Today we celebrate the baptism of Christ. Christ is baptised in the river Jordan and is revealed as the one in whom God's promises will be fulfilled - the heavens open, and the Father's voice declares Jesus to be his 'beloved Son'. Here we see that Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. This is the one who will establish God's Kingdom and bring us life.
Through our own baptisms we come to share in what Jesus has done for us. By the gift of baptism we become by grace what Jesus is by nature - a child of God. We are God's sons and daughters, we are beloved. Because of what Jesus has done, the Father is pleased with us. By baptism we are made new, we are set on a path away from sin - that is, from everything that prevents us flourishing - and symbolically reject our defeated enemy, the devil.
Baptism is important. It is the beginning of Christian life. It is something to treasure and seek to understand more deeply. Today, let's give thanks for our own baptisms and commit ourselves to live them more fully in the coming year.
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