direction in God's plan. +The ideal king: justice, peace, defence of the poor. +God's power as love and service. +Universal and endless kingdom. +Messianic Jewish reading and Christian fulfilment in Jesus Christ. + The Wise Men as the first sign of the fulfilment of the universal promise

*Second Reading from St Paul's Letter to the Ephesians (3:2...6)

This passage is taken from the Letter to the Ephesians (chapter 3) and takes up a central theme already announced in chapter 1: the 'merciful plan/mystery of God'. Paul recalls that God has made known the mystery of his will: to bring history to its fulfilment, recapitulating in Christ all that is in heaven and on earth (Eph 1:9-10). For St Paul, the mystery is not a closely guarded secret, but God's intimacy offered to man. It is a plan that God reveals progressively, with patient pedagogy, just as a parent accompanies a child in the discovery of life. Thus God has guided his people throughout history, step by step, until the decisive revelation in Jesus Christ. With Christ, a new era begins: before and after him. The heart of the mystery is this: Christ is the centre of the world and of history. The whole universe is called to be reunited in Him, like a body around its head. Paul emphasises that this unity concerns all nations: all are associated in sharing the same inheritance, in forming the same body, in participating in the same promise through the Gospel. In other words: the inheritance is Christ, the promise is Christ, the body is Christ. When we say "Thy will be done" in the Lord's Prayer, we are asking for the fulfilment of this plan. God's plan is therefore universal: it concerns not only Israel, but all humanity. This openness was already present in the promise made to Abraham: "All the families of the earth shall be blessed in you" (Gen 12:3), and proclaimed by prophets such as Isaiah. However, this truth was slowly understood and often forgotten. At the time of Paul, it was not at all obvious to accept that pagans were fully participants in salvation. The early Christians of Jewish origin struggled to recognise them as full members. Paul intervenes decisively: pagans too are called to be witnesses and apostles of the Gospel. It is the same message that Matthew expresses in the story of the Wise Men: the nations come to the light of Christ. The text ends with an appeal: God's plan requires the cooperation of man. If there was a star for the Wise Men, for many today the star will be the witnesses of the Gospel. God continues to fulfil his benevolent plan through the proclamation and life of believers.

*Important elements: +The 'mystery' as a revelation of God's benevolent plan and progressive revelation culminating in Christ. +Christ as the centre of history and the universe and all humanity united in Christ: heritage, body and promise. Universality of salvation: Jews and pagans together in continuity with the promise to Abraham and the prophets. +Historical difficulties in accepting pagans. +Epiphany and Wise Men as a sign of universalism and Call to witness: collaborating in the proclamation of the Gospel

*From the Gospel according to Matthew (2:1-12)

At the time of Jesus, the expectation of the Messiah was very intense. People spoke of him everywhere and prayed to God to hasten his coming. Most Jews imagined the Messiah as a king descended from David: he would reign from Jerusalem, drive out the Romans and finally establish peace, justice and brotherhood in Israel; some even hoped that this renewal would extend to the whole world. This expectation was based on various prophecies in the Old Testament. First of all, that of Balaam in the Book of Numbers: called to curse Israel, he instead announced a promise of glory, speaking of a star rising from Jacob and a sceptre rising from Israel (Num 24:17). Over the centuries, this prophecy was interpreted in a messianic sense, to the point of suggesting that the coming of the Messiah would be marked by a star. This is why Herod takes the news brought by the Wise Men very seriously. Another decisive prophecy is that of Micah, who announces the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem, the small village from which the ruler of Israel will come (Micah 5:1), in continuity with the promise made to David of a dynasty destined to last. The Wise Men, probably pagan astrologers, do not have a deep knowledge of the Scriptures: they set out simply because they have seen a new star. When they arrive in Jerusalem, they inquire with the authorities. Here a first great contrast emerges: on the one hand, the Wise Men, who seek without prejudice and ultimately find the Messiah; on the other, those who know the Scriptures perfectly but do not move, do not even make the short journey from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, and therefore do not encounter the Child. Herod's reaction is yet different. Jealous of his power and known for his violence, he sees the Messiah as a dangerous rival. Behind an apparent calm, he seeks precise information: the place of birth and the age of the child. His anguish and fear lead him to the cruel decision to kill all children under the age of two. In the story of the Wise Men, Matthew already offers us a summary of the entire life of Jesus: from the beginning, He encounters hostility and rejection from political and religious authorities. He will not be recognised as the Messiah, He will be accused and finally eliminated. Yet He is truly the promised Messiah: anyone who seeks Him with a sincere heart, like the Wise Men, can enter into God's salvation.

*St John Chrysostom on the episode of the Wise Men: "The Wise Men, though foreigners, rose, departed and came to the Child; so too must those who wish to encounter Christ move with a fervent heart, without waiting for comfort or security." (Homily VII on Matthew 2)

*Most important elements: +Strong messianic expectation at the time of Jesus and expectation of a Messiah-king, descendant of David. +Prophecy of the star (Balaam) and birth in Bethlehem (Micah). +The Wise Men: sincere seekers guided by the star. +Contrast between those who seek and those who know but do not move. +Herod's hostility, jealousy of power and violence. +Jesus rejected from the beginning of his life. + Universality of salvation: those who seek, find. + The Wise Men as a model of faith on the journey.

+ Giovanni D'Ercole

The muddy condition of the Jordan and the human dimension of Jesus

(Mt 3:13-17; Mk 1:7-11; Lk 3:21-22; Jn 1:30-34)

The Jordan River was never navigable; it simply marked a border. In the mentality of time, between the land of others and the sacred realm of freedom; and here is the concrete distinction of the Incarnation.

Let us outline some considerations that recover the meaning of this historical fact - which for us can be like a ‘sun’ inside - with which the liturgy completes the path of Christmas time.

Jesus was in search, eager to sift, to learn.

It may seem incredible to us, but he recognized himself ignorant, in need of evolving - not of becoming “better” and stronger, but of ‘looking inside’ things - and move the gaze elsewhere.

In that strongly engaged but overly serious environment he understood definitively who the Subject of the spiritual journey is: the divine Life, which draws us into the experience of happiness, of authentic and solid love.

The Kingdom cannot be prepared and even set up [it would become a projection, a conditioned reflection, an outer tower, like Babel] - rather, it must be Welcomed. Because it Comes.

The results that appeal to our genius and muscles, at first they are unnerving, then they become frustrating; lastly they block the growth of the innate universe, because they turn off the novelties, obfuscate the Source of being and enthusiasm.

The religious man who does not make the leap of the Faith, stagnates in the depressing finding of the difference between expected results and concrete facts.

Paradoxically, he focuses the streets on himself, but doesn’t lays his eye ‘on’ his essence. He obeys - perhaps - but doesn’t listen.

Having lost the even relational sense of his unrepeatable Unicum - he measures all his inability to perceive, elaborate, realize, those designs that guide his dreams and resources to fullness.

He loses all his energy by making induced, contrived, off-scale resolutions, wich make him supposing and acidic - simply because those artifact targets dry him down: they do not concern him.

Meanwhile, the "perfect" and stressful discipline that imposes to himself, as if he were the Protagonist, takes away from him the joy of meeting his superior talents and fully experiencing what reality provides.

Perhaps he does not extract from his own ‘mine’ (entirely at hand) those abilities that realize the personal Mission.

He does not even notice it - all caught by absolutely derived or conforming ideas and disciplines, able only to dismantle his peaks and rarity.

Always with a look on the past, or on the common [even glamorous] thinking of the authorities, of others, of the surrounding environment - and what is believed "should be", according to established and damping ethicalisms.

Finally, the discrepancy between what to wich one has given so much [without perhaps ever understanding what God is really calling to] and what has been achieved, destroys the exceptionality.

It weakens Hope itself, triggering an inexorable sadness, or the useless individual and ecclesial routine.

Adult Jesus who lets himself be immersed in the waters of the Jordan is icon of a proposal that sublimates the conspicuously murky swamps of our condition.

Not only by seeing the possibilities, but even making them ‘cheerful’: so in all the oriental icons, which accentuate their elegant volutes.

How can our Lord stand beside an indistinct crowd of sinners and skids, seeking redemption?

Jesus noticed: in each one of them surfaced a talent. And we are at the lowest point on earth - 400 meters below sea level.

This is precisely the leap in quality that discriminates against a simple-minded religiosity [even cloaked in great things] and the growth of Faith.

The Son reveals divine life, which is manifested ceaselessly ‘friend’. Face of God that does not destroy but approaches, to bring out the stifled possibilities.

He doesn’t crush, humiliating our inclinations, and adding unbearable burdens. He’s not the King of submissive and fatigued persons.

He enters a reality also made of mud, but that prepares our developments, and desires to grow - producing paths often interrupted, but finally the unexpected Flower.

In this way we learn to love our limits and the many slimy conditions: they remind us of the Jordan.

Earth needs Light, but Light needs ‘earth’. They are expression of the New Covenant.

[Baptism of the Lord; homily. For a perhaps more fussy and characteristic biblical relief, cf. the extended comment, at the bottom of the site: www.duevie.art]

The muddy condition of the Jordan and the human dimension of Jesus

(Mt 3:13-17; Mk 1:7-11; Lk 3:21-22; Jn 1:30-34)

The river Jordan was never navigable; it simply marked a border.

In the mentality of the time, between other people's land and the sacred sphere of freedom: here a concrete boundary of the "Incarnation".

Let us try to explore this in more detail.

Popular preaching on the subject of the Baptism of the Lord was burdened with a bark of clichés [here and there perhaps insuperable] that prevented any maturation of widespread beliefs, which were still stagnant.

In this way, Jesus has hastily found himself placed behind the clouds, and today it is difficult to explain what he has in common with our life, which is often raw, conditioned by fatigue, trial and error, and research.

Although fundamental for the fruitful interiorization of a journey that moves away from generically (sometimes authentically) devotional banalities, from the ambo and in catechesis we are still forced to dribble the true meaning of the event.

Indeed, the Baptism of the Lord has created embarrassment and interpretative confusion since the first generations of believers.

Let us deal with a few considerations that recover the meaning of this historical fact - for us, it could be like a sunshine inside - with which the liturgy completes the journey of the Christmas season.

Jesus, in search of and eager to sift through the best teaching of his time, enters the school of the Baptist as a pupil.

For this reason he is baptised by John - and through this rite of entry, joined with other ordinary followers.

It may seem incredible, but the Master and Lord recognised himself as curious, imperfect, ignorant, incomplete; in need of evolution. Not to become 'better' and stronger, but to learn to look otherwise.

In that highly committed but serious, edgy, often one-sided environment, He understood the true greatness of Revelation.

In short, the Subject of the spiritual journey is divine Life, with all its bearing, which providentially pours forth and moves varied situations.

It comes to broaden horizons; not to bind us to particular ways of understanding and wanting.

We already know: it is not the ego that thinks and plans that can draw us into the experience of integral, all-embracing Happiness; of authentic, solid love.

The Kingdom is anything but: Complete. It is inclusive of what the sterilised, or fashionable, and common opinion does not 'like'.

It offers an earthly energy that is as valuable as the ideal, heavenly one.

Heaven cannot be prepared or even set up: it would become a projection, a conditioned reflex, an external tower like Babel.

Rather, one must welcome it, host it within oneself.

Then another kind of asceticism opens up, with fewer expectations of "perfection". A path that disconcerts, and that the divine impulse within us - concrete - demands of us.

We will know the Joy of Living, we will feel it flowing within; only then will we be fulfilled.

Marrying the shadow side, which will become our Perfume.

Achievements that rely on genius and muscle, first unnerving, then frustrating; then blocking the growth of the innate universe.

Artifices external to the soul extinguish personally inspired novelty, the very Source of being and enthusiasm.

Indeed, the one-sided religious man remains in malaise; he withers, because he does not take the spousal, creative leap of the adventure of Faith.

He becomes a photograph or a photocopy.

Then it stagnates in the depressing realisation of the difference between expected results and concrete facts.

Paradoxically, it centres the ways on itself - but does not rest its gaze 'in' its essence.

It obeys perhaps, but does not listen. Thus it allows itself to be vampirised by mannerisms and epidermal stylistic features.

Having lost the sense, also relational, of its unrepeatable Unicum - it measures all its inability to perceive, elaborate, realise mysterious designs that guide dreams and resources to fullness.

He loses all energy by making induced resolutions, full of artifice; out of scale.

He gives himself goals that make him opinionated, sour, formal, external - simply because those overarching goals do not concern him.

Meanwhile, the perfect, stressful discipline he imposes on himself, as if he were the Protagonist, takes away the joy of encountering superior talents.

He will always miss the thrill of living intensely what (fuller) reality offers.

Thus he does not extract from his own Mine all at hand those abilities that realise the personal Mission.

He does not even realise it - caught up in hyperbolic ideas and great disciplines that are absolutely derivative, paradoxically trivial [which can finally only dismantle its peaks and rarity]. 

He always has his eye on the past or on fashions; on the common thought, that of the situation, of the authorities, of others, of the environment he frequents, of the surroundings - which he tarnishes, or deviates.

And it places the focus only on what is normally considered 'should be' - according to established, dampening ethics, or utopias à la page, disembodied.

Inside the vortex of insuperable models, he never understands what God is really calling him to, even in disturbances.

Finally, every discrepancy between what is given and what is obtained destroys the atypicality of Hope itself, triggering an inexorable sadness, or the useless individual and ecclesial trance.

The adult Jesus who allows himself to be immersed in the waters of the Jordan is an icon of a proposal that enhances the conspicuously murky swamps of our condition.

The Lord not only grasps the possibilities, but even makes the waters cheerful [so in all oriental icons, which accentuate elegant volutes].

But the question remains. How can our Lord come alongside an indistinct crowd of sinners and stragglers seeking redemption?

In each of them Jesus saw a talent emerge.

And we are at the lowest point on earth - 400 metres below sea level.

It is precisely this leap of quality that distinguishes sophisticated idealism or simplistic religiosity - even cloaked in great things - from any quest for Faith.

The Son reveals divine Life, which bursts forth shattering expectations.

It unceasingly manifests itself as a friend. Unconscious face that does not destroy but draws near, to bring out the stifled possibilities.

Because God does not crush, he does not humiliate our hidden inclinations and resources, nor does he add unbearable burdens.

He is not a King of the submissive and weary.

He enters into a muddy reality, for it is filled with points of tension.

Thus he prepares our developments, and desires to grow - producing paths though interrupted, but finally the unexpected flower.

Now, at last, it is possible for each one to respond in a simple way to the spousal invitation: 'Do you want to unite your life to Mine?

Only that which is dehumanising does not concern our eternal side.

Any divine Gift passes through the 'flesh': the condition of the person as he is, even in the concreteness of his minimal or insecure actions.

The genuine rawness of our investigation of the true, the good and the beautiful passes - as in Jesus - through paths to be corrected over time, trial and error.

There is nothing wrong with that: only diamonds do not sprout.

Even Leonardo Da Vinci wrote that 'all our convictions begin with feelings. Not from crystalline, self-contained thoughts, but from a weaker language.

We are then introduced to a constant Exodus spirituality, which, however, is oriented towards the freedom of the Promised Land, the Home that is truly ours.

It is here - we perceive within - the outpouring of the intrinsic Centre, the personal Core, the founding Eros that calls.

Presence that detests the cage of patterns, approaching the rare, unusual (nothing grandiose) Irrepeatability that we are.

In all of this, awakening interest, and real, passionate life, which is not 'immune', nor definitive.

I mean, it happens even with God, to make a mistake.

We get back up, because that humus nourishes - and in the varied experience lurks - an opportunity, a knowledge, a skill, a greater authenticity: an added value.

The Father's call remains foreign both to the usual ideas of the verticism of objectives, and to adult mechanisms of purification - not aimed at ordinary existence (typical of philosophical or moralistic asceticism).

So the Baptism in Spirit is a Light - for us an inner increase, a sublimation of self-awareness and one's goal.

No longer a pale goal, only adjusted to roles, procedures, positions that the person does not feel are their own.

The very "rending of the heavens" no longer sealed by a (severe) distance or cultural paradigm, speaks of a now uninterrupted and growing Communication of the divine with human nature.

Exploring we can err, in both senses.

But far worse is to feel dull and unmotivated, and to act according to fixed nomenclatures and concatenations, i.e. by calculation.

In fact, in ancient religious culture, perfection and unworthiness are incomprehensible.

Conversely, in Christ we return to the moment of Creation, where "the olive tree" tells of a harmony rebuilt precisely on the limits of sin.

Gen 8:21: "I will curse no more, for the instinct of the human heart is inclined to evil from adolescence".

Here is the Dove, the new symbol of the Spirit.

A clear figure and virtue of concert, of recovery, which animates the believer - who is no longer called to titanic efforts, nor obliged to reproduce futile clamour that he does not want and does not belong to him.

Ancient kingdoms expressed and aroused the aggressive energy of beasts. 

The authentic woman and man, on the other hand, are the revolutionaries of caress, of kindness granted even to their own and others' limits.

Faithful, not of the sphere but of the polyhedron: no longer the hard and safe ones, planted on trivial self-celebratory euphorias.

In the school of the great Precursor, Jesus had noticed the proliferation of coruscating and 'spiritual' frictions that arose between (the Baptist's) pupils - who competed to set up the Kingdom.

Having assessed the vacuous coldness and the danger of homologation - the new Rabbi definitely understands that the worst disease of people is not having humanising impulses.

Impulses that are perhaps ill-tempered, certainly, but that predispose not to Exodus, but to a sort of climb in predictable stages, with perpetual pause; at room-temperature.

Here, no shady side becomes new wealth for all.

For this reason, on "the Mount" we proclaim no commanded "No" that denies our ardours - but rather, Beatitudes.

They open breath and all existence. Even of the uncertain.

In short, not yet knowing who we are and where we are going means the possibility of reinventing ourselves.

Thus we learn to love our limitations and the many limiting conditions: they remind us of the Jordan.

The earth needs Light, but the Light needs the earth. They are an expression of the New Covenant.

To internalise and live the message:

Have you ever met a wise spiritual companion who, instead of rushing you into his or her solution, teaches you to love your limits, knowing that sooner or later they will surprise and astound both you and him or her?

According to the account of the Evangelist Matthew (3:13-17), Jesus came from Galilee to the River Jordan to be baptized by John; indeed people were flocking from all over Palestine to hear the preaching of this great Prophet and the proclamation of the coming of the Kingdom of God and to receive Baptism, that is, to submit to that sign of penance which calls for conversion from sin. 

Although it was called “Baptism” it did not have the sacramental value of the rite we are celebrating today; as you well know, it was actually with his death and Resurrection that Jesus instituted the sacraments and caused the Church to be born. What John administered was a penitential act, a gesture of humility to God that invited a new beginning: by immersing themselves in the water, penitents recognized that they had sinned, begged God for purification from their sins and were asked to change wrong behaviour, dying in the water, as it were, and rising from it to new life.

For this reason, when John the Baptist saw Jesus who had come to be baptized queuing with sinners he was amazed; recognizing him as the Messiah, the Holy One of God, the One who is without sin, John expressed his consternation: he, the Baptist, would himself have liked to be baptized by Jesus. But Jesus urged him not to put up any resistance, to agree to do this act, to do what is fitting “to fulfil all righteousness”. 

With these words Jesus showed that he had come into the world to do the will of the One who had sent him, to carry out all that the Father would ask of him. It was in order to obey the Father that he accepted to be made man. This act reveals, first of all, who Jesus is: he is the Son of God, true God as the Father; he is the One who “humbled himself” to make himself one of us, the One who was made man and who accepted to humble himself unto death on a cross (cf. Phil 2:7). 

The Baptism of Jesus, which we are commemorating today, fits into this logic of humility and solidarity: it is the action of the One who wanted to make himself one of us in everything and who truly joined the line of sinners; he, who knew no sin, let himself be treated as a sinner (cf. 2 Cor 5:21), to take upon his shoulders the burden of the sin of all humanity, including our own sin. He is the “servant” of Yahweh of whom the Prophet Isaiah spoke in the First Reading (cf. 42:1). His humility is dictated by the desire to establish full communion with humanity, by the desire to bring about true solidarity with man and with his human condition. 

Jesus’ action anticipates the Cross, his acceptance of death for man’s sins. This act of abasement, by which Jesus wanted to comply totally with the loving plan of the Father and to conform himself with us, expresses the full harmony of will and intentions that exists between the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity. For this act of love, the Spirit of God revealed himself and descended to alight upon Jesus as a dove, and at that moment the love which unites Jesus to the Father was witnessed to all who were present at the Baptism by a voice from Heaven that everyone heard.

The Father reveals openly to human beings, to us, the profound communion that binds him to the Son: the voice that resounds from on high testifies that Jesus is obedient to the Father in all things and that this obedience is an expression of the love that unites them to each other. 

Therefore the Father delights in Jesus, for he recognizes in the Son’s behaviour the wish to obey his will in all things: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt 3:17). And these words of the Father also allude, in advance, to the victory of the Resurrection and tell us how we must live in order to please the Father, by behaving like Jesus.

[Pope Benedict, homily in the Sistine Chapel, 9 January 2011]

"You are my beloved Son; in You I am well pleased".

2. The ceremony, which on this typical Sunday of the liturgical cycle we are about to perform, calls to our mind certain truths of essential importance in Christian doctrine.

First of all, it recalls the episode - read in today's Gospel - of the Baptism of Jesus, who wished to include himself, as a penitent, among the followers of John the Baptist in order to receive water baptism from him. Such a rite was a sign of penitence; but Jesus wanted to subject himself to it, to show openly that he accepted the religious message of the people of Israel, expressed in a conclusive way by the last of the Prophets. From Abraham to Moses, to Elijah, to Isaiah, through all the Prophets, up to John the Baptist, along the mysterious and dramatic "history of salvation" the "word of God" had walked with the Jewish people, until it led to the arcane voice from heaven that on Jesus, baptised by John, said: "You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased" (Lk 3:22). In Jesus, the Messiah awaited by the chosen people, the definitive transition from the Old to the New Testament took place, and John the Baptist was its austere and enlightened witness.

But today's Liturgy also and above all emphasises the value of the new Baptism, instituted by Jesus. John the Baptist, announcing the coming of the Messiah, said: 'One is coming who will baptise you in the Holy Spirit and fire'. Jesus, initiating the new 'economy' of salvation, tells the Apostles: 'All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:18-19). This is the new and definitive Baptism, which eliminates from the soul the "original sin", inherent in human nature fallen through the rejection of love by the first two rational creatures, and restores to the soul the "sanctifying grace", that is, participation in the very life of the Holy Trinity. Every time Baptism is conferred, an amazing and marvellous event takes place; the rite is simple, but the meaning is sublime! The fire of God's creative and redeeming love burns and destroys sin and takes possession of the soul, which becomes the dwelling place of the Most High! The Evangelist St John affirms that Jesus has given us the power to become children of God, because from God we have been begotten (cf. Jn 1:12-13); and St Paul speaks repeatedly of our greatness and dignity as members of the Body of Christ (Col 2:19; Eph 3:11. 17. 19-22; 4:12).

3. Baptism is a supernatural gift, a radical transformation of human nature, the insertion of the soul into the very life of God, the concrete and personal realisation of the Redemption, and therefore consequently commits the baptised person to live in a new way, namely following Christ. It has never been easy to live as a Christian and even less so in modern society. The Church is happy to welcome these newly-baptised children; but she wants the parents, godparents and godmothers, and also the entire community, to take on the serious duties of good example, correct teaching and authentic Christian formation, so that the child in the gradual development of his or her existence may be faithful to his or her baptismal commitments.

4. St Augustine, recalling in the Confessions the episode of his Baptism, writes: 'In those days, all filled with extraordinary sweetness, I was not satisfied with considering the depth of your counsel for the salvation of the human race' (St Augustine, Confessiones, IX, ch. VI). This immense interior joy I also heartily wish for you and for your children, now and for ever, while I invoke the propitiatory intercession of Most Holy Mary, so that by her help the light and candour of Baptism, which these little ones now receive, may shine in them throughout their lives.

[Pope John Paul II, homily January 1983]

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

1. Today's liturgical feast of the Baptism of the Lord closes the Christmas season, which we observed this year with exceptional fervour and participation. Indeed, the Great Jubilee began on the Holy Night with the opening of the Holy Door in St Peter's.

This Christmas season has offered us a new occasion to recall the "fact" that occurred 20 centuries ago and definitively changed the course of history: Jesus' birth in Bethlehem.

In recalling Jesus' birth, we celebrated the great mystery of Redemption, to which we pay particular attention throughout the course of the Jubilee. The Son of God became man so that man could be raised to the dignity of God's adoptive son.

2. Today's feast of the Baptism of the Lord reminds us of this intimate union with the divine life.

[Pope John Paul II, Angelus 9 January 2000]

This year’s liturgy offers us the event of the Baptism of Jesus according to the Gospel of Matthew (cf. 3:13-17). The Evangelist describes the dialogue between Jesus who asks to be baptized and John the Baptist who wants to prevent him and observes: “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (v. 14). This decision by Jesus surprises the Baptist: in fact the Messiah does not need to be purified; indeed he is the one who purifies. But God is Holy. His ways are not ours and Jesus is God’s path, an unpredictable path. Let us remember that God is the God of surprises.

John had stated that there was an abyssal, unbridgeable difference between him and Jesus. I am not worthy to carry his sandals (cf. Mt 3:11), he had said. But the Son of God came precisely to fill this gap between man and God. If Jesus is completely on God’s side, he is also completely on the side of mankind and he reunites what was divided. This is why he answers John: “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness” (v. 15). The Messiah asks to be baptized so that all righteousness be fulfilled, that God’s design which passes through filial obedience and solidarity with fragile and sinful mankind, be fulfilled. It is the path of humility and of God’s complete closeness to his children.

The prophet Isaiah also announces the righteousness of the Servant of God who fulfills his mission in the world with a style that is opposed to the worldly spirit. “He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard on the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench” (42:2-3). It is the attitude of meekness — the attitude of simplicity, of respect, of moderation and of hiddeness that is still asked today of the Lord’s disciples. How many — it is sad to say — how many of the Lord’s disciples boast that they are disciples of the Lord. Those who boast are not good disciples of the Lord. The good disciple is humble, meek, one who does good unobtrusively. In missionary work, the Christian community is called to approach others always offering and not imposing, bearing witness, sharing the concrete life of the people.

As soon as Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan, the heavens were opened and the Holy Spirit alighted on him like a dove, as a voice from heaven said: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt 3:17). We rediscover our own Baptism in the Feast of the Baptism. Just as Jesus is the Beloved Son of the Father, we too, reborn by water and the Holy Spirit, know we are loved children — the Father loves us all! —, the object of God’s satisfaction, brothers and sisters of many brothers and sisters, assigned with a great mission to bear witness and proclaim the Father’s boundless love to all mankind.

This Feast of the Baptism of Jesus reminds us of our own Baptism. We too were reborn in Baptism. In Baptism the Holy Spirit came down to remain within us. This is why it is important to know the date of our Baptism. We know our date of birth, but we do not always know the date of our Baptism. Certainly some of you do not know it.... Homework to do: when you return [home] ask: when was I baptized? When was I baptized? And celebrate the date of your Baptism in your heart, every year. Do it. This also does justice to the Lord who was so kind to us.

May Mary Most Holy help us to increasingly understand the gift of Baptism and to live it consistently in everyday situations.

[Pope Francis, Angelus, 12 January 2020]

In the Synagogue and from the precipice

(Lc 4:14-22)

In ancient Israel, the patriarchal family, clan and community were the basis of social coexistence.

They ensured the transmission of the nation identity and provided protection for the afflicted.

But at the time of Jesus, Galilee was subject to the segregation dictated by Herod's policies, and suffered from the oppression of official religiosity.

The political and economic situation forced people to retreat into material and individual problems or those of small family.

A situation that was leading the least protected sections of the population to collapse.

Instead, Jesus wants to return to the Father's Dream: the ineradicable one of Fraternity, the only seal to salvation history.

Thus, according to Lk the first time Jesus enters a synagogue he makes a mess.

He does not go to pray, but to Teach what the Grace of God is [the one not weakened by chicanery or false instructions] in the real existence of people.

He chose a passage that reflected the situation of his people, oppressed by the power of the rulers, who were making the weak suffer confusion and poverty.

But his First Reading disregards the liturgical calendar.

He then dares to preach in his own way and personalizes the passage from Isaiah, from which he allows himself to censor the verse announcing God's “vengeance”.

So neither does He proclaim the expected passage of the Law.

Moreover, for the Son of God, the Spirit is not revealed in the extraordinary phenomena of the cosmos, but in the Year of Grace [«a year acceptable to the Lord»: v.19].

Is it possible that the divine likeness could manifest itself in a man who is considerate towards the less fortunate, who disregards official customs, does not believe in retaliation, and displays forms of uncontrolled spontaneity?

It is a reminder to us.

Like the Master, instead of reasoning with induced thoughts and being sequestered by the heaviness of rejections and fears, in Him we begin to think with the empathic codes of our Calling, which breaks through.

The unrepeatable and wide-ranging Vision-Relation (v.18a) - without reduction - then becomes strategic, because it possesses within itself the appeal of the radical essence, and all the resources to solve the real problems.

To listen to the proclamation of the Gospels (v.18b) is to listen to the echo of oneself and the people considered insignificant: intimate and fraternal choice.

And to be in it without the dead leaves of one-sidedness - by wandering freely in that same Appeal; not neglecting precious parts of oneself, nor amputating eccentricities, or the intuition proper to the subaltern classes.

In this way, we remain in the instinct to be and do happy, without ever allowing ourselves to be imprisoned by the craving for security on the side: a stagnant quest.

The Kingdom in the Spirit (cf. vv.14.18) knows what we need. It has ceased to be a goal of mere future.

It is the surprise that Christ arouses in us through his Dream, around his proposal with an extra gear.

The Lord does not neglect us: He extinguishes accusatory brooding and creatively redesigns.

He gives birth again and motivates, recovers dispersions and reinforces the plot.

It is divine because it is personal and social, the new Energy, empowered to create the authentic man.

This is the platform that works the breakthrough.

[Weekday Liturgy, January 10]