Baptism of the Lord 11 January 2026 Sermon

Baptism of the Lord 11 January 2026  Identification

God takes the initiative in saving us. He comes without asking our consent, proposing to do certain things which would benefit the world, even it that world is not asking for it.

Of course the world asks for things that it needs, like peace, food, safety, but our Lord wanted to take it further than just meeting material needs.

He wants to save people by enabling them to become like Him: That we may come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled Himself to share in our humanity (Offertory).

God the Son would present those He could capture to God the Father, and that is how the great divide between divinity and humanity would be healed.

Our true nature restored, we would be able to share in the inner life of the Trinity.

The Father will accept whomever the Son brings. The Father welcomes the Son because He is at one with Him.

We welcome someone we love if we see them coming up the path. If they have other people with them those other people will be welcome too, because of their identification with us .

Complete strangers you might reject, but if you see the Beloved in there the whole group  takes on a more favourable note

The Son gathers as many as He can, and wants to take them home to the Father. Whether or not they will let  themselves be taken is the whole issue that we have been struggling about ever since the Fall.

Jesus leads the way, and some will follow. People can change positions. One initially agreeing can be lost; one initially resisting can come to accept.

We are caught up in this huge struggle, for our own individual souls, and for the human race as a whole.

The issue comes to our degree of identification with Jesus Christ.

Seeking to gather a people to Himself He leads the way into the water, indicating baptism in water will be part of the process.

Christ has no need to be washed clean from sin, but the people He is gathering will need it.

Jesus shows the way. This is what we will have to do.

When we come to be baptised it is to express our identifying with Our Lord, at the same time seeking to deepen that identity.

We are saved by being changed into the likeness of God the Son, approved as we do that by God the Father.

This means we act like Jesus Christ, not in the way of working miracles but in terms of charity and mercy.

We learn to see things as Jesus sees them and respond accordingly.

This way the Body of Christ becomes bigger, with more members yet no loss of fraternal union.

God wants to save as many as possible, and this is how it happens, individuals joining themselves to Christ as the centre of all life. Tree and branches (Jn 15,1-8)

The word ‘baptism’ means ‘immersion’. To be immersed means to be covered in whatever the substance is, in this case, the charity of Jesus Christ. To be as much like Him as we can be, this is all foreshadowed in Our Lord’s Baptism.

Baptism is a dying and a rising (Rom 6, 3-4). If we die in Christ we shall rise with him. The passing through the Red Sea is evoked as we travel from one state to another, to a much better state as we become more Christ-like.

Water cleanses and gives nourishment – a strong image of what awaits us in the spiritual world, cleansed from sin, enabled to live well.

Epiphany 4 January 2026 Sermon

Epiphany 4 January 2026 One Savior

The word ‘adorable’ is often used of babies. The Baby we are particularly concerned with today is the most adorable by a long way, and in the full sense of the word – valued, trusted, obeyed, exalted, inviting and compelling our response.

For He has come from Heaven to dwell in our  human condition and save us.

No other god can do this or has done it.  Only this Child can receive our full adoration and obedience. 

Is it too much to ask that all honor and glory go to Him? He has come among us but has been largely undervalued.

Some will say He is just one more saviour among others. He is not meant for everyone. Every country or culture has its own gods, its own ways. Why single out Jesus Christ?

Because He is God and the others are not; He exists; they do not.

Look at it this way:  We believe in one God, Creator of heaven and earth. He made the lot, all that is seen and unseen. It all comes from Him.

If the world were ten times bigger than it is there would still be one God, big enough to know everything, and have the power to deal with it.

National distinctions crumble here. We cannot say, I am from another culture and therefore do not need Jesus Christ.

You need Him and you have Him, and this is His own teaching: I am the way, the truth and the life (Jn 14,6);He who is not with Me is against Me (Mt 12,30) or Go and baptize all nations(Mt 28,19-20)

God has created us to share His glory. Not because He was lonely but because it is in His nature to give, and keep giving.

He has enough love and power to look after all the billions whom He has made.

To put His plans into effect He came among us in this surprising way, to be born at Bethlehem.

Some people caught on, the shepherds and the wise men, and later, people of every generation. Some at least.

The message does not get any less important or less relevant.

So we keep the message current to our minds by means of our worship. We express the goodness of God, just as we are receiving from that goodness.

He sends us out as His ambassadors, at which we are not always very good, and for which we ask His pardon. The limitations of His followers do not take anything from His truthfulness; it just makes it harder to convince others. We ask Him to help us to do a better job, to be our strength in weakness. ‘We I am weak, then I am strong…’ (2 Co 12,10).

The wise men were humble enough to bow down to what looked like a powerless baby.

They discerned the hidden greatness.

Our Lord wants us to do the same. He wants our submission, but always voluntary.

The more we submit, the better it is for us because we take on the qualities of the Baby, the Lord.

The Epiphany is not new for us, perhaps, but our response needs to be refined. We give Him first place in a world which has many claims upon us. He is the first and the last – the Saviour -  only one, but in this case, one is enough!

Holy Family 28 December 2025 Sermon

Holy Family 28 December 2025

When God created the human race He also created marriage. Adam and Eve had no choice but to marry each other; but then again they would have wanted to do that, as each had many perfections (before the Fall).

God's will in establishing marriage was to propagate the human race, for one thing, and to give His children a framework in which to learn about everything important in life. In family life we learn lots of things, such as to give as well as receive.

God teaches us how to live in community; how to put up with the faults of others; how to learn to be unselfish, as we come to realize that the world does not revolve around me.

Family is character-building. Many things could be called that, but family would have to be near the top of the list.

Love one another, as I have loved you, said Jesus (Jn 13,34).This refers mainly to agape love which is working for the good of the other person. Not very romantic but very useful. This is the love all Christians must have for others.

Family life should teach us to shed selfish behaviour and find a corresponding generosity. We forgive those who trespass against us.

So much of the New Testament addresses this point. Cf today’s second reading: forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. (C0l 3,13)

We have the Holy Family to inspire us and teach us.

It might be said, we cannot live life like they did. But we can get closer to them, and close enough to be able to say we are living in the light of the Gospel. The immense holiness of that family can overflow to other families seeking something better.

If every house in my street is fighting and falling apart all the more do I seek to do things God's way.  We can make it a lot easier if we just try to get the next thing right.

The role of the traditional family is questioned today. As it is based on the nature of God, the family will always exist, for better or worse!

The Church has always asked of families to nurture their children in faith, for the sake of those children and also to benefit the Church into future generations.

It takes a long time for a baby to turn into an adult, to find and apply their many gifts.

We cannot stand and watch a tree grow, but we notice when it has grown.

This is another lesson from the Holy Family: they had their moments of having to move quickly (Flight into Egypt), but most of their life was hidden and unspectacular.  Waiting for the ripe time, then following perfectly the will of God.

This tells us that we do not expect fireworks every day; most of what happens is slow and almost invisible. But look what the Church is now, and trace that back to the Annunciation and a stable in Bethlehem.

Read the signs, and respond. Those who rebel against God and His designs will find only frustration.

If we hold firm to trust in God, even if we do not know what is coming precisely, we will see better days.

We see the difficulties; we do not admit defeat. We keep before our eyes the Holy Family, drawing all that is good from them.

We pray for family life, for all the crises which have to be navigated; for a clearer understanding of Church teaching on faith and morality, both within the Church and in the wider society. Most of all for that agape charity which is so central to all other aspects of life.

Jesus, have mercy on us; Mary and Joseph, pray for us.