Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River is one of the deepest mysteries in the life of Our Lord.  We see three things about Our Lord so vividly in this moment: we see Awareness, Humility, and Love.  The awareness that he has: knowledge of all the prophecies and his own role in them, recognition of John the Baptist as the New Elijah, an authentic prophet and witness to his arrival.  Most especially, receiving and accepting the Father’s benediction: You are my beloved son, in whom I am pleased.  The awareness that he shows.  The humility that he has: he participates in a repentance ritual, despite having nothing whatsoever to repent from.  If that doesn’t convert us from our pride, nothing will.  He did it.  How could we ever avoid conversion and repentance throughout our life long.  The humility that he shows.  The love that he has: love for us, so profound that he wants to stand with us in everything, in every moment, even in our sins.  He’s sinless, but he will stand with us in our need for mercy and repentance.  He doesn’t abandon us.  He goes down into overwhelming floods with us.  And carries us back out again.  The love that he shows.  Awareness, Humility, and Love. 

It’s hard to know what more to say in the face of such a magnificent and extraordinary mystery.  So you’ll pardon me, I hope, as I resort to a bit of plagiarism.  No one ever explained what all this is about better than St. Paul.  And so, with apologies for this homily being so brief, but since saying anything after this would seem entirely too impertinent, I conclude with these extraordinary words from the Blessed Apostle’s letter to the Philippians, which capture the essence of this mystery, and indeed the entire mystery of the life of the Lord, so well.  Though he was in the form of God, Christ Jesus did not consider equality with God a thing to be clung to, but rather he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in the likeness of man, he humbled himself and became obedient even unto death, death on a cross.  Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed upon him the name which is above every other name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.