#  Baptized for Mission 

 





The Power of the Sacrament



 

January 14, 2026

 

 

Baptism for Mission in 2026

Warfare and misery in Israel and Palestine, in Ukraine, in Sudan, in Iran; violence at home, the killing of immigrants and protesters; endemic poverty, unfairness that gives some lavish riches, leaves others burdened by unfairness. Can any of us do something that helps people and changes the system. One simple answer: if we are baptized, then we can act, we can find a way. We just have to reimagine what baptism means, our baptism in light of the baptism of Jesus. Baptism is not simply the issuance of a membership card. It can rather be conceived of as preparation for mission, deep and powerful, as it plays out differently in different lives.

Consider Sunday’s Gospel (January 11), on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord:

"Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?' But Jesus answered him, 'Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.' Then he consented.  And  when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water,  suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And  a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.'" (Matthew 3:13-17)

 ![Appiani's Baptism of Jesus](/sites/g/files/omnuum2606/files/2026-01/PL9_37.1017_Fnt_BW.jpg)

 

This passage, as dramatic as it is, is just the core of a longer process. However we think of Jesus’ divinity, based on this reading, it seems fair to conjecture that he does not come to the Jordan with full awareness of his identity and mission: he is himself, but he likely does not fully understand who that self is. In the 30 years or so before the baptism Jesus may have experienced a slow, ordinary realization of identity, without great signs of an extraordinary kind. Perhaps he senses that John is speaking of him:

"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." (Matthew 3.11)

But still, the import of John’s words may not yet be clear to him.

"When Jesus is baptized by John, a double divine invention occurs: the descent of the Spirit upon him, and the voice from heaven, affirming his identity. According to Christian doctrine, he was always the Son, always in communion with the Father and the Spirit. Yes, but now, at the river, baptism has awakened and drawn his consciousness in a Trinitarian fullness. He comes out of the river still the same Jesus, with a heightened awareness and experience of himself."

But the transformation of consciousness can take a long time. Even after his baptism, Jesus is slowed down again:

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished…" (Matthew 4:1-2)

And even after that, according to Matthew he does not come rushing from the desert to begin the mission. He waits, until John’s public mission comes to an end:

"Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea…" (Matthew 4.12-13)

*Then*, *finally*, the mission begins:

"From that time Jesus began to proclaim, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.'" (Matthew 4:17)

Then, now, finally, at last, he is realized and ready, God and sent by God, in the Spirit.

Now, to the point: what happens to Jesus shows us what can, if we allow it, happen to us, and if we are patient also to the before and after our baptism. We need to think seriously about our baptism in light of the baptism of Jesus. Baptized, we have a power to share in the mission of Jesus, a power come from God, arising with us. We who are baptized and aim to help our neighbors and resist the evils of the day need to remember who we are.

And, we need not expect immediate results. Even when we get a sense of mission, we may still find it is not yet our time for mission. We may be driven into our own desert, to fast, be tempted, be purified, be readied. And even then, we may find it necessary to wait, as Jesus waited, since other must do their part first. And, to tell the truth, we may find at some point in life that our most important work is done.

 ![Renee Good](/sites/g/files/omnuum2606/files/2026-01/88081126007-renee-good%20copy.jpg)

 

We need to use our brains, of course, and to figure out our particular talents. We need to work alone, and we need to work with others. And what we need to hold on to in 2026 is a kind of sacramental self-awareness: in the long run, power, wealth, prestige, untruths cannot stand against the power of a baptized person, if we see our baptism in the light of the baptism of Jesus at the Jordan, after his first 30 years, and before the desert and before the wait until John’s mission was done. Our time will come, if we remember that baptism is not simply the result of mission, but the source of mission.

But how does this work out in other traditions, with other rites of identity, realization, and awakening? A great topic for another day.

(Based on a homily given on Sunday, January 11, 2026, in Sharon, MA)