As we begin what is called the “Ordinary Time” in Church-liturgy, we have a phrase in today’s gospel that sets the tone for the whole year. John tells us that John the Baptist “saw Jesus coming toward him”. He had been preparing his people for the coming of Jesus. We would have probably expected John himself to take the people to where Jesus was, when the time came. But it is Jesus who comes towards John and the people. This is what we shall be experiencing throughout the year: Jesus coming towards us. The “Emmanuel”, the “God is with us” whom we have just celebrated during the Christmas season, will be the one who is always on the move, constantly taking the initiative to come to us, even when we take another path.

As soon as he sees him, John introduces Jesus as “the Lamb of God”, the one “who takes away the sin of the world”. John says that he himself did not know him, yet he understood exactly who this Jesus was, and what his mission was going to be. As we journey through this coming year, we shall constantly be seeing Jesus approaching other people, usually people who have gone wrong. He is never the one to sit there waiting for them to repent and come to him asking for forgiveness. He walks towards them, he reaches out to them, he always offers them a new possibility. Moreover, their sins need not be a burden for them anymore because, like the lamb let loose into the wilderness to be devoured by the wild beasts, Jesus has taken upon his shoulders the people’s sins and will eventually give his life for them.

​This is indeed good news. With all the Christmas celebrations over, we now enter into this “ordinary time” of the year, the longest time in the Church calendar. Our lives are mainly made up of ordinary things and events. The extraordinary is often only the exception. And it is in the ordinariness of our everyday life that Jesus comes to meet us: as we go around doing our daily chores, as we do our best to live our vocations, as we struggle through our weaknesses, our weaknesses, our feelings of inadequacy.

In the ordinariness of our lives we are called to live out our vocation. All three readings of today’s liturgy remind us that we are all called to do something for others in life. We do not live our lives just for ourselves. John’s mission was to prepare his people for the arrival of Jesus. In the first reading the prophet knows that he was called from the time when he was still in his mother’s womb to bring the wayward people of Israel back to their God. Paul, then is convinced that he was called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, one who is called by Jesus to be sent out to bring his message to other peoples. It is in accepting and embracing this message that the people, irrespective of their nationality, can truly become saints. This is a very beautiful concept that Paul introduces to us. Were he to write a letter to us, Paul would not hesitate in calling us Saints. Because for him, the saint is not one who is perfect, but one who has accepted Jesus’ message in his life and does his best to live it. We are prone to make mistakes as we go along. What is important is that, once we realize what we have done, we do not stay there. All we have to do is get up, learn something from it, and move on. On my own I would not have been able to do this. I would probably stay focused on my misery, my weakness, my nothingness. But today's liturgy reminds me that, even in those moments, Jesus is reaching out to me. He is giving me a hand to help me get up, dust myself, and move on.

John was surprised, shocked. He had been preaching repentance, preparing his people for the coming of the Messiah. As a sign of their willingness to leave their old life-style and embrace the new, people were invited to go into the water of the Jordan. Water cleanses and purifies. Through that rite people were professing their willingness to start anew, coming out of that water clean. It was a baptism of repentance, a sign. So far, there was no real forgiveness. - that was to come later with the coming of the expected One. Still, it was important for the people. Signs are powerful and important, irrespective of whether they seem to achieve anything concretely or not.

Then, the unexpected happens. Maybe unexpected is not the right word, because John had been preparing for his coming all the way. What John did not expect was seeing Jesus go down into the water with the rest of the crowd. John being John, he wanted to prevent it. In his logic, this did not make sense. Here is the One without sin, the One who needed no repentance. Would he be giving the wrong signal to the people had John allowed Jesus to just join the crowd? Indeed, it should be the other way round! “I need to be baptized by you”, John tells Jesus, and not vice-versa!

Yet, Jesus was adamant. “Let it be”, he tells him. Trust! And then he speaks about righteousness. John knew what righteousness was. The axe is ready at the root of the tree, he had just told the people. Evil will be rooted out and burned with unquenchable fire. Yet, when Jesus begins his ministry, he shows us that even the idea of righteousness needed conversion. It’s not a matter of destruction as John had thought, but conversion - a deep change of heart.

Jesus’ going into the water was a prophetic sign which set the tone for his life’s mission. He is the One who took on himself the sins of the world. In him and through him we are all set free from the slavery of sin. Years later Paul would tell his community in Corinth, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”.

The God of Jesus Christ approves of what the Son does. The voice is loud and clear, for everybody to hear: “You are my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased”. At the baptism of Jesus God speaks, the heavens are opened. There are no more barriers between God and man. Distance between heaven and earth disappears. The God who spoke to Adam in the beginning as a friend, speaks again, with love. Reconciliation is indeed happening. God’s Spirit descends like a dove - silently, gently, as a sign of peace.

​It is this same dynamics that are lived in our own baptism. It is in the God who is present in the Jordan - Father, Son and Spirit - that we are all baptized. The one-ness which had been destroyed by sin is now made whole again. As St Athanasius would bravely put it, "the Son of God became man so that we might become God”. And, together with Jesus, we too hear that wonderful voice: You are my son, my daughter, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased. If this is not enough reason for rejoicing, I don’t know what is! 

We all know the story of the three wise men who came to worship Jesus, sometimes referred to as the Three Kings.

Well, kings they were not. The gospel tells us that they were “wise” men, and that is enough. The obvious question is why are they referred to as Wise? What’s so special about them? When I reflect on this story, I think that their wisdom comes from the fact that they are searching. It’s not so much the fact that they knew how to read the stars, or they spoke different languages. They were people on the move. They could have been rich, and probably they were. But they knew that they lacked something. And they set out on a journey. They followed the star - a beautiful symbol of light in the skies. When they lost sight of this guide, they were not afraid to ask. They needed help, and they knew, in their wisdom, that they do not have all the answers. They were open to learn, to take new paths, to walk in places they had never knew. As they journey, they learn and they continue to grow in their wisdom. In the meantime, they get constantly closer to what they are looking for.

Sometimes, they asked the wrong person. Herod, who due to his badness and corruption was frightened that this might be his end, told them to go and find him, and return through the same way, so that he, too, “may go and pay homage to him.” No wonder that Jesus has very harsh words in John’s gospel for those who are guided by evil in their lives:

"You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

The wise men do not know it all. The wise men are always searching for the truth. God knows and acknowledges this, and he intervenes not to let them return to Herod.

A beautiful reaction is the one these men had when they finally arrived at their destination: They were overwhelmed with joy. God often gives us joy or happiness in unexpected ways. They were searching for a king, and yet they only found a baby with his mother. Nothing special. Yet, they believed, and they were touched in their innermost being.

Perhaps a question I can ask myself today is what am I looking for in life? Where do I seek to attain happiness? And what do I use to guide me to get there?

​The wise men allowed themselves to by guided by God’s own light. They allowed themselves to be surprised by God, and they did not regret it.