The Baptism of the Lord
Sunday, January 11, 2026
St. James Cathedral

Watch this homily! (begins at 37:15)

My friends, as we gather to conclude the Christmas Season with this Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we are given a further revelation of who Jesus is. We have been unpacking who Jesus is since Christmas Eve - the Word-Made-Flesh; a member of a real family; the Savior of all humankind.
 
Today, at his baptism, there is a further revelation as the voice from heaven reveals Jesus as the Beloved Son, in whom the Father is well pleased. Here, the revelation of Jesus as the Beloved is also a kind of commissioning to fulfill that vision of the Prophet Isaiah.
 
“Here is my servant whom I uphold,” Isaiah says, “my chosen one in whom I am well pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit.” Isaiah had written those words centuries before Jesus, at a time when God’s people were held captive in Babylon.
 
But their captivity would not be the end of the story. God’s chosen one would lead them out. Through Isaiah God says, “I, the Lord have called you for the victory of justice.”
 
No longer would they be dealt with unjustly, living in bondage in a foreign land. The victory of justice was a victory that would bring freedom and a return to the land of plenty. That victory would make the whole people a light for the nations.
 
And how would that victory be accomplished? Would it be through force and coercion? Would it be through bellicose talk? Would it be through what Pope Leo condemned this week as “a diplomacy based on force,” and “a zeal for war”? No, the victory of the servant of God and his justice would be brought about not by shouting or making his voice heard, but through the justice of his actions.
 
Centuries after Isaiah, Peter describes how God anointed Jesus “with the Holy Spirit and power.” And how “He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil.” This is what the victory of justice looks like for Jesus, the chosen one of God.
 
From the very beginning Jesus doesn’t coerce or use force, but is one who gives himself for others so that the victory of justice may be won. In today’s Gospel, Jesus has to reassure John and encourage him to allow the baptism in order to “fulfill all righteousness.”
 
Jesus is acknowledges that John’s hesitation is justified. “I need to be baptized by you,” John says. Jesus did not need John’s baptism of repentance because Jesus had no sin. But Jesus teaches John, and he teaches us, that some things are done out of righteousness, because it is the right thing to do, rather than out of meeting a personal need.
 
Jesus is baptized and joins with sinful humanity in a moment of solidarity, not because he himself is sinful, but because he wanted to identify with us so as to lead us in the way of salvation.
 
Two thousand years later, you and I, as followers of Jesus Christ, are also called, at times, to set aside doing things just to meet our own needs. Sometimes disciples of the Lord are called to act because it is our duty to “fulfill all righteousness,” so that others can benefit.
 
The most vulnerable among us, the unborn child, the immigrant family, the homeless veteran, the working poor, the lonely elderly person - all of these and many, many more people in need, are caught in the kind of bondage that makes a claim on us as disciples of the Lord. All of them call out to us and, by virtue of our baptism, you and I are anointed to work for the victory of justice for them.
 
Now, I have to tell you, I love being a spectator in sports - from football (especially this time of year) and golf to basketball and baseball. But, my friends, there are no spectators in discipleship. We are either all in, or we are on the sidelines.
 
You and I have been baptized into the saving death and resurrection of Jesus. In those waters, our God spoke to us and said, “You are my beloved.” Now, the same God who spoke those words to Jesus, tells us that we are commissioned, like him, to fulfill all righteousness.
 
We are sent for the victory of justice - to do good here and now - so that brothers and sisters are freed from poverty and prejudice, from homelessness and heartlessness, from sickness and loneliness, from a world of violence and injustice that sees immigrants and refugees as threats rather than human beings in need.
 
God’s victory of justice has been set in motion by the word coming among us in the flesh. That word is a person - born of Mary, reared in Nazareth, baptized by John, and sent to do good. That person, Jesus Christ, our God-in-the-flesh, set aside personal need and went to his death so that we might live. In Jesus, our God is not a spectator. Our God is all in.
 
The Beloved Son has left us a memorial of his sacrifice and called us to share in his victory through his very Body and Blood. May our communion today empower us to be his disciples, to not sit on the sidelines, but to be all in, and to fulfill all righteousness by working peacefully and persistently for the victory of His justice.
 

Father Gary F. Lazzeroni